Better Allies®FollowCode Like A Girl--ListenShareMy news feeds are filled with stories about the war between Hamas and Israel, violence and threats against Jewish and Muslim people, and increased security measures to protect members of these groups. Perhaps yours are, too.As organizational psychologists Jane E. Dutton et al. wrote in Leading in Times of Trauma for the Harvard Business Review, tragic circumstances “can cause unspeakable pain not only for the people directly involved but also for those who see misfortune befall colleagues, friends, or even total strangers. That pain spills into the workplace.”They also wrote, “You can’t eliminate such suffering, nor can you ask people to check their emotions at the door.” And they encourage people to take action, however small, to ease others’ pain.If you haven’t already done so, check in with your coworkers, let them know you’ve been paying attention to the news, and ask what support they might need. A flexible deadline on an upcoming project? Permission to work from home to be closer to their children coming home from school in the afternoon? A link to your organization’s employee assistance program for counseling support? Something else?And then help make it happen.Here’s one more suggestion. A newsletter subscriber emailed me, “With recent stories of hate crimes increasing, we should reassure colleagues that they have a safe space at work. Leaders should remind employees that any sort of hate speech or behaviors in the workplace will not be tolerated.” 🙏Share this action on LinkedIn, or like it on Instagram and Threads.Do you intentionally ignore, dismiss, or exclude staff members? Even just a little?This question comes from the Am I a Bully? self-assessment tool by the Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying Resources. After seeing it on social media, I did this assessment in honor of this week’s “Workplace Bullying Awareness Week.”While I try to be a thoughtful, caring person, the prompts made me reflect on the many years I spent in tech workplaces. And the many times I could have, and should have, done better.It also brought up memories of when I was on the receiving end of bullying, even though I didn’t know to call it that at the time.As I read that question above, I thought of times I was excluded. For example, when my boss invited one of my direct reports to his holiday party, but not me. When the CEO invited all of the VPs and SVPs to a 3-day offsite at his vacation compound, except for another woman and me. When a department leader wouldn’t share his strategic plan, even though he knew I needed it to finalize my budget.Here’s the thing. I’ve heard many similar (and worse) stories from others. It’s infuriating.To combat exclusion, let’s look out for it and take action. One simple thing we can do is review the meeting invitations we receive and point out anyone missing.Let’s also not intentionally ignore, dismiss, or Exclude Staff Members — even just a little.A recent episode of Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” (a series about an early morning TV show) addressed systemic racism in the workplace in a powerful way. Here’s what happened.A leaked email revealed that their board president (Cybil) referred to a Black job candidate (Chris) using a racial slur, calling her “Aunt Jemima.” Chris, now an anchor on the show, interviewed that leader on-air about the email.Chris asked Cybil, “Did you think I wasn’t qualified? Was that it?”Cybil responded, “At that time, I did not believe you were qualified.” She then corrected herself, saying, “Let me rephrase. You were untested.”Chris then asked, “Were you aware that I was cue tested more than any other person who has ever anchored this show? That I had to have eight different approval meetings in addition to the strategy discussions about my hair?(You can watch a clip of this episode on YouTube.)Allies, this is a stunning example of “prove it again” bias: Requiring a higher standard of evidence from an underrepresented candidate that they are capable and qualified to do the job.When you spot this bias, point it out. For example, “We always hold two cue tests for candidates. Why do we need to do so many more for this person?”In last week’s newsletter, I summarized findings about the experience of women with disabilities from the most recent Women in the Workplace report. Here’s another key insight from the study about women in general:“The broken rung remains the biggest barrier women face. For the ninth consecutive year, women face their biggest hurdle at the first critical step up to manager. This year, for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women were promoted.” Not surprisingly, the ratio was worse for women of color.The study’s authors say bias is a strong driver of the broken rung. “Women are often hired and promoted based on past accomplishments, while men are hired and promoted based on future potential.”To address the broken rung, they recommend sharing reminders of how to avoid bias before a performance review cycle.What do these reminders look like? Here’s one example.In his book Work Rules!, Laszlo Bock described what they did at the start of Google’s calibration meetings: Everyone received a simple handout describing common errors and biases that assessors make and how to fix them. Simply reminding managers of these biases was enough to eliminate many of them. You can download Google’s “unbiasing performance review” checklists from their re:Work website.Wednesday was International Pronouns Day, celebrated each year on the 3rd Wednesday of October. Its goal is “to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.” Doing so is especially important for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.As Chay Brown with TransActual sent me, “Share your pronouns in your e-mail signature and at the start of meetings — even if people rarely/never get your pronouns wrong, by sharing yours you’re helping people who do need to share their pronouns less like the ‘odd one out.’ You’re also signalling to your trans colleagues that you’re a safe and inclusive colleague.”I’ll add that you can do this on LinkedIn, too. Go to your profile page, click the pencil icon to edit your intro, and select your pronouns.Brown also recommends speaking out when you witness transphobia in the workplace. They explained, “If transphobia goes unchallenged, it’ll be more likely to happen again.”p.s. Did you know this year’s Miss Universe pageant will feature two trans women? Miss Portugal Marina Machete and Miss Netherlands Rikkie Kollé. Read more on CNNThat’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, Threads, Medium, or X/Twitter. Or follow Karen Catlin on LinkedIn✉️ 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--Aleksandra Liutikova aka Java SenoritainCode Like A Girl--24ayşe bilge gündüzinCode Like A Girl--11Better Allies®inCode Like A Girl--1𝓦., 𝓟𝓱𝓓--117Ted Bauer--Joanna HendersoninHeart Affairs--20Paul Fuhr--Shari LopatininMiddle-Pause--65Jennifer Moorman BolanosinModern Women--16HelpStatusAboutCareersBlogPrivacyTermsText to speechTeams