Male Advocates & Allies: Helping Create Inclusive and Highly Productive Technology Workplaces
Challenge
Increasing diverse participation and inclusion in technology workplaces is not a women’s issue. It is a business issue and a human issue, and everyone stands to benefit – including the company, as diverse perspectives improve innovation and competitiveness. Still, most research over the past two decades has focused on women.
Actions
Since 2013, NCWIT has published a wealth of freely accessible, research-based resources on male advocates and allies, and on their role in promoting gender diversity in technology workplaces. This includes a study of what motivates men to become allies and why majority group advocates are critical to changing the current climate and systems; tips for identifying male advocates; tips for increasing advocacy; and a toolkit to help companies set the stage for male/majority group advocate/ally efforts and guide advocates in taking action.
Outcomes
While disparities in access, representation, and participation in tech remain, we want all hands on deck working on the problem. It is our hope that the research and resources provided by NCWIT can help build increased understanding so that we all can work toward increasing diverse participation and inclusion in technology workplaces as advocates together.
Contact
Lucy Sanders
Quote
Top leadership support is critical to changing an organization’s culture. When organizations treat diversity like their other critical business initiatives, then real change happens. The CEO Action Pledge drives home that point and gives leaders a solid platform from which they can publicly commit to diversity, share their own initiatives, and learn from others.