Allyship

The practice of non-disabled people (or people without a specific disability) actively supporting disabled colleagues by advocating for accessibility, following accommodation norms, and helping identify and address barriers. In accessibility contexts, allyship includes actions such as using back-channels to remind others about accessibility practices, proactively providing alt text or descriptions, announcing one's name before speaking for the benefit of blind or caption-reliant participants, and checking in on colleagues who may be experiencing hidden access barriers. Effective allyship requires balancing proactive support with respect for disabled people's autonomy, and is complicated by power dynamics where junior team members may feel uncomfortable correcting senior colleagues who break accessibility norms.