Allyship without the stage

Allyship Isn’t Charity: How Leaders Use Voice, Vote, and Budget to Ensure Good Work Wins

Author’s note: Written in the spirit of South Africa’s Women’s Month, with respect for the discipline of 1956 and a focus on adult-to-adult leadership today.

Understanding Allyship

As Women's Month draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the essence of allyship. This concept resonates with the spirit of the iconic 1956 march, where 20,000 women stood firm against injustice. They were not merely protesting; they were actively paving the way for a more equitable future for all of us. Today, in 2025, with our national theme "Building Resilient Economies for All," it feels particularly apt for us as senior leaders to truly explore what allyship means in our daily grind.

The term allyship might feel overused, but at its heart, it is about showing up for women in the workplace. It’s about using our positions to make things fairer. Allyship is not an act of charity or a rescue mission. Instead, it is how leaders use their voice, their vote, and their budget to ensure good work wins. It is an active commitment, standing shoulder to shoulder with those who face extra hurdles. We leverage whatever privilege we hold to help clear the path. This is everyday leadership—a quiet, consistent way we influence our environments so that rooms change, not just hearts.

The Urgency of Allyship

Our unique South African history, marked by persistent inequality, makes this conversation urgent. Old habits and biases unfortunately linger, blocking progress. We see these gaps starkly in the numbers: women hold about 40% of senior roles, but that figure dips to a mere 27% in top executive positions, as reported by UN Women. Furthermore, Grant Thornton highlights that women earn 27% less than men in similar jobs. These are not just cold facts; they represent real people navigating daily challenges. They juggle family demands, fight for fair pay, and push against subtle walls that drain their energy.

Our empathy kicks in when we imagine that weight. It is not about pity but about grasping the sheer resilience it takes. We feel motivated to genuinely share the load. When we step up as allies, we help close these critical gaps, and the returns are substantial. Diverse teams consistently spark fresh ideas and achieve better results. McKinsey has shown for years that gender-balanced executives lead to 25% higher profits. For South Africa, this is directly tied to building the resilient economies we champion. Women often reinvest their earnings back into families and communities, fostering stability that uplifts everyone. President Ramaphosa's initiative to allocate 40% of government procurement to women-owned businesses is a smart, strategic move.

Bridging the Gap Between Intent and Action

However, good intentions alone are not enough. There is often a significant "gap between intent and action." People mean well but freeze up, unsure how to begin. Allyship fosters a sense of belonging, creating environments where people feel safe to bring their full selves to work. This boosts morale, strengthens bonds, and ramps up performance. Happier teams lead to less turnover, greater innovation, and a culture that truly hums.

In our South African context, the philosophy of ubuntu reminds us that one person's challenge ripples out to affect the entire group. Allyship honors the spirit of that 1956 march by transforming awareness into concrete action, especially when policies fall short in their implementation. Without allyship, we risk remaining stuck in cycles of exclusion.

Making Allyship Part of Leadership

So, how do we make allyship a living, breathing part of our leadership? It begins with weaving it into our routine, making it as habitual as our morning coffee. Maybe it starts by educating yourself, delving into books or conversations that unpack biases and systemic issues. Professor Binna Kandola advises that to be an ally, we need to understand more and empathize deeper with experiences different from our own. From there, shift to deep listening.

Advice is helpful, yes. However, sponsorship is what truly moves careers. A sponsor does not simply clap from the sidelines. A sponsor places an individual into stretch work that fosters their growth and then offers cover when challenges arise. This is not a favor; it is sound leadership judgment. We do this all the time for people who look and sound like us. Allyship simply asks us to notice where comfort is steering our decisions and to instead steer by our core values.

Practical Steps for Allyship

Offer flexible hours or remote work options to help balance life's demands, particularly for those with significant caregiving responsibilities. Mix up teams to blend genders, backgrounds, and perspectives, consciously avoiding the trap of putting people into neat boxes. Safety, in this context, is not just a poster on the wall. It is the sense that you can take a risk, express an idea, ask for help, and not pay a hidden price. This shows up in small, crucial moments: a side comment that lands wrong, an inappropriate joke, a raised eyebrow that shuts down a thought. People do not need a policeman in the room; they need a grown-up.

A fresh look at like-for-like pay helps us uncover prevailing themes, and a balanced view of promotion velocity reveals who is moving forward and who is stuck. It is often said that when pay bands are tight and public, old dances disappear. Our goal should be a workplace where money follows contribution, and where potential is taken seriously, even when a little polish still needs coaching. Procurement, too, tells its own truth. If we genuinely want a more inclusive economy, it must be reflected in who we buy from. This is not charity; it is about competence being given a fair chance. Bring in women-owned firms for significant categories, not just the ones we have always handed out. Pay on time, offer scope that allows for growth, and keep performance at the center while widening the door.

The Politics of Allyship

Is this mere politics? The world is noisy, court cases come and go, and everyone has a view. However, we must stay the course: build fair and high-performing organizations. These two aims are not at war with each other. Teams that embrace a wider set of voices typically make better decisions, spot risks earlier, and retain talent longer. Even if the numbers were neutral, the case for dignity would still stand. When we treat people like adults, they will give you their best work.

Will there be failures? Absolutely, but that is perfectly alright, because that is where learning hides. People do not expect perfection from us as leaders; they expect repair. Change rarely spreads through grand speeches. Instead, it flourishes through a consistent string of unremarkable decisions that all point in the same direction. The calm correction when someone is interrupted. The deliberate choice to let the person closest to the work present their findings. These actions may seem "boring on a slide," but they are transformative in the long run. This is not a project plan with a kick-off and a close; it is simply the way we lead, every single day.

Avoiding Saviour Language

We must also avoid savior language, because it distorts the true picture. Women do not need saving. They need the same fair shot at growth and opportunity that any talent needs. If this sounds like basic management, well, that is what it is. Allyship is simply basic management applied with care to everyone, not just the usual suspects. When we do this, men benefit too. The person who dislikes noisy meetings will appreciate the new rules. The father who wishes to take parental leave will find it normal rather than suspect. The entire team breathes easier, and the culture improves for all.

Some will say this all "feels forced." Well, our answer should be plain: we force things constantly, anyway. Budgets are forced. Audit deadlines are forced. Quality standards are forced. We consciously choose what we are serious about. So, if we are serious about talent, we must be serious about creating the conditions that allow it to grow.

Moving Beyond Symbolic Gestures

If your Women's Month plan includes cupcakes and a pink banner, keep them; people often enjoy those gestures. But go beyond that and also make sure to move a budget line. The budget, after all, always tells the truth. If your diversity plan lives in a thick binder, it risks becoming a museum piece. Bring it into the day-to-day operation.

At the end of yet another Women’s Month, we are left not with guilt, not with a pep talk, and not with a mere checklist. We are left with a simple picture of adult leadership. We set the standard. We make fair decisions in real time. We notice patterns and we correct them without fuss. We back people publicly and coach them privately. We change the parts of the system we can actually touch. We do this without fanfare, because it is simply the job.

A Call to Action

We do not seek a louder story next August. We seek a truer one: rooms that change, teams that are fair, pay that respects the work, and people who feel safe enough to argue well. That is allyship without the drama. That is leadership without the stage. It is persistent, empathetic work that logically leads to stronger, fairer teams and ultimately, more resilient economies for all.

The women of 1956 showed us courage in action, and their echo calls us today to ally in small, meaningful ways. Imagine if we all leaned in; it would truly weave resilient economies that include everyone. South Africa has the heart for it.