Felicity and Suki are two people who have championed diversity and inclusion in business for almost forty years combined, and have been recognized for it by the Queen herself. Suki founded Audeliss and INvolve, which tackle representation in leadership teams and boardrooms and help to build inclusive workplace cultures, respectively. Felicity is an executive search expert, focusing on D&I; she also sits on the Board of the Women Business Collaborative and is co-Chair of their Advisory Council. Working with people at senior levels in business, they both know full well that such change and much of the work in any organization fall to teams run by mid-level managers, so they created this guide to help those employees. They know that if we don’t encourage the majority to take action on diversity and inclusion, then the pace of change will be incredibly slow. This book will give you the tools you need to accelerate positive change in your organization.
Suki Sandhu, OBE
“I personally tick many boxes: Indian, Sikh, gay, working-class, married to a white, Catholic, German man. In work and in life, I have had numerous experiences of racism and homophobia. With seven nieces and nephews all under the age of eight, I want them to enter the workplace knowing they have the same opportunities as their white and male colleagues. With the current pace of change, equity will not happen in their lifetime. We have to act now and we need your help.
Having been in the world of diversity and inclusion for over fifteen years, I’ve seen the challenges companies face day in day out. I think straight white men are part of the solution. In fact, most straight white men want to be part of the solution, but they just don’t know how and what action they’re supposed to take.”
Felicity Hassan
“My eyes were opened to the power of diversity in a corporate setting during my time at Bloomberg. I applaud Mike Bloomberg, for his unique stance on community and giving back, Peter Grauer, for the commitment he showed to holding the entire organization accountable for change, and Erika Irish Brown, for putting an easily framework in place to make that change happen. This was my first exposure to the importance of straight white men and the power that their Allyship brings.
Their example, along with that of my own family, truly opened my mind to the importance of speaking up and being part of the solution. I consider myself extremely fortunate in the privilege that my parents afforded me through my education and upbringing. I have faced my fair share of challenges, but they pale by comparison to others’. With that in mind, I wanted to write this book with Suki. I have a responsibility to my family, my husband, our children and the next generation as a whole – to ensure that we unlock the immense power of Allyship in the fight for diversity, equity and inclusion for all.”