Global Leadership

The case for male allyship

by Ledetta Asfa-Wossen | Oct 22, 2024

The tech industry gathered at Zoom’s London headquarters to discuss male allyship and how to improve gender diversity in the sector as part of Women in Tech week.

Women in tech often face unique challenges, including unconscious bias, gender-based discrimination, and a lack of representation in leadership and technical roles.

Allyship is a crucial factor in advancing gender equality within the industry, but what does that look like, and how can it be fostered?

Lee Chambers, founder and CEO of newly launched Male Allies UK, discussed the value of allyship in an age of social media and polarisation and recalled some of his personal experiences with racism and toxic masculinity.

“Allyship comes from the old French word – alier – to combine, to unite and to bring together,” said Chambers who shared how an ally once helped him.

Starting with a few home truths, he said: “The statistics don’t lie. There are more women leaving tech than there are joining. There’s more women leaders leaving than there are moving into leadership.”

With all the systemic barriers women face, Chambers noted it was not a beneficial picture for men either.

“Education attainment for boys is falling year on year. Male deaths by suicide and addiction are rising and life satisfaction and expectation for men is dropping – the current systems are not really working for anyone. We need to tackle these systemic issues together.”

He highlighted many of the issues that impact women in the workplace have an impact on men and that gender equality for women directly benefits men. Chambers also urged attendees to be respectfully curious about the journey of others and challenge norms.

Women at work

Chambers cited research showing there’s a large disparity between how men and women feel at work in terms of inclusion, access to opportunities, and recognition.

A lack of diversity at senior management level means women’s experiences at work aren’t widely known or understood, and so little to nothing is done to change the systems or behaviour. “Without training and more women in leadership, these perception gaps will persist,” he said.

Citing Work With Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men and Women In Business by Barbara Annis and John Gray, Chambers shared that 81% of women feel some form of exclusion at work, while 92% of men don’t believe that they are excluding women. Making the business case for inclusive workplace culture, he then described how gender equality positively impacts businesses and their bottom line.

Opening the floor, Chambers invited a mixed panel including women in tech advocates to share their experiences and discuss how male leaders can become allies in their organisations and help drive cultural change.

The panel

Dave Grant, Head of Customer Success, Zoom

Suki Fuller, The Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellows, Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates

Helen Hawthorn, Head of Solution Engineering, Zoom

MP Samantha Niblett, South Derbyshire and Founder of Labour: Women in Tech

On allyship

Dave Grant, Head of Customer Success, Zoom

“None of us have got to the stage we have without someone in our corner. On our own, we are nothing, together we’re more powerful. If you get the opportunity, try and open doors for people who can’t open them themselves. Someone said to me once: be the leader you once needed. That stayed with me.”

MP Samantha Niblett, South Derbyshire and Founder of Labour Women in Tech

“I have a huge respect for when someone clocks the quiet or struggling person in a meeting and creates a space for them to speak and be heard. When I see a man do that, I think those are the sort of men that have helped me on my journey and that inspire me in my career.”

Helen Hawthorn, Head of Solution Engineering, Zoom

“Most women tend to be intensely loyal. I wasn’t loyal. I wanted to talk about money and knew I was good at my job. It wasn’t just about being treated well. A male colleague once gave me a heads up when I was being underpaid and I really appreciated that. We need to do that more. To me, male allyship includes someone telling you when you might be being paid less than you should be. I think that allyship becomes particularly important the more senior you get.”

On building a career in tech

Suki Fuller, The Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellows, Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates

“I have never been afraid of saying something wrong. I’ve always been afraid of saying something right, being an intelligence analyst taught me that. I’ve always questioned everything in front of me. In my career, having the support of male allies and being given the room and confidence to ask and be fearless has been important. I really cannot stress the importance of questioning things. When you feel a niggle, ask why. If you feel it, it’s very likely someone else is thinking the exact same thing but doesn’t have the courage to ask why is this the way it is?”

Dave Grant, Head of Customer Success, Zoom

“Be ready and willing to get it wrong and put yourself forward. Be brave. It might not work the first time, in fact it probably won’t but it doesn’t matter. It just means your next attempt will be better. ”

On navigating leadership

Helen Hawthorn, Head of Solution Engineering, Zoom

“Going into leadership is something I didn’t initially think to do. I was in charge of eight guys in my early twenties. I had no idea what I was doing. But most people get put into management without any training. I thought they think I’m going to mess up, so I may as well give it a go. The first year in management was probably the worst year of my life, although I liked telling people what to do. I made some mistakes early on. I made some great decisions. I didn’t mind making the mistakes, though. Once I figured the mistake out, I would move on to the next problem.

I remember having a great manager early on, all my managers have always been male in tech and most my colleagues in fact. It’s shameful, but it’s really difficult to find technical female solution engineers. I never recognised it as male allyship at the time but that was male allyship. He brought me into everything, and sort of showed me the difference between just management and leadership. He invited me to meetings I wasn’t even invited to, so I could come in and listen. He also knew I didn’t sit quietly and listen. I was always speaking out.”

MP Samantha Niblett, South Derbyshire and Founder of Labour Women in Tech

“There’s often a defining difference between men and women. I think Sheryl Sandberg wrote about this in Lean In, women will often look at a job and not apply unless they meet every single job requirement but if men don’t have all the requirements, they’ll go for it regardless. The thing to remember is that most of us are winging it. As a 44-year-old woman, I love having the experience of I don’t know it, yet. But I will. Or if I don’t know it, that’s OK, I’ll find out from someone who does.”

Did you know?

48% of womenfeel appreciated at work79% of menfeel appreciated at work

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