Let’s address something that often goes unspoken in conversations about career advancement: the men in your professional orbit matter. Not because women need men to validate their competence or clear the path for them, but because systemic change requires collective action. And when men use their influence, networks, and platforms to advocate for women, everyone benefits from more diverse perspectives, better decision-making, and stronger organizational culture.
But here’s where it gets tricky: how do you identify genuine allies versus performative supporters? How do you build authentic relationships that feel mutually beneficial rather than transactional? And how do you navigate this without falling into the trap of waiting for men to “save” you when you’re already doing the work of saving yourself?
The answer isn’t simple, but it starts with strategy. Male allies can be powerful advocates, mentors, and sponsors when those relationships are built intentionally and authentically. We went to our panel of industry experts for their advice on how to do just that.
Men can be powerful advocates, mentors, and sponsors, and fostering collaborative relationships with them will help advance your career. Here are 10 expert-backed strategies for building a network of male allies who genuinely support women’s advancement.
1. Identify and engage with potential allies
Potential male allies could be men in your network who you feel comfortable reaching out to for advice, and support, or men in your organization who are decision-makers, and involved in employee resource groups, such as mental health advocacy, 2SLGBTQIA+ groups, or networking programs. Pay attention to people who stand out wanting to make a positive difference, and create change in the organization. Look for men whose actions match their words. It’s easy to say you support women’s advancement. It’s harder to consistently show up, speak up when women are interrupted, and put women’s names forward for high-visibility opportunities. Watch for those behaviours.
2. Make yourself visible
Expand your network beyond your usual circle. It’s common for men and women to gravitate toward their own gender groups, men connecting with men and women with women, which can limit your opportunities for collaboration. To break this pattern, seek out events that foster diverse participation, attend mixed-gender gatherings, and make an effort to introduce yourself to new people. This doesn’t mean abandoning your women’s network, which remains invaluable for support and shared experience. It means intentionally expanding your sphere of influence so you’re building relationships across the organization, not just within your immediate team or demographic.
3. Consider “near peers”
Support doesn’t need to come from the C-suite to help level the playing field for women. Peers or near-peers can help figure out how to get things done, give introductions, and even elevate your reputation, and put your name forward for opportunities. Sometimes the most effective allies are people just one or two levels above you who remember what it’s like to navigate the challenges you’re currently facing. They’re close enough to your experience to offer relevant advice, but senior enough to have access to opportunities and decision-makers you’re trying to reach.
4. Take an empathetic approach
Women talk to women about their challenges, but they don’t always talk to men. One of the challenges men often face is a lack of understanding. Many may not fully grasp how others experience the workplace differently as they’ve never experienced it themselves. Including men in the conversation can help them better understand the challenges women face, and identify ways to actively contribute to solutions. This doesn’t mean it’s your job to educate every man in your workplace about gender equity. But when you’re building an ally relationship with someone who’s genuinely curious and open, sharing your perspective can transform them from a passive supporter into an active advocate.
5. Build genuine relationships
The best outcomes arise from natural working relationships, working on a project or committee together, and building the relationship from there. Getting to know your prospective mentor/sponsor/ally professionally, asking about their own work experience or career progression can be a way to start. As a professional relationship develops, it can also be about helping each other out in ways that are mutually beneficial, so it’s about reciprocity rather than just asking to be supported. Think of ally relationships like any other professional relationship: they thrive on mutual respect, shared goals, and genuine connection. When you approach these relationships as partnerships rather than one-way support systems, they become more sustainable and more authentic.
6. Provide positive feedback
When you show people the positive impact of their actions, they’re more likely to stay engaged, and continue their involvement. By recognizing your ally’s contributions, and encouraging their efforts, you can inspire them to play an even more active role in supporting women’s success. This could be as simple as sending a quick message saying, “I noticed you made space for my voice in that meeting when I was interrupted. That meant a lot and made a real difference.” Specific, genuine recognition reinforces the behaviours you want to see more of.
