by Rachana Bhide
This article first appeared on LinkedIn December 29, 2017.
December 30th, 2017, marks our first anniversary at The Corner of the Court Project! One year ago, Megan, our first brave voice, submitted her story about her male ally, Dave, as a step to encourage men to play an active role in gender equality.
I say Megan was brave for two reasons: Megan is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and currently manages the airfield at Tyndall Air Force Base. But Megan, and the other women who were early submitters to our project, also showed tremendous courage in submitting a story, having had no idea what the project would become. They simply believed in our concept and stepped up to share a personal story – of a father, a boss, a mentor – to help explore how positive examples of male allies would resonate.
Since then, we’ve published 30 stories from diverse, successful women, and the impact that our featured male allies have made are just as diverse and impactful. Whether a man of great positional influence like an NFL coach, or a man of great familial commitment like a husband or father; the male allies in our stories represent the capability of every man to be a strong supporter of women and gender equality.
What We’ve Learned
Reflection is an important part of being a good ally, and in the spirit of role modeling that behavior, here are The Corner of the Court’s reflections on our first year – or as I affectionately sum them up, the “Three P’s.”
Positivity
After we posted our first story at the end of 2016, at the start of 2017 I (perhaps somewhat boldly) wrote, “Now that 2017 has kicked off, I am sharing a personal resolution to make an impact on strengthening the support for male allies.” One year ago, I, like many of us, had no idea exactly what 2017 would bring in terms of visibility to gender dynamics, abuse of power, and the role of men: as perpetrators of abuse, but also as allies in the workplace and at home.
Particularly as the #MeToo movement raised important awareness of widespread abuse, we carefully examined how our project could support women’s voices alongside the painful stories being shared. We tested our message and found women were still very interested in sharing their ally stories, with strengthened resolve to encourage men to be positive influencers of change. We were hopeful when women readers continued to submit their stories of allyship, and specifically encouraged men in their lives to read the stories for examples on how to be a positive male ally.
Partnership
There are a lot of extraordinary people and teams who are committed to gender equality in the same spirit that we are – to build capabilities of men to be better mentors, bosses and allies.
Our partners have done so much for us in our first year. They’ve given our work visibility and critical dialogue through podcasts and television interviews. They’ve expanded our reach through conferences and various platforms online. They’ve given us tools to educate male allies in workshops and over dinner conversations. They also believed in us and have helped share our mission; often, they’ve referred great women to share stories on our site.
Here are some of the partners, friends and supporters we are proud and grateful to have leaned on during our first year:
Athena Rising (David Smith and Brad Johnson)
Better Male Allies
Bloomberg LP
Columbia University
Jennifer Brown Consulting
J.T. O’Donnell, Work It Daily
Julie Kratz, Pivot Point
#GoSponsorHer
LinkedIn
Lean In NYC
Men Advocating Real Change (MARC – Catalyst Inc)
MeTyme Network
PROMOTE
Protege Podcast
Ray Arata / Better Man Conference
State of Mind
Women in Sports & Events (WISE)
YWomen
Psychology
A number of our stories are those of “where I came from” – women talking about the first boss who became a lifelong mentor, or sharing the first lesson she recalls her father teaching her. One of the real gifts I receive from doing this work, is the opportunity to continue learning as a psychologist and researcher. I would be remiss if I didn’t say every story touches me in a unique way. One of the most vulnerable articles I wrote was a personal story about male depression and suicide; discovering that our project also supports men by acknowledging their positive contributions – it is through the stories that our women willingly share about a loved one, that I have been able to witness the importance of letting men know they can make an impact.
Positivity (and positive psychology) is a recurring theme of our project, and it’s because it’s so important to reinforcing and repeating good behavior. And it’s the very foundation of the relationships we reference when calling men gender partners and good “allies” (see: Unconscious Advocacy).
What’s Next…
More stories. More tangible behaviors that help men be better allies. More partnerships and gratitude for those committed to gender equality. These are how we will serve up the “next set” of stories and articles in the new year.
Wishing you an ally-filled New Year and great start to 2018!