THE CASE FOR MALE ALLYSHIP
The tech industry gathered at Zoom’s London headquarters to discuss male allyship and how to improve gender diversity in the sector as part of Women in Tech Week. Ledetta Asfa-Wossen reports.
gender-based discrimination and a lack of representation in leadership and technical roles. Allyship is a crucial factor in advancing gender equality within the industry. But what does that look like and how can it be fostered? Lee Chambers, founder and
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CEO of newly launched Male Allies UK, discussed the value of allyship in an age of social media and polarisation and recalled some of his personal experiences with racism and toxic masculinity. “Allyship comes from the old French word – alier – to combine, to unite and to bring together,” said Chambers who shared how an ally once helped him. Starting with a few home truths, he said: “The statistics don’t lie. There are more women leaving tech than there are joining. There are more women leaders leaving than there are moving into leadership.” With all the systemic barriers women face, Chambers noted it
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omen in tech often face unique challenges, including unconscious bias,
was not a beneficial picture for men either. “Education attainment for boys is falling year on year. Male deaths by
suicide and addiction
are rising and life satisfaction and expectancy for men are dropping. The current systems are not really working for anyone. We need to tackle these systemic issues together.” He highlighted many of the issues
that impact women in the workplace have an impact on men and that gender equality for women directly benefits men. Chambers also urged attendees to be respectfully curious about the journey of others and challenge norms.
WOMEN AT WORK Chambers cited research showing there’s a large disparity between how men and women feel at work in terms of inclusion, access to opportunities and recognition. Lack of diversity at senior management level means women’s experiences at work aren’t widely known or understood and so little to nothing is done to change the systems or behaviour. “Without training and
more women in leadership, these perception gaps will persist,” he said. Citing ‘Work With Me: The 8
blind spots between men and women in business’ by Barbara Annis and John Gray, Chambers shared that 81% of women feel some form of exclusion at work while 92% of men don’t believe they are excluding women. Making the business case for inclusive workplace cultures, he then described how gender equality positively impacts businesses and their bottom line. Chambers then invited a
mixed panel, including women in tech advocates, to share their experiences and discuss how male leaders can become allies in their organisations to help drive cultural change. The panel included Dave Grant, head of customer success at Zoom, Suki Fuller, The Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellows, Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates, Helen Hawthorn, head of solution engineering at Zoom and Samantha Niblett, MP for South Derbyshire and founder of Labour: Women in Tech.
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