Allyship in Action: Reflections with Leigh Bornstein

In a tech industry that prides itself on disruption, one thing remains stubbornly slow to change: gender equity. At Infosys Women in Tech 2025, leaders gathered to address this head-on-with allyship as the catalyst for action.

Leigh Bornstein, CEO of uFlexReward, joined fellow panelists Gabi Wagenhofer (Senior Vice President – Digital Core, BP), Bilge Mert (Chief Technology Officer, Brit Insurance), and moderator Katherine Stewart (Head of Impact Research, Economist Impact) to discuss how organizations can move from intention to impact.

Allyship means more than awareness. It’s the act of stepping up, advocating for others, and using your voice-and your power-to open doors that might otherwise stay shut.

Systemic Allyship Starts at the Top

Allyship cannot sit on the sidelines of business strategy. As Leigh emphasized, it must be designed into the systems that guide hiring, performance, progression, and reward. From her perspective as a CEO, allyship begins with leadership intent and matures through operational integration.

"Allyship starts with leadership buy-in and ends with systems that make equity unavoidable. That includes data, not just values."

Gabi Wagenhofer of BP echoed this with real-world action, sharing how she’s using data to fuel internal conversations around equity and high performance.

Why it matters: When allyship becomes part of how decisions are made-not just what’s said-it leads to systemic, lasting change.

Takeaway: Design allyship into the infrastructure of business. Don’t treat it as a side project.

Culture Alone Isn’t Enough

While fostering inclusive culture is vital, Leigh stressed that without measurement, culture can drift into complacency. The panel explored how regulations like the EU Pay Transparency Directive can serve not only as a compliance checkpoint but also a cultural catalyst.

"If you lean too far into culture without measurement, you lose the ability to track progress. If you focus only on compliance, you miss the human element that drives real change."

Why it matters: HR and reward leaders need to be able to show impact-not just talk about it. Metrics bring credibility to DEI efforts.

Takeaway: Pair inclusive values with measurable outcomes. Use data to make culture visible.

Don’t Let DEI Fatigue Win

When asked if allyship was at risk of losing momentum due to political and social shifts, the panelists were clear: we can’t afford to let up.

Leigh highlighted mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership accountability as enduring tools for progress. She also credited her own success to both male and female mentors who championed her career.

"We still have a long way to go. But if we keep having conversations like this, we won’t forget how important it is."

Why it matters: Momentum can fade without visible, ongoing support from leadership and peers.

Takeaway: Inclusion isn’t cyclical. Keep allyship on the agenda-even when it’s not trending.

Allyship Is Everyone’s Responsibility

Allyship isn’t just a women’s issue. Leigh shared how a male attendee told her he had recently started sponsoring women into leadership roles-a small but powerful example of everyday action.

"Allyship is not gendered-it’s shared."

Why it matters: True inclusion only happens when everyone participates.

Takeaway: Build cross-gender allyship into leadership expectations. Normalize it as part of everyday behaviors.

Using Tech to Make Allyship Measurable

Allyship must move from theory to practice-and technology is the bridge. Leigh outlined how uFlexReward helps organizations uncover pay gaps, run equity audits, and model fair progression paths.

"Our platform shows what’s really happening with pay and performance so leaders can act-not just guess."

Gabi Wagenhofer’s example at BP illustrated this in action: using data not just to report, but to challenge bias and shift internal behaviors.

Why it matters: With regulatory pressure rising, leaders need tools to build transparency into their systems.

Takeaway: Make allyship measurable. Use tech to move from assumptions to accountability.

Walking the Talk at uFlexReward

At its core, uFlexReward isn’t just building reward technology-it’s creating the conditions for equity, transparency, and trust. Whether it’s publishing pay bands or enabling flexible benefits modeling, the platform is built to empower organizations to walk the talk.

Why it matters: Employees want to see that inclusion isn’t just a value-it’s part of how their company operates.

Takeaway: Trust comes from transparency. Allyship is stronger when systems support it.

What Allyship in Action Looks Like

Leigh’s time on the panel made one thing clear: real progress comes when intention is paired with action. From shifting policies to embedding inclusive leadership behaviors, allyship must be ongoing, visible, and shared.

"We need to help young leaders. We need to help each other. And we need to build systems that don’t let equity slip through the cracks."

At uFlexReward, we’re committed to helping organizations build the frameworks that turn bold ideas into lasting impact. If you’re a business leader or HR professional working toward greater equity, we’d love to hear your story.

Let’s keep this conversation going-and build workplaces where allyship isn’t an aspiration, but the norm.