Allyship in action; a fireside with Lee Chambers
Highlights from Nurture Network LIVE, September 2024…
It takes a village event was brought to you in collaboration with Fidelity Investments, Maddyness UK, Startups Magazine, hosted at Rise, created by Barclays suppored by Varu Beauty and PerkBox Vivup Group.
Lee Chambers is a man of many parts: business psychologist, social media leader, consultant, neurodiversity advocate. At the ‘It takes a village’ Nurture Network event in London, Lee spoke from the heart on the issues that have helped him become one of the UK’s leading proponents of a healthy workplace culture.
As a passionate voice in the diversity space, he has pioneered the importance of male allyship and works with companies to help improve their inclusiveness. And he drew on the foundational experience at primary school that informed much of what has come since.
“I grew up in Bolton which was majority white classes at school. So I encountered a bit of racism, a bit of bullying. But when my head teacher, who was a white lady, got wind of what was happening, she brought together teachers, parents, some children, even the Reverend across the road, and addressed it.”
“Suddenly my educational experience was significantly better, which, reflecting back, is what helped me do relatively well at school and become the first one in my extended family to university. So even that kind of early experience of allyship was formative.
Having worked in local government, Lee subsequently set up a business, but ten years ago his immune system failed and he ended up having to learn to walk again alongside his daughter, who was born when he was in rehab.
“So it was at that point where the allyship that I’d had started to make me think about the legacy I was leaving for other people. Obviously got back on my feet and then decided to step out of my senior leadership role and become a stay-at-home dad. But it was only in those female-dominated environments, when I was the only father in the room, did it make me reflect upon the allyship that I had when I was younger.
“Because all of a sudden it made me think, what am I doing for the people around me? It made me look at my gender very differently than I had before, because I’d been blinded by, in many ways, the discrimination that I’d faced, and didn’t actually see how powerful it would be if I allied and partnered with other people who had different barriers and challenges.”
Since then Lee’s work on male allyship has earned him plaudits and awards, but he remains focused on one key message: “We can all be each other’s allies – it only takes us to recognise our privilege and speak up to help out those who need it. If we all did that, the village would be a better place.”
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About Lee Chambers
Lee is the chief psychologist and founder of Essentialise and Male Allies UK. After a diverse career, from corporate finance to building and exiting tech company, he is now focused on supporting organisations to engage men in inclusion and promote effective allyship. Lee shares his experiences as a Black autistic man, a stay-at-home dad, and his journey to learn to walk again after acquiring a chronic illness. Stay tuned he has a book coming out in 2025 – see link to pre order your copy. Click for more info
