An ally is for life, not just for PRIDE month

It’s that time of year where the internet becomes a sea of rainbow flags. While their hearts might be in the right place, without a longer-term commitment by firms to creating inclusive workplaces and embedding allyship at the heart of firms, a token flag isn’t cutting it.

Firms need to look at their commitment to their LGBTQIA+ employees and colleagues and take steps to ensure they feel supported, accepted and safe.

What is allyship?

Allyship can be one of those phrases which is used in conversations, without those using it fully understanding its meaning.

Deloitte define allyshipin organisations in three ways:

Being an ally means being emotionally intelligent, modelling inclusive leadership and being aware of your own identity along with the intersectional identities of those around you
Allyship shouldn’t be an add-on, it’s an everyday behaviour and an expectation that every organisation should demonstrate
It’s supporting others even if your personal identity isn’t impacted by a specific challenge or situation

In other words, being an ally is looking out for and defending those around you, even if you aren’t going to be worse off. It’s an expectation of the modern workplace, part of the culture and should be the norm. It’s leading by example and treating everyone how you want to be treated.

When it’s put like that, the question is, why isn’t everyone an ally?

Why does allyship matter in the workplace?

The average UK worker spends between 1,820 and 2,080 hours at workevery year. Work should be a safe space, somewhere we’re truly accepted and supported.

That’s why allyship in the workplace is so important. It’s a stepping stone to creating a psychologically safe place where everyone can thrive.

Often when we talk about inclusivity we focus on gender or ethnicity, but sexuality and personal identity have to be included in those plans. It’s not enough for an organisation to flood their logo with the rainbow once a year, allyship has to become part of the culture, and that begins at the top.

As a leader you need to be inclusive, showing up for your LGBTQ+ employees and colleagues every single time to allow them to be their whole selves at work, and demonstrating your true commitment to being an ally.

Research by Stonewallfound that nearly a third of LGBTQ+ employees didn’t feel they could be themselves at work. For those individuals, having to go to work every day and hide a significant part of themselves is damaging to their mental health, their happiness and their engagement at work.

When you look into it further, it transpires that over half of that group have experienced discrimination including verbal or physical abuse and exclusion.

ESG is an increasingly important benchmark for firms, psychological safety and allyship fit into the social aspect of those goals. Directly impacting social responsibility and inclusion, which in turn can be a contributing factor to business performance and employee engagement.

Of course, there’s the moral reasons as to why we should all be allies, but there’s also a clear business case from having a diverse and engaged workforce.

Any firm that believes themselves to be committed to inclusivity, needs to ensure their policies and actions include the LGBTQ+ community if they want to call themselves an ally.

Steps to becoming a true ally

Maybe PRIDE month has highlighted the issue of inclusivity and allyship in your workplace and you want to take proactive steps, where do you start?

Education

The starting point is to educate yourself and those around you on the topic. While you could certainly ask your LGBTQIA+ colleagues to share their experiences (if they are comfortable doing so) to understand their stories and struggles, a true ally will also take ownership of their own learning.

For those in senior positions, rolling out education and training opportunities throughout the workplace will help create a baseline level of knowledge and open people’s eyes to their role in creating an inclusive workplace.

Through education programmes you can identify your own biases and assumptions and begin to challenge your own behaviour and actions. Without this awareness you might have the best intentions but go about it in the wrong way.

Any workplace that is truly committed to inclusivity of all groups needs to start with awareness and education.

Being able to roll out a baseline level of knowledge and challenge everyone’s preconceived ideas provides a foundation to build on.

Active listening

Everybody has a different experience of the same situation. Nowhere is that more true than in the workplace.

You only have to look at the power of reverse mentoring to see how effective it is to bring together different people and have them share experiences and challenges. Actively listening and creating opportunities for sharing and community are key ways to bring allyship into the workplace.

Focusing on what someone else is saying and their emotions, thoughts and feelings will build on your education and could shape next steps. For active listening to be honest and beneficial to all you need to create a safe environment where people are happy to show their vulnerability.

This can be done through formal channels such as peer to peer support groups or it could be informal chats. In fact, having both formal and informal opportunities will help create two way conversations that everyone benefits from.

Say something

Those in senior leadership roles have a voice when others don’t. That means you need to use your privilege and call out unacceptable behaviour.

If we go back to Deloitte’s definition it includes supporting others even if your identity isn’t in jeopardy. The best way to do that is to create mechanisms to report and act on unacceptable behaviour, microaggressions and discriminatory actions.

With those channels in place, others are able to use their voices and over time there will be strength in numbers, creating a foundation of allyship for all.

Show allyship year-round

Nothing says that you aren’t an inclusive workplace more than paying lip service. Every PRIDE month the internet is awash with organisations turning their logos rainbow without any thought about what that means.

Allyship isn’t something you can pick up and put down. It needs to run through every facet of the business. From recruitment practices to onboarding to support initiatives to available benefits to line management and everything in between.

LGBTQ+ should be just as integral to your DEI plans as gender, race, and age. Not only is it the morally right thing to do, but from a business perspective those firms where allyship is deep-rooted reap other benefits.Employees are 50% less likely to leave, they’re also 56% more likely to improve their performance.

At Ambition, we’re doing what we can, we’re taking small steps and trying to move in the right direction ourselves. Remember, every big change starts with a small step, so make the first move.

In the modern workplace inclusivity needs to mean that, inclusive to all, including the LGBTQ+ community. If you’re in a senior position in your firm, use that position to drive change, to make allyship the norm and to ensure that you’re committed for the long term, not just for PRIDE month.

About the author

With over 25 years of experience leading high-performing recruitment teams, Nicky Acuna Ocana is a dynamic leader in the recruitment industry. As Regional Managing Director for the US, UK, and Europe at Ambition, she oversees a team of specialist recruiters dedicated to connecting top talent with professional services firms.

Her teams focus on niche areas: the US division specialises in Legal Marketing & Business Development recruitment, while the UK & Europe team excels in placing professionals within Business Services functions within Legal, Practice and Consultancy.

Passionate about leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and talent retention, Nicky is a sought-after keynote speaker. She frequently presents at industry conferences, sharing insights on recruitment trends, hiring strategies, retention best practices, and DEI in the workplace.

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