Allyship in Action

This week, we have a special guest, Amy Wright, Human Resources Leader at Milestone Corporation.  She has experienced our "Engaging Men as Allies" talk in many venues and formats and gives a glimpse behind the curtain as to what happens throughout the ally journey. As Amy shares her story of being with other HR professionals, her own leadership team, her full company, and then with women in the in...

This week's hot topic podcast has a special guest, Gretchen Schott, VP of Learning and Development at TrueU.  She has been an important ally to me personally, as well as in my business.  Together, we share a story of a candid conversation we had together about gender and religion and tips on building inclusive cultures. In this episode, you will learn: - How to lean into brave conversations about...

This week, Lean In published a study in partnership with Survey Monkey on What Women Are Up Against At Work.  What they found is an alarming 63% of men are uncomfortable working with women at work on basic tasks.   This is a problem.  We need men and women to work together now more than ever. In the post #metoo era, sexual harassment is still pervasive in organizations, while men think it is getti...

Today's hot topic came from an audience question in one of my talks this week.  What do you do when you have a non-ally? While, I would argue many men are allies in training or want to be an ally, what do you do when they truly do not want to engage as an ally? To address this, I explain what a microaggression is and why they matter, and share a framework for a candid conversation about bad behavi...

Netflix Documentary on Women in Politics is Getting Attention. At the start of 2019, women made unprecedented advances into politics in the United States.  There was a 15% increase overnight in women in Congress than in 2018.  Yet, the percentage of the total is only up from 20.6% to 23.7%. The women that have joined are experiencing criticism, which may be perceived as gender bias.  If men were t...

In this week's episode, we unpack the discomfort about privilege, and share Pete Buttigieg's (white gay man running for President) story on privilege.  We also share our take on what it means to lead like an ally and talk openly about the "P" word. I share my own discomfort talking about this topic and what I have done to lean into this tough conversation.  The privilege walk is an excellent way t...

This week, I had three interesting conversations with clients about gender equality and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 1)  I brought my daughter to work with me this week when speaking at a conference, and was met with unexpected applause from the audience.  Despite my nerves and apprehensions, I was so proud to have brought her to see Mama in action.  More on this experience in our "Ta...

Is your industry male-dominated?   Name an industry that is female-dominated... The usual answers are:  non-profit, health care, and education.  While women are employed at higher levels in these industries, they are not equally represented at a leadership level. While women make up 76% of teachers in the US, they are only 16% of university presidents and 52% of principals.  Women are 70% of the h...

Kyle Korver captured the world's attention as he led like an ally publishing an article  privilege about his experiences in the NBA with racism.  He advocates for himself and other leaders to be better.  We share our take on the story and ideas to lead like an ally.  Also, we take candid feedback from an ally on our #MeToo story last week and address the lack of gender equality in the AI industry....

With the recent allegations of Joe Biden violating women's personal spaces, it is a good time to take a perspective on where we are at with #MeToo in the workplace. This story serves as an example of what allies do - listen to learn - and what not to do - enter people's personal spaces that do not want to be touched. So, how do you discuss this at work?  In this episode, we unpack key strategies t...

We have two hot topics to share in this week's episode.  We're unpacking the gender spectrum as well as gendered language.  The words we use matter.  When we say "guys" and "girls," we send signals that those that are underrepresented do not belong.  Being inclusive as a leader requires us to address groups inclusively with words like "you all," "team," or "we."  Those words help everyone feel mor...

Two times this week clients stated that we need more women to be allies for women. Whenever a subject surfaces more than once, I have to dig in.  I get curious. We need more allies for women.  Women alone cannot solve this problem.  50% of the population will only solve 50% of the problem. So, why does this happen? The tug of war gender bias exists in many organizations.  The perception that there...

This week, I unpack the first female-led superhero movie from Marvel - Captain America. I discuss why this movie matters for women and young girls.  We have to see it to believe it.  And, it features people of color and white women as allies.  Powerful stuff.  No spoilers, promise! My call to action is to have discussions in the workplace about the film - what people thought of it, what it means f...

