Confessions of a male ally

Brian Ballantyne has had a career in various global tech companies and he now lives with his wife and children in Luxembourg. Brian has been a diversity and inclusion champion for many years, he also blogs and has published a book called Confessions of a Working Father.

A big influence growing up was Brian’s step-mum, who fought against anything she saw as injustices – from only the mums being asked to make the tea at rugby events (1:47) to campaigning against discriminatory employers.

Brian entered the world of work with high expectations but it was his first involvement in recruiting staff which showed him the reality of very conscious, as well as unconscious, bias and discrimination (8:48) in the workplace.

Uncomfortable at being involved in paying lip service to equality, Brian started to question and challenge decision-making and the culture around him. (10:44)

Being a champion for diversity has brought him some issues and barriers too, not least sometimes the reaction from other colleagues – both men and women. (11:.50)

Brian shares what actions have worked well and how he has helped drive the change for better balance in his workplaces (16:30)

Having worked in and with offices in various countries Brian considers the global cultural differences (19:40)

(22:50) Brian opens up about being a working father, and his experience striving to have an equal role in family life.

We end with some tips (33:04) for everyone who wants to help champion diversity, and make real changes.

Brian Ballantyne works for a global tech company and is a diversity champion. You can connect with him on LinkedIn and also find out more about his blogging as #confessionsofaworkingfather in his book.