Allyship in the university setting: supporting women's success

• Date: 16 January 2024
• Pages: 728-739
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-08-2023-0267
• Published date: 16 January 2024
• Author: Elisabeth R. Silver,Isabel Bilotta,Dillon Stewart,Jazmin Argueta-Rivera,Christiane Spitzmueller,Hayley Brown,Eden King,Mikki Hebl

Allyship in the university setting:

supporting women’s success

Elisabeth R. Silver, Isabel Bilotta, Dillon Stewart and

Jazmin Argueta-Rivera

Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

Christiane Spitzmueller

University of California Merced, Merced, California, USA

Hayley Brown

University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

Eden King

Department of Psychological Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Rice University,

Houston, Texas, USA, and

Mikki Hebl

Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The lack of progress toward equity in the U.S. is evident across many spheres of society, academia

notwithstanding. Women academicians, in particular, face many barriers that prevent them from advancing–

including a continued unsupportive climate, competing work and family demands, and interpersonal

discrimination. This paper reflects on a collaborative research effort in the United States to enhance allyship for

women in academia.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors partnered with a major university to hold ally training for

department chairs during a university-wide department chair meeting.The authors developed a methodology

for creating and implementing training content using a focus-group-based training needs analysis and a

diversity science grounded approach to allyship training. The authors followed this up with surveys to assess

impact.

Findings –Participants indicated that they learned from the training, but participation in follow-up data

collection was limited, hampering the ability to conduct rigorous quantitative analyses around intervention

impact.

Research limitations/implications –Although the sample size may have been too limited to detect effects,

the current study provides an approachthat furthers the way in which researchers and practitioners can better

assess the impact of allyship to women academicians.

Practical implications –Published research on allies is very limited. The current research examines allies in

the context of helping women in academia.

Originality/value –Despite widespread recognition of the importance of first-line supervisors in support of

diversity, limited intervention designs are available. The authors add to the extant literature on diversity

interventions, while highlighting barriers to rigorous intervention evaluation.

Keywords Allies, Gender, Higher education, STEM, Training

Paper type Professional insights

EDI

43,4

728

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (No: G107936).

Since submission of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliation(s): Isabel Bilotta

is at Deutser.

Author’s note: All authors made unique contributions to this paper and authorship order was

determined arbitrarily. The first author was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate

Research Fellowship. The research reported here was supported by a National Science Foundation

ADVANCE Grant.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 15 September 2023

Revised 21 December 2023

Accepted 21 December 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 43 No. 4, 2024

pp. 728-739

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-08-2023-0267