Creating a more equal workplace, where you feel like you can be yourself and will be valued for that, is going to take all of us. Research finds that unequal work environments —where employees dread going to work, don’t feel they can be honest with their manager, and may witness or experience harassment or discrimination — are the primary reasons workers quit their jobs. Approximately one in four employees dreads going to work because they do not feel safe, respected, or valued. Inequality creates exclusion and isolation, detrimentally impacting innovation, productivity, engagement, and retention. Allyship programs are one way to make employees aware of how inequality works and what they can do to solve it. For example, a 2018 study conducted by Business in the Community found that 33% of Black employees believe their ethnicity will be a barrier to their next career move, in stark contrast to just 1% of white employees. Allyship at work helps to bring the challenges of racism in organizations to the surface and importantly, how each of us can practice anti-racism.
On today’s episode Wade Davis, VP of Inclusion within the Product group at Netflix will be joining us on the show to discuss all things allyship.