Skip to main content
Article
Communicating Privilege and Faculty Allyship
Communication Quarterly
  • Lisa Hanasono, Bowling Green State University
  • Hyun Kyoung Ro
  • Deborah A. O'Neil
  • Ellen M. Broido, Bowling Green State University
  • Margaret M. Yacobucci, Bowling Green State University
  • Susana Peña, Bowling Green State University
  • Karen V. Root, Bowling Green State University
Document Type
Article
Abstract

As individuals who use their privilege to reduce prejudice, educate others about social justice, and actively stop discrimination, faculty allies can play a vital role in transforming universities to be more equitable, diverse, and inclusive. However, discrepancies persist in how faculty define privilege and communicate allyship. Drawing from standpoint theory, we examined discursive divergences in how 105 full-time faculty defined and experienced privilege and how they enacted allyship in the workplace. Participants tended to conceptualize privilege as a set of advantages and lack of structural barriers for people based on their group membership(s). Discursive differences emerged regarding the degree to which faculty participants perceived privilege to be un/earned and rooted in structural power, and some participants took ownership of their social privilege while others discursively elided it. When asked to identify specific ally actions, participants often described broad behaviors that aimed to help individuals in interpersonal contexts but did not address actions aimed at dismantling inequitable power structures, revising biased policies, and transforming toxic organizational cultures. Our findings highlight the need for trainings that clarify conceptualizations of privilege and help faculty translate their understanding of allyship into communicative actions that stop discrimination at interpersonal and institutional levels.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2022.2099294
Volume
70
Issue
5
Citation Information
Lisa Hanasono, Hyun Kyoung Ro, Deborah A. O'Neil, Ellen M. Broido, et al.. "Communicating Privilege and Faculty Allyship" Communication Quarterly (2022) p. 560 - 584
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ellenmelissa-broido/2/