Karen Catlin: How to be a Real Ally

Allyship at work is how each and every one of us, on an individual level, can support and empower underrepresented groups to ensure everyone can thrive at work - and that only leads to more goodness for the company. Today, author, speaker, and inclusive workplace expert Karen Catlin and I discuss how to be a real ally, what allyship means, and a shocking new way to look at privilege in your life. She shares practical tips on how to be an ally in your everyday interactions, thus creating a more engaged, inclusive workplace.

Key Takeaways:

• Being an ally is very simple - it is using your position of privilege to create an opportunity for somebody else.
• Privilege doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard, it is just something we have because of the social groups we belong to. 
• You can have a ripple effect in your own company. Pick a couple of things and just get started, others will pick up those behaviors and act in a different way as well. 

"The first step to being a real ally is understanding that someone else’s situation may be different from yours, and you can’t discount it just because you’ve never experienced it yourself." —  Karen Catlin

About Karen Catlin, Author of “Better Allies”: After spending 25 years building software products and serving as a vice president of engineering at Macromedia and Adobe, Karen Catlin witnessed a sharp decline in the number of women working in tech. Frustrated but galvanized, she knew it was time to switch gears. Today, Karen is a leadership coach and an acclaimed author and speaker on inclusive workplaces. She is the author of three books:  "Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces," "The Better Allies™ Approach to Hiring,” and "Present! A Techie's Guide to Public Speaking."

Connect with Karen:  

Website: KarenCatlin.com

Twitter: twitter.com/betterallies & twitter.com/kecatlin

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kecatlin

Instagram: instagram.com/betterallies

Check out all of Karen’s books: BetterAllies.com
 

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

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