One of the recommendations in AWESOME’s recently released 2019 Action Agenda: “Seven Smart Moves to Make Bigger Waves for Women’s Leadership” is to develop allies who are men. Even men who want to help women advance often don’t really know what to do – and that’s where this advice on fastcompany.com may help.
The article quotes Jennifer McCollum, CEO of Linkage, a leadership development firm, as saying “While many men claim lack of authority to ‘change the system,’ nothing could be further from the truth.” She suggests that once a man is an ally, helping him become a gender “advocate” will accelerate the path toward gender equality.
The author of the article, Stephanie Vozza, goes on to suggest 10 ways men can advocate for women in their organization. She offers additional explanation for each.
- NOTE “THE NARROW BAND” (This refers to the situation where a woman is considered “aggressive” for communicating the same way a “confident” man does.)
- DELIVER HONEST FEEDBACK
- ENCOURAGE FEMALE COWORKERS TO APPLY FOR PROMOTIONS
- TAKE YOUR PARENTAL LEAVE
- STOP INTERRUPTING
- MENTOR OR SPONSOR WOMEN
- DON’T BE A SILENT BYSTANDER
- MAKE SURE WOMEN GET THE CREDIT THEY DESERVE
- SHARE THE OFFICE “HOUSEKEEPING”
- SHARE SOCIAL CAPITAL
This last point encourages men to recommend women as speakers or panelists on topics in which they’ve acquired expertise.