Foley Pride Month Program: Being an Active Ally in Tough Situations

In honor of Pride Month, Foley & Lardner welcomed back PFLAG National for the fifth year in a row to help us continue to advance in our journey of allyship. This year’s virtual workshop for all firm members, titled “What Would You Do? A Guide to Being an Active Ally in Tough Situations,” was held on June 5 and led by PFLAG Vice President of Learning & Inclusion Jamie Henkel (she/her).

Henkel set the tone by reminding attendees to treat the workshop as a safe learning space, assume we each can learn from anyone, and navigate disagreements with kindness. Henkel was joined by PFLAG Learning & Inclusion Manager Mackenzie Harte (they/them), who facilitated an interactive Q&A throughout the program.

The workshop focused on the steps to learn and grow that more advanced allies take to become better advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) equality. Henkel began by explaining the spectrum of allyship that people who want to learn more can move through to equip themselves to intervene, correct misinformation, and support the LGBTQ+ community.

“Ally is a verb, an action, something you do,” Henkel said. “Not just in June and October, but always.”

It starts with the visible ally who increases the engagement of others by signaling their support. The enterprising ally takes the initiative to learn more so they can progress to an educator ally who feels confident sharing what they know with others. The most advanced on the spectrum is the mega ally who has developed the ultimate ally skill: turning conflict into opportunity.

Henkel walked attendees through the key steps to managing conflict — listen, empathize, leverage your resources, and be patient — sharing a personal story to illustrate this ultimate ally skill in action. “The people we are trying to get started on their ally journey are bringing a whole lifetime of experiences and values into these conversations,” Henkel said. “We can focus on behaviors, not beliefs. We can differentiate between an action someone took and who they are as a person. And that helps us stay at the table.”

For the final segment of the workshop, Harte led an interactive ‘what would you do’ discussion with attendees to help them apply the ally skills they just learned to navigate difficult real-world, workplace-focused scenarios. Henkel encouraged attendees to seek out additional information and resources from PFLAG’s Straight for Equality program, created for new allies who don’t necessarily have a family connection to the LGBTQ+ community.

This timely program was presented by Foley’s LGBTQIA+ & Allies Affinity Group to help us navigate this more difficult environment and honor the views of those we may disagree with. Follow the link to learn more about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the firm.