Male allies can help women in the workplace feel more comfortable and encourage others to shift culture to become more inclusive, however, they can be hard to find.
Allies are those who are interested in disrupting the norms of the workplace in regards to equity, and are willing to act as collaborators with those who are more marginalized than themselves.
Here are three ways to spot an ally according to a May 4 Harvard Business Review article.
- Scan the workplace environment to get a sense of what the culture is like and what upward trajectories are there for women and underrepresented groups.
- Look out for which people take a stand or question pressurized situations in the workplace. Keep a note of patterns of this behavior to recognize those who continually raise their voices to speak out.
- Be aware that some people perform such allyship more so out of their own virtuosity as opposed to real belief in the matter at hand. Trust gut instinct regarding telling the difference between the performative allies and the genuine ones.