An ally is someone who is not a member of an underrepresented group but who takes action to support that group to help make their workplace more diverse and inclusive for all.
For workplaces to become truly inclusive it is up to people who hold positions of privilege to be active allies and to take responsibility for making changes that will help others be successful.
Allies at all levels can take action with simple, everyday efforts that make a real difference and in this series, we highlight some things that you can do to be an ally and to support your colleagues from underrepresented groups.
How to ensure your policies are disability and neuro-inclusive
Having inclusive policies in place doesn’t just benefit the employee but the whole firm. An inclusive policy helps attract and retain diverse and top-performing employees and creates a positive workplace. By looking at your policies through a disability lens it will help create an environment that considers the diverse needs of disabled individuals.
Here are some things that you can do to make sure that you have an inclusive policies:
- Consider all your workplace policies with a disability lens to ensure that they are inclusive. In particular you should consider policies that have a direct impact on disabled employees such as absence policy, workplace adjustments policy, flexible working policy, premises policies, accessibility policies – but all of your policies should be reviewed. You should also have a process for feedback on policies and a process for exceptions/adjustments to your policies.
- Establish a process for requesting and implementing reasonable accommodations. Make sure that employees are aware of the procedure for requesting accommodations and that the process is transparent and supportive.
- Seek input from disability advocates, organisations, and experts in neurodiversity as well as your employees and disability network.
- Use inclusive language in all your policies and communications. Ensure that your policies and communication materials are accessible and considerate of various communication styles and preferences and available in a different formats.
- As with all policies, you should regularly review your policies.
Read the full “How to be an Ally” series here.
