Equality is an important yet oft-ignored value in these modern times. Not valuing equality often spills into the workplace, creating a chaotic and toxic work environment that is not healthy for the employees and the company as a whole. Diversity is lost and respect is forgotten. Employee voices are not heard and skills are overlooked due to this loss of equality.
Salesforce aims to restore equality inside workplaces and in everyday life through their Allies system. Find out in this brief article what an ally is and how one can become an ally.
The Salesforce Ally Defined
Salesforce defines an ally as a person providing support to members of communities who are victims of inequality. The ally can be any person; he doesn’t necessarily need to belong or identify to the community he’s supporting. Allies are invaluable assets in a company because they fight for equality and chose to respect, support, and stand up for their underrepresented colleagues.
How Allies Are Made
The Salesforce Ally Journey has four key actions to help employees become courageous and genuine allies for their underrepresented colleagues:
- Ask
Becoming an ally starts by becoming curious about their colleagues. They sincerely inquire about a community’s lived experiences. Allies can learn more by chatting with their colleagues, reading books, watching films and documentaries, and meeting up with employee resource group members or leaders.
- Listen
Armed with basic knowledge about their supported groups, the ally now starts practicing empathic listening. He listens to their colleagues as they narrate their unique lived situations. He doesn’t respond, but instead reflects, digests, and empathizes with the experiences of others.
- Show Up
The ally now feels courageous and empowered to show up for them. He starts to appear on meetings and events meant for his supported group. An ally can also show his support in other ways such as donating for a cause or fundraising for an underrepresented team.
- Speak Up
Allies are then encouraged to courageously speak up on behalf of and for their underrepresented colleagues. They can do so by speaking up during inclusive meetings, taking immediate action against discriminatory acts, and attending events such as Salesforce’s Annual Racial Equality Summit.
Summing It All Up
Salesforce runs an ally system to help its employees promote equality inside and outside the workplace. Allies are employees who courageously stand up for their colleagues. They go through a four-step journey that includes learning experiences through asking, listening, speaking up, and showing up. All these they do for the sake of championing equality in the workplace and beyond.