Amid the global chaos of 2020 including a pandemic requiring remote work and making relationships more challenging, acts of hate toward minorities, widespread protests against racial injustice following violence against Black and African American people, and increased political tensions — Microsoft introduced a global allyship program and made the introductory sessions virtual, and mandatory.

“The goal is to give Microsoft’s 160,000 employees worldwide the language they need to discuss different viewpoints and difficult things in a way that offers empathy and inclusion to all,” says Chief Diversity Officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre. The program merges employees’ increased enthusiasm around advocacy with the well-known “growth mindset” platform Nadella adopted from psychologist Carol Dweck.  To read more about Microsoft’s allyship initiatives and its employees’ stories including proud Afro-Latino, Chris Mateo, click here.