Breaking the bias: the role of male allies

In the week of International Women’s Day, we consider the important role that male allies can play in breaking the bias that women still face in the workplace. Male allies start by first acknowledging bias, are aware of the effect of their words, share work equitably, and are vocal in their support of gender equity.

This week, International Women’s Day was themed #BreaktheBias, asking how we can break the bias that women face every day and achieve genuine gender equity in all spheres of life, including the workplace.

And it is important to be vigilant and support gender equity because it may have taken a step backwards in the pandemic. Last year, Irish business representatives, Ibec, published a survey report highlighting the impact Covid had on women working for member organisations:

“20% of organisations had noticed a change in the position of women in their organisations over the past 12 months, citing changes such as increased pressure and stress, childcare responsibilities, and requests from women for worktime flexibility to accommodate childcare and/or eldercare.

… almost half of respondents (48%) said that more women than men had requested for changes to their working patterns to facilitate caring responsibilities. The survey also shows that 31% of respondents said that more of their female employees than their male counterparts had requested unpaid leave to facilitate caring responsibilities over the past 12 months.” ¹

As we are now putting the pandemic behind us, we want to recover some of the ground lost to this inequity. One way to do this is to encourage allyship – male allyship particularly – in the workplace, to make sure that everyone is on the same page and willing to support one another.

What is allyship?

From the perspective of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), an ally is someone who is in a position of power, privilege, part of the majority, but who takes actions to support those who are not in the same position. In this case, male allyship is the evident, vocal support of women in the workplace. Further, it is not just restricted to male senior management: any man in the workplace can be an ally, showing leadership in this way, from a new starter all the way to the top of the organisation.

How to be a male ally

Here are some starting points for being a male ally:

1. Acknowledge your bias  Bias may be deliberate, but most often it is unconscious, part of one’s cultural conditioning. The first step in breaking bias is to become aware of it, to acknowledge it – then it is much easier to address it. Go out of your way to challenge your bias, check your privilege, and assess how you view and interact with women.
2. Language  Words are important and can carry a lot of baggage. Think about how you and other men address and refer to the women you work with. (Is it appropriate to refer to an adult, professional woman as a ‘girl’?) If you’re a hiring manager, is the language you use in a job posting gendered? For example, are you using traditional, masculine-coded language to advertise a leader’s position? Make use of tools like the Gender Decoder to check your language.
3. Share the workload and the stage  Research has shown that women are more likely to volunteer for low-status tasks that need to be done but that do not benefit their promotability. ² If you are a manager, distribute such tasks more equitably rather than ask for volunteers.
   Give all colleagues the space to be heard in meetings or in presentations, making sure some colleagues are not dominating the conversation.
4. Sponsor and mentor  Experienced male leaders can play an important role in supporting women in their careers through active sponsorship and mentoring.
5. Speak up, be a visible and vocal ally  Actively show women you support them by:
   • Calling out sexist behaviour, like inappropriate jokes or remarks. Get into the habit of doing so, even when women are not around.
   • Call out other men when they are talking over women in meetings.
   • Publicly advocate for gender equity through social media, at town halls, team meetings.

By being an active supporter and promoter of gender equity, male allies can make a huge difference to workplace culture and inclusivity. If women feel they are being supported, they will thrive, leading to more productivity, staff attraction and retention, and all-round better business. Such an inclusive workplace will benefit everyone.

Sacha Brinkley and Michael Diviney
Advocacy & Voice