Better Allies®FollowCode Like A Girl--ListenShareLast week, Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine and author of the upcoming book The Masters, made disparaging remarks about Women and Black musicians. As CNN reported, Wenner featured only white male musicians in his book, explaining in an interview with the New York Times:“The people had to meet a couple criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them,” he said, adding “Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level.” (Wenner has since said, “I made comments that diminished the contributions, genius and impact of Black and women artists and I apologize wholeheartedly for those remarks.”)Whether it’s an author selecting notable people to feature in a book, a panel moderator inviting experts to speak on a topic, a meeting organizer choosing colleagues to attend an important event, or a coworker recommending candidates to hire, homogeneity can happen all too easily. After all, we’re drawn to people like us.And as Wenner proved, we might not be interested in learning about and appreciating people from different backgrounds.As allies, let’s not settle for a lopsided view of who gets showcased for their expertise or contributions.Let’s notice who’s missing and call it out.Share this action on LinkedIn, or like it on InstagramIn a recent HR Dive article Toxic workplaces drive out POC leaders faster, reporter Caroline Covin summarized a report from The Courage Collective showing that people of color feel less safe speaking up without fear of repercussion. It even extends to the management level. “Whereas 84% of White managers feel like they can speak up confidently, only 50% of POC [people of color] managers feel that way.”Let’s face it. Privilege is often a key ingredient in cultivating professional Confidence — confidence that you can voice a dissenting opinion without retaliation, leverage your network to get a new job, or raise capital for a startup. Confidence that others will pay attention when you make a critical point at a meeting. Confidence that people will direct questions to you if you’re the expert in the room. Confidence that you’re getting paid equitably. Confidence that attendees at a networking social event will assume you’re qualified to be there and not part of the waitstaff. Confidence that people believe you landed your current role because of experience and potential, not solely because you’re a woman or a person of color. The list goes on.It’s up to those of us who hold positions of privilege to take responsibility for making changes that will help others be successful. Let’s utilize our confidence to create a more inclusive workplace where everyone can speak up and where everyone can thrive.One idea from the HR Dive article? Create more psychological safety so that people feel comfortable raising concerns.While increasing psychological safety is a complex topic, there are everyday actions we can take to improve it. For example, support people when they raise a dissenting opinion. If you agree, give a resounding “100% to Tonya’s point.” Or “I hadn’t considered that before; tell us more” when you’re not ready to give a whole-hearted endorsement.I spoke to a friend of a friend earlier this week. She is the only Black woman on her team, and she contacted me because of some discrimination she’s facing. As she told me what was happening, one concern stood out: She hasn’t had a one-on-one with her manager since July. Yet her manager has one-on-one meetings with everyone else on her team.This brought to life some research I quote in my keynotes — that a top microaggression reported by Black employees in corporate America is that their manager meets one-on-one with their team members but not with them. (Read more in Being Black In Corporate America from the Center for Talent Innovation.)During the 25 years I worked in tech, my managers always held one-on-one meetings with me. Often they were weekly, sometimes less frequent. Regardless, I relied on them to keep my manager informed, ask for advice, and get help removing roadblocks. I’m not sure how I could have done my job without them.Don’t be that manager.On LinkedIn, DEI pro Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano posted a helpful reminder:“Setting your gender targets at 50:50 for your #DEI program suggests #nonbinary people do not exist or do not matter to you. Don’t do this.”Given that roughly 3% of adults under 30 in the U.S. are nonbinary (2022 Pew Research Survey), and that 18% of Americans personally know someone who goes by gender-neutral pronouns (2018 Pew Research Survey), limiting gender target ratios to men and women may alienate nonbinary individuals and others who care about LGBTQ representation and rights.Take a look at your organization’s DEI goals. If your employee gender targets are not inclusive of nonbinary people, consider starting a conversation to update them.(Thanks to newsletter subscriber Lisa Arroyo Seiden for bringing Blanche-Sarellano’s post to my attention.)In honor of September being Women in Medicine Month, and because I’m speaking at the Women In Medicine Summit today, I’m offering a massive discount on the Kindle version of my latest book, Belonging in Healthcare. It’s just $1.99 on amazon.com and £1.99 on amazon.co.uk.That’s right. For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you’ll get hundreds of ideas and actions to take to be a better ally.This deal expires on September 28, 2023, so get your copy soon.Note: you don’t have to own a Kindle device to read this e-version. Amazon provides a free Kindle app for your phone, tablet, or computer.That’s all for this week. I wish you strength and safety as we all move forward.— Karen Catlin (she/her), Author of Better Allies® and Belonging in HealthcareCopyright © 2023 Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.Being an ally is a journey. Want to join us?😍 Follow @betterallies on Instagram, Medium, Threads, or X✉️ This content originally appeared in our newsletter. Subscribe to “5 Ally Actions” to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday📖 Read the Better Allies books🔖 Form a Better Allies book club👕 Get your Better Allies gear📣 Tell someone about these resourcesTogether, we can — and will — make a difference with the Better Allies® approach.----Code Like A GirlEveryday actions to create inclusive, engaging workplaces. Together, we can — and will — make a difference with the Better Allies® approach.Better Allies®inCode Like A Girl--1ayşe bilge gündüzinCode Like A Girl--7Python Code NemesisinCode Like A Girl--1Better Allies®inCode Like A Girl--Erin Watson, PhD--2Unbecoming--939Miyah Byrd--34Ronke BabajideinBitchy--33Lissa Rankin, MD--2Allie FunkinCounter Arts--9HelpStatusWritersBlogCareersPrivacyTermsAboutText to speechTeams