I see you! The science of signalling solidarity
REPORT
6 Nov 2020
I see you! The science of signalling solidarity

High-profile examples of woke-washing and green-washing have made many people sceptical of brands’ social activism, perceiving their efforts as profit-driven. Canvas8 spoke to Tulsi Achia, a social psychologist and allyship specialist, to learn how organisations can best signal their solidarity.

Tulsi Achia

Tulsi Achia is a psychologist and graduate researcher in social psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her research focuses on psychological and behavioural responses to group-based inequalities, with a specific emphasis on understanding how solidarity and ally behaviours work to both mitigate and further entrench social inequalities.

Dr. Aarti Iyer

Dr. Aarti Iyer is a social psychologist at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on responses to social status hierarchies, with a specific emphasis on the following: antecedents of individuals’ efforts to challenge inequality and injustice; improving organisations’ efforts to achieve social equality through affirmative action and equal opportunity programmes; and understanding how social identity processes shape disadvantaged group members’ efforts to navigate novel social contexts.

Helen Jambunathan

Helen Jambunathan is an associate insight director at Canvas8. An anthropologist and writer, she leads strategic cultural research across academia and industry. She is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth. Her work helps brands and organisations make more culture-connected decisions, and her analysis has been featured in media outlets including Bloomberg, The Guardian, and The Independent.