Qualities and attributes of a majority ally

Do you actively promote and have a passion for diversity and inclusion? Do you support those who may be different to yourself and stand up to actively combat barriers to inclusion? If so, then you are an ally.

Anyone can be an ally.

Qualities

Your employer’s responsibility is to:

· Ensure that there is not just one ally in the business

· Connect majority allies through a forum or other way

· Listen to feedback from allies

· Respect the ally role as a voluntary, unpaid role that sits alongside your day job

Attributes

Allies will be diverse in what they bring to the role, though there are a number of attributes that an ally is likely to have:

Openness

Ability to:

1. Be objective
2. Listen
3. Lead by example

Be approachable

An appetite to develop knowledge on equality

Respect

To encourage and respect any contribution
To respect all opinions, religions, faiths, sexual orientation
To encourage supportive and respectful communication (verbal and written)
To celebrate achievements of others – be an ‘advocate of equitable treatment of all’

Personality

Ability to form encouraging and supportive relationships
To be respected and trusted by senior and junior staff alike
To have a passion for diversity and inclusion, and an appreciation of why it is important
To be ‘positively curious’ about what is the appropriate use of language when dealing with people
To be willing to challenge bigoted ‘banter’ and limiting statements

Flexibility

To encourage and support opportunities for flexible working
To ‘reverse mentor’ other senior staff who wish to contribute
Willingness to respect different viewpoints at any one time

Leadership

To raise awareness and understanding of the need for attitude change
To lead by example with a passion to make a difference
To be confident to speak up to senior management to remove ‘blockers’
To promote role models who have shown the way
To demonstrate best practice when dealing with people and issues
To help create an open and supportive culture for all
To encourage others to become allies (‘to cascade your passion’)
To show commitment to make tangible change – to be an ‘advocate’ of change
To support employee working groups focused on any characteristics of diversity