Allies Section : Julie Kratz

Julie Kratz is a leading expert in allyship and inclusion, dedicated to helping leaders build more inclusive and supportive workplaces. After spending over a decade in Corporate America, where she navigated various career transitions, Julie launched her own speaking business to teach leaders how to be effective allies.

Julie is a professor at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, a Forbes columnist, a TEDx speaker, and the creator of the Lead Like an Ally training program. She is also the founder of International Allyship Day in NYC. With an MBA, coaching certifications, and expertise in unconscious bias and psychological safety,

Julie has authored seven books, including We Want You: An Allyship Guide for People with Power and Allyship in Action: 10 Practices for Living Inclusively.

Leading Allyship and Inclusion

I am the founder and CEO of Next Pivot Point, an organization dedicated to facilitating inclusive experiences so that everyone feels seen, heard and belongs. I also founded the non-profit Little Allies, to help facilitate inclusive experiences for youth workers so that children feel a sense of belonging in all spaces. I am the founder of International Allyship Day hosted each year in New York City August 8.

Being an ally means supporting people who are different from you and using your power for good. An inclusive culture is essential for a high-performing workplace—people cannot do their best work if they don’t feel included or have a sense of belonging.

Over the years, I’ve had allies in the form of mentors, sponsors, coaches, challengers, and advocates. I see allyship as an umbrella approach where you meet people where they are. One of my mentors played a pivotal role in helping me secure a teaching position at my alma mater, the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He made the necessary introductions, coached me, and advocated for me. Without his support, I would not be living my dream of teaching in higher education.

For me, allyship is about educating yourself. We all have a limited view of the world through our own lived experiences and identities. Just because it hasn't happened to us doesn't mean it doesn't happen to others. Allyship is about seeing beyond your own perspective and trying to see the perspectives of others, especially if we have not experienced it ourselves.

Inclusivity Beyond Professional Life

As a mother of children with diverse identities, inclusion is not a nice to have, it's a must have. Without support mechanisms in place for my children, they will not be as successful as they possibly could. This not only hurts them, our family, but society as a whole. We all lose when we don't include everyone’s unique talents

Advice on Allyship and Inclusion

The most important advice I can give is that people often underestimate their ability to be allies. Everyone can be an ally. Allies speak up in rooms where others may not, they help educate those around them, and they model inclusion. These everyday actions are critical to fostering long-term inclusivity.

Being a Good Ally

Being a good ally means modeling allyship through my actions—leaning into vulnerability, empathy, and curiosity every day. It’s about progress, not perfection. I make mistakes, as does anyone trying to do this work. But that’s part of the journey. If it were easy, we’d have figured it out by now.

Evaluating Corporate DEI Efforts

People with power are essential to the long-term advancement of DEI. Fraught with misunderstanding and polarization, DEI has been unfairly under attack. However, when people with power understand their own social influence and positional power and how they can help others, change happens much more quickly.

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