Driving change through effective allyship: insights from Carolyn Jawahar's journey

Carolyn Jawahar, Senior Manager in Internal Comms at Standard Chartered, spoke to myGwork about her journey into authentic allyship to the LGBTQ+ community. After witnessing homophobia first-hand at a young age, she made the decision to become the change she wishes to see.

Can you please introduce yourself and describe your role within your organization?  

Hello, I’m Carol, and my pronouns are she/her. I work with Standard Chartered as a Senior Manager in Internal comms & the Graduate Program. I am also the D&I lead for my function, and part of both the Global & India Pride employee resource groups.

How, when and why did you decide to be an LGBTQ+ ally?  

The moment of truth or my “Call to Action” happened during my MBA days. There was this really sweet, funny, and popular boy I had a huge crush on and when I finally worked up the courage to tell him about my feelings, couple of my classmates took it upon themselves to tell me he’s gay and slander him using the most derogatory and homophobic terms known to mankind. 

I just stood there speechless and shocked; imagine getting to know you will never have a shot with your crush, and then immediately listening to him being verbally torn apart and mocked by his classmates & so-called friends. In a second, I went from having my heart broken to feeling horrified for the boy I blushed at every time he walked by. What made it worse was when I tried to talk to him about it, he just looked at me with eyes filled with resignation and asked, “What can we do about it?” 

That’s when it hit me, what had I done about it? I had just stood there and listened in shocked silence at the horrific things being said about him; I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he was being targeted for being his true authentic self? Why should whom any of us choose to love matter? How does that affect us or put us down as a person? No one should be discriminated against for embracing their whole authentic self! And that’s when I decided, I will become the change I wish to see.

How do you think allies can be (more) vocal?  

Making a change or creating an impact begins with integrating what you stand up for/ your beliefs into your everyday life. It must become a part of you, one cannot be a “9-5 Ally” and switch off your beliefs when you leave work. Every opportunity, every chance, every space you can leverage, you must put what you believe in on a pedestal and turn the spotlight on it. 

I was given the wonderful opportunity of delivering a TEDx Talk recently, and I chose the topic of “Effective Allyship”. My talk titled “Cinderella, Glass Slippers, and if the shoe doesn’t fit don’t wear it”, delves into the importance of allyship, my personal journey and how each of us can make a change in our own unique ways. 

How does your organization facilitate the inclusion of allies with your LGBTQ+ network?  

I know this might sound a bit cliché, but I truly do love the Pride Employee Resource group (ERG) at Standard Chartered. From the moment I joined the ERG I have felt welcomed, and my ideas have been valued. Across the globe, our pride ERGs have always been made up of colleagues from the community and allies, there has never been a divide. 

We are trailblazers, award winners and most importantly a place of collaboration, trust, respect, and transparency. At Standard Chartered, you are valued for the skills, talent, zeal, and passion you bring to the table, nothing else has ever mattered. From being recognised at the Gobal Pride Summit last year, to being welcomed as a part the Global council in 2024, I have been recognised, valued, and appreciated for my contributions and efforts.

Have you been involved in any activities with your organization’s LGBTQ+ network, which ones? 

I have co-founded and been involved in many initiatives for Pride at the bank. Two of which are very close to my heart are: 

Co-founding the Bank wide “Pride Ambassador” program, where allies & colleagues from the community with lived experiences in a particular geography, act as buddies/safe spaces for colleagues newly joining/relocating to their respective locations. 

Leading a Pride led D&I quiz in collaboration with all other D&I pillars for my function this June. The event was held in 5 locations across China, India & Poland, and saw over 500 participants & Pride lanyards being distributed. It was a truly remarkable experience collaborating with volunteers from all our varied D&I pillars and working together to be agents of change.  

How can allies help create an inclusive workplace? 

While creating awareness, spreading knowledge, and breaking bias/myths are crucial steps, in my opinion & experience even the simplest steps can have profound effects. You never know who is looking for a safe space, or a person who can listen to them free of bias and judgement. Add pronouns to your signature, wear a pride lanyard or badge, join your company’s pride ERG, sign up for Pride related events; even though you may think it isn’t much, trust me it’s a great starting point and you can only grow from there.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an ally?  

An ally is someone who supports the LGBTQ+ community, educates themselves about their issues and concerns, and puts their hands up to be agents of change. The easiest and quickest way to take a step forward is to learn and equip yourself with knowledge, because we only fear what we do not know. 

Remember, not all allies have the same calling or are on the same journey to advocacy. If you can stop a friend or someone you know from making a homophobic joke or using a person’s sexual orientation as an insult, you are positively effecting change. If you stop consciously assigning stereotypical gender roles to people you meet and just accept them for who they are, the journey has already long begun. 

What has been your greatest achievement as an ally?  

While I am deeply grateful to have been given the opportunity to advocate for allyship through the world-renowned platform of TEDx, it is what has happened after that truly validated my journey of allyship. After my talk, I have had many people from both work and outside work reach out to me and tell me how what I said struck a chord in them and has impacted them in some way. 

The moment that has embedded itself deep into my heart was when a group of college girls approached me on the day of the TEDx talk as I was about to leave the venue. There were 4 of them with 3 from the community, and they came up to me nervously and told me my talk had made an impact with them and had given them hope for a more inclusive future. One girl broke down in tears and said she will never forget me and that both my talk & I are unforgettable as what I said had finally given her the courage to come out as a lesbian to her parents! She said my talk had made her feel accepted and proud of who she is for the first time in her life, and thanked me for being who I am. In that moment, I had tears in my eyes and my heart was filled to the brim. I firmly believe that if you can help even one person’s journey and make their life a little better, you have accomplished the biggest goal as an ally and this girl had validated me a million times over.