7. Don’t rely on a single ally
Not every connection will work out as expected. Some relationships may not develop or may not align with your goals, and that’s okay. What matters is having a diverse group of allies you can turn to for support, guidance, and advocacy, knowing that some will be more engaged than others at different times in your career. Just as you wouldn’t rely on a single mentor for all your professional development, you shouldn’t rely on one ally for all your advocacy needs. Different people bring different strengths, networks, and spheres of influence. Build a portfolio of ally relationships, not a single point of failure.
8. Identify a social impact leader
Gravitate towards those who take a proactive, guiding role in addressing the world’s social, and societal problems. Research shows people who hold being a social impact leader as an important part of their own self-view tend to do more as mentors, and sponsors. These are the people who don’t just talk about diversity and inclusion when it’s convenient. They bring it up in budget meetings, in hiring discussions, and in strategic planning sessions. They see equity work as central to their leadership identity, not as an extracurricular activity.
9. Make sure they’re supported, too
Look for allies who have their own strong support network from managers, mentors, or peers. Men and women who have their emotional, and practical needs met through their own connections feel more secure professionally, and are therefore likely to do more to help advance other women’s careers. People who feel stretched thin, unsupported, or insecure in their own positions have less capacity to advocate for others. That’s not a judgment, it’s just reality. The most effective allies are people who have the emotional bandwidth and professional security to take risks on behalf of others.
10. Understand that these aren’t just “women’s” issues
These are leadership issues that exist in every organization, and every industry. We all have a role to play when it comes to creating gender equity, and we have to do it together. It’s not one group doing it for another. It’s us doing it in collaboration, because we all have something to gain when we get it right. When organizations create equitable systems, everyone benefits from better talent retention, stronger innovation, and more effective leadership. Gender equity isn’t a zero-sum game. It’s about building workplaces where everyone can contribute fully and advance based on merit, not outdated biases.
Three ways to counter unconscious biases:
1. Interrupt the interrupters
Anybody should feel empowered to say, “Hey, Darlene was speaking. I would like to hear her finish.” Some companies now actually have “no interruptions” rules for their meetings. Male allies can be particularly effective at this because when a man interrupts an interrupter, it’s less likely to be dismissed as women being “too sensitive” or “making it about gender.”
2. Amplify
This is when one woman says something and then somebody else repeats her point, giving her credit for her idea by name, thus amplifying her voice. Male allies can amplify women’s contributions by explicitly attributing ideas to their originators. This simple act ensures women get credit for their intellectual contributions.
3. Become brag buddies
In this strategy, one woman recounts her awesome achievements to another and vice versa, and then each goes to the boss, and brags about the other. Male allies can participate in this too. When men advocate for women’s achievements in rooms where women aren’t present, like promotion discussions or succession planning meetings, they’re using their access to create opportunities.
Here’s what’s worth remembering: building a network of male allies isn’t about waiting for men to step up and fix systemic problems they didn’t create alone. It’s about recognizing that change happens faster when people with influence, access, and power use those advantages to advocate for equity. And in most organizations, men still hold disproportionate amounts of that influence, access, and power.
The most effective ally relationships are built on mutual respect, genuine connection, and reciprocity. You’re not asking for handouts. You’re building partnerships with people who recognize that diverse, equitable workplaces are better workplaces for everyone. Start by identifying one or two potential allies in your organization. Pay attention to who speaks up, who makes space for others, and who actively works to create change. Then reach out, build a genuine relationship, and watch how collaborative advocacy can accelerate your career and create lasting organizational change.
Because the truth is, we can’t create gender equity without men’s active participation. And men can’t create gender equity without women’s leadership, perspective, and partnership. It’s not about one group doing it for another. It’s about all of us doing it together.
Meet our Experts
Dr. Zoe Kinias
Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour & Sustainability at Ivey and frequent contributor to Bloomberg and the Harvard Business Review.
David Smith
Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and author of Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (Harvard Business Review Press).
Dr. Phani Radhakrishnan
Professor of Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management at the University of Toronto and consultant for the US Army Environmental Research Laboratories.
Dr. Ivona Hideg
Professor of Organization Studies at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford with a research focus on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace.
