�Welcome!���CHS LGBTQIA+ Network��Pride Month, 2025.
�Allyship in Action: From Performative to Powerful��A Talk on LGBTQIA+ Allyship in Healthcare���Andrea Knowles (She/Her)�����
Introduction
• Former nurse, now Director of Staff Equality Networks
• Advocate for inclusion across race, gender, disability and sexuality
• I don't do tick boxes. I do change.
Allyship isn’t Optional
Risk | Bullying and Harassment | Allyship | Compassion |
LGBTQIA+ patients face real risk | Queer staff face bullying, erasure, burnout | Safety, trust, retention | Compassion isn’t selective |
Interesting facts�Allyship Is Earned, Not Claimed�
❌ Ally is not a self-appointed title
✅ It’s earned through action, consistency and inconvenience
Yes, Even in our Community
• Privilege doesn’t disappear at Pride
• Pass the mic
• Expand your spaces
• Stay in the room after mistakes
Black Queer Folks: We Must Show Up Too��
• Anti-transness, classism, femmephobia exist
• Respectability ≠ allyship
• Intersections over ego
What Allyship Looks Like in Healthcare�
Don’t assume | Challenge | Educate | Advocate | Celebrate |
Performative Vs. Powerful
Calling out/in
Policy change
Year-round presence
Vocal
Rainbow badge only
Social media posts
Pride-only support (Rainbow-washing)
Silence in the face of disparity
How Allyship Saved My Life
One cardiologist believed me. He stayed curious.
He followed up. I never heard him call himself an ally. He didn’t have to.
So… What Will You Do Next?�
• What will you challenge?
• What policy will you push for?
• How will people know you're an ally (without you saying it)?
Questions & answers
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Thank you!
LGBTQIA+ Pride Month