Supporting Inclusion Allies

• Race at Work Charter
• Race Equality
• Healthy_Communities
• Diversity and Inclusion

This Supporting Inclusion Allies factsheet contains brief details on practical ways that employers can support allies. It signposts to useful Business in the Community (BITC) resources. Supporting race inclusion allies in the workplace is principle six of the Race at Work Charter.

Allyship is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘active support for the rights of a minority or marginalised group without being a member of it’. In 2021, BITC added allyship questions to the Race at Work survey for the first time. The results, available to read in Race At Work 2021: The Scorecard Report, found that White employees would like more support from their employers to promote race equality and inclusion.

How employers can support inclusion allies

Some practical ways that employers can support inclusion allies;

• provide safe spaces for allies to share challenges and good practice ideas and stories
• provide support for allies with guidelines on active bystander actions and interventions
• provide clear policy guidance, setting out your organisation’s commitment to listen, support and act to enable allies to increase their impact and effectiveness.

The Race at Work Charter

All organisations want to recruit from the widest pool of talent and help them progress. It is key to future productivity and performance. Ethnic minority staff still encounter significant disparities in employment and progression¹. The government-sponsored Race in the workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review found that greater progress and positive outcomes are needed to ensure all organisations benefit from the wealth of diverse talent on offer.

seven actions to improve workplace equality

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RACE AT WORK CHARTER