Episode 2 – Allyship with Dr Lynne Howells
Most people want to be good colleagues. Fewer feel confident stepping in when someone is talked over in a meeting, or when a student’s name is mispronounced on purpose.
In the second episode of Difficult Conversations, Dr Kike Ladipo and Dr Gez Williams talk to Dr Lynne Howells about allyship in higher education. Drawing on 30 years at the University of Leicester, Lynne explains why allyship is about removing barriers rather than giving anyone an advantage, and why the small everyday actions often matter more than big gestures. She talks about the fears that hold people back, from confrontation to using the wrong language, how people in senior roles act as gatekeepers to networks and opportunities, and what she learned when colleagues asked her to rethink the terms she used.
Lynne’s advice for anyone worried about getting it wrong is simple: listen first, stay curious, and if you make a mistake, apologise and learn from it. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re already an ally, or what being an active one would ask of you, this conversation is a good place to start.
Listen to the episode
About our guest
Dr Lynne Howells is the University of Leicester College of Life Sciences (CLS) Lead for Enterprise and Commercialisation, and manages the Institute for Precision Health and the Leicester Drug Discovery and Diagnostics team alongside the Medical Research Council’s Proof of Concept Impact Accelerator Account. Equity of opportunity has always been high on the agenda for Lynne, who sits on the CLS Race and Equality working group and has contributed to a number of successful Athena Swan submissions over many years. Ensuring that we equitably cultivate the talent of our workforce and student population is in everyone’s interest, enabling the very highest quality teaching and equitable research, and helping everyone to achieve their ambitions.
Useful links and resources
- Institute for Precision Health, University of Leicester
- Leicester Drug Discovery and Diagnostics (LD3)
- I-REACCH: Inclusive Research Environment Achieved through Culture Change
Timecodes
- 00:00 Welcome to Difficult Conversations
- 00:38 Introducing Dr Lynne Howells
- 01:51 What is an ally, and what does allyship mean?
- 03:06 Why allyship can be a difficult conversation
- 05:18 Active allyship versus performative allyship
- 07:26 Everyday examples of allyship that make a difference
- 09:42 Why allyship matters for inclusive research and education
- 12:14 How people in senior roles can use their influence
- 14:20 Getting the right voices into decision-making spaces
- 16:10 The biggest barriers to becoming an active ally
- 18:15 Advice for allies who are worried about getting it wrong
- 21:21 Allies for Change at the University of Leicester
- 21:56 How to start a conversation about allyship
- 23:18 What gives Lynne hope for higher education
- 24:13 Closing reflections from Kike
- 25:51 Credits
Difficult Conversations is hosted by Dr Kike Ladipo and Dr Gez Williams, and produced by Chaos Created for I-REACCH, a Wellcome-funded project at the University of Leicester.