International Women's Day is March 8 every year.  What did you do to celebrate? My clients had women led panels, had a podcast or video discussions, Lunch & Learns, or invited me to speak. Yesterday, I spent the day with my clients at Caterpillar, Zoetis, my very own Women's Leadership Academy, and wrapped up with Indiana Society of Association Executives on "Bolstering Your Authentic Confidence,"...

Season three will bring you our point of view on newsworthy topics that affect equality in the workplace. In this episode, we share the inspiration for the shift.  You will meet my podcast thinking partner, Jen Edds.  And, we drop some knowledge on what happens when you do not talk about these things in your workplaces. Every episode this season is 5-10 minutes.  You can listen and learn quickly. ...

Here is my diversity story, along with tools to help you share your story. I had the opportunity to give a 5-minute talk on diversity storytelling this month – 200+ people and auto advancing slides – I was nervous!  The subject was diversity storytelling.  I believe everyone has a diversity story and as leaders, we all need to share them.  In this episode, you will hear the live talk, and get tool...

While we need more male allies, we also need more women to be allies for women.  Denise and Eleanor personify allies for women.  Through their speaking on women's empowerment, both encourage women to share their voices more. Denise Herd, visionary leader of Herd Strategies, helps women find and own their voices.  Her candid conversation highlights the role of gender in conflict, and how allies (wo...

Being an ally can be lonely.  In this episode, Eric Brotman and Sheryl Brown both share their candid conversation of being the one of the only men or women in a business setting.  The finance industry, as with most industries, is not gender diverse, yet Eric and Sheryl have both leveraged their voices to make a positive impact on their industry.  Eric joined a women in finance organization as an e...

Our allies come in all shapes and forms.  They can be mentors, sponsors, advocates, champions, or sounding boards.  This personal story will touch your heart as a son and his mother share how they became allies for one another, and how that influences their views of gender equality in the workplace today. Key lessons you will learn from their ally journey: -  Be kind to others.  Kindness as an all...

In this episode, we feature two very different leaders.  That is, based on gender, race, industry, and geography.  Yet, their perspectives are eerily similar on diversity. Danielle Vetter is a Diversity & Inclusion leader at a Midwest technology and engineering company.  Peter Khoury was raised in the Middle East and now lives on the West Coast practicing  presence and public speaking training and...

Jason and Kendra Beutler are leaders of Edusource, a technology company that believes in taking advantage of young talent.  As they share, young people can help solve the talent gaps in technology.  And, they have a proven track record of investing in young people, which in turn, has helped them solve complex problems for their organization and clients. Together, they share what it is like to lead...

Thought leaders in mentoring and networking join this episode to share stories and lessons for men as allies and those looking to diversify their networks. Dr. David Smith, co-author of Athena Rising:  How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and gender expert, shares his candid conversation giving a peer constructive feedback.  In his story, he confronts benevolent sexist behavior with one of his peer...

Candid conversations are tough to have.  It is easy to skirt around them.   Maybe for the short-term, but this is detrimental for long-term success.  This episode's guests share how to engage in them safely, and productively. Caroline Dowd-Higgins outlines keys to a candid conversation through her own candid conversation story.  By inserting herself into an uncomfortable situation to create a safe...

What does diversity mean to you? Our guests this episode are leaders inside their organizations on diversity and inclusion.  They describe diversity as a mindset – being open to others' ideas, listening, and asking questions. D (diversity) is the mix & I (inclusion) is making the mix work.  As Vernon describes, that means having diverse interview slates, leaders as advocates for diversity, diversi...

We all seek comfort in what we do.  Who we talk with, and what we talk about.  Today's guests challenge that norm in a big way.  They share their stories of how they have leaned into the candid conversations.  A must-have for successful leaders and allies of diversity. As a senior Human Resources leader in technology, Emily Wolfington removes obstacles for her team to do their best work.  Having e...