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One of the most critical factors in women’s career success and breaking through barriers for gender diversity, is the prevalence and effectiveness of male allies.
Harvard Business Review defines male allies as members of an advantaged group committed to building relationships with women, expressing as little sexism in their own behaviour as possible, understanding the social privilege conferred by their gender, and demonstrating active efforts to address gender inequities at work and in society.
Men stepping up alongside women as effective allies are a critical piece of the puzzle to enable more equal workplaces for all. In fact, we can’t do this without them.
The ally continuum model from Jennifer Brown is a model that can be applied to any type of allyship, and is highly relevant for this work around male allyship. Take a moment and think about where you lie on this continuum.
20 Real and Practical Ways You Can Take Action to Become an Effective Male Ally
1. Book a meeting with a woman in your team every month to discuss the challenges she’s facing and how you can support her.
2. Speak to a peer about who in their team you can sponsor.
3. Identify women you can mentor in your team and book specific times to mentor them.
4. Actively listen to women in your team with curiosity, and check your understanding by asking questions to clarify what she means.
5. Amplify women’s points in meetings.
6. Send an email each week congratulating a female colleague on a win.
7. Praise that female colleague to other colleagues.
8. Recommend a female team member or peer for a highly visible project.
9. Look at the gender balance on pay across your team and if there is a gap, take active steps to close it.
10. Look at the non-promotable workload in your organisation and ensure it is evenly distributed across genders.
11. Educate yourself and read more about gender inequality.
12. Have conversations with the women in your team about their lived experiences of gender bias and inequality.
13. Call out inappropriate behaviour when you see it. For example, speak up when you notice a male colleague interrupting a female colleague in a meeting.
14. Identify women that can be promoted in your team and advocate for their promotion.
15. Find opportunities for women in your team to represent the team in meetings or at speaking events.
16. Look at where you can bring in bias interrupters at all stages of the employment process: recruitment, performance reviews, promotions, and remuneration.
17. Spend time reflecting on your own power and privilege. As you look back over your career, can you identify where you have benefited from that privilege? Do you recognise opportunities that you may have had access to that weren’t available to women or members of other groups?
18. Hire a coach to work with you specifically on developing your effectiveness as a male ally.
19. Sponsor women in your team to attend external workshops and training programs.
20. Join a Male Allies program.
