Turning Allyship into Action: How Teck is Building Skills for Gender Equity by Bringing the HeForShe Barbershop Toolkit to the Workplace

In March 2026, Teck launched Allyship Learning Labs, a monthly workshop series inspired by the HeForShe Barbershop Toolkit and developed in support of Teck’s HeForShe commitments. Building on Teck’s foundation of workforce bystander intervention education, inclusive leadership development and its Inclusion and Engagement Strategy, the series focuses on developing skills that can advance gender equality both within and beyond the workplace. This approach reflects Teck’s broader commitment to creating positive, lasting change in the communities where they operate, both through investments and partnerships that support women and girls under its Community Development Strategy, and through the development of employees whose actions can contribute to more equitable communities. Through Allyship Learning Labs, participants are encouraged to consider how they can challenge the systems and norms that perpetuate gender inequality not only at work, but also in their families, relationships and communities.

How Sessions are Structured

Before learning how to challenge inequitable systems, participants learn more about how those systems are set up, what they can look like and how they are perpetuated. After foundations are established, participants are given the opportunity to reflect and discuss their role in those systems and then develop tools to act as an ally. By combining learning with dialogue and personal reflection, the program enables participants to move beyond understanding the importance of gender equity and begin confidently practicing allyship.

Each session draws inspiration from a module of the HeForShe Barbershop Toolkit, using its learning objectives and participatory activities as a foundation while tailoring content to Teck's workforce, operational context and business priorities. Delivered in both English and Spanish, the program brings together employees from multiple regions, functions and backgrounds across Teck's geographically dispersed workforce. By creating accessible opportunities for participation across languages and locations, Allyship Learning Labs foster a shared global conversation about gender equity and allyship, enabling participants to learn from diverse perspectives, experiences and cultural contexts.

Sessions are open to employees of all genders but have a particular emphasis on how men can meaningfully engage as allies. Through mixed-gender dialogue, participants can learn from and have conversations with people they may not engage with in their day-to-day work environments, helping to build understanding and empathy across the workforce. 

Leadership

A distinctive feature of Teck's approach is leadership sponsorship. Through sponsorship, leaders are invited to learn, reflect, contribute their perspectives, and explore the role they can play in advancing allyship and gender equity. Each Allyship Learning Lab is sponsored by a male leader at Teck, who plays an active role in encouraging participation among colleagues and opens the session by sharing personal reflections on the topic and their own allyship journey.

Men in leadership roles across Health and Safety, Exploration, Projects, Operations and Digital Systems have supported the Learning Labs, helping demonstrate that allyship is not only a personal commitment but also a leadership responsibility.

"Advancing gender equality requires men in leadership to be participants in the conversation and active partners in progress. Leaders have the ability to shape opportunities, influence decisions, and drive change. When leaders take the time to listen, learn, and better understand the barriers others face, they move beyond supporting equity in principle and start using their influence to create meaningful change and environments where everyone can thrive.” – Jonathan Price, President and CEO, Teck

As leaders share their own experiences, challenges and learning journeys, they help create space for more open and authentic conversations. Their participation reinforces that advancing gender equity is not solely the responsibility of those affected by inequity but a shared responsibility across the organization. 

"It was good to see concrete examples of male sponsors of how we are fostering inclusion, diversity, and gender equity. It is valuable to see how different areas can contribute ideas and working methods that help advance these issues at Teck." - Participant, Teck Allyship Learning Lab, Latin America

Leadership sponsorship has often extended beyond a single Learning Lab session, with leaders reaching out after their participation to share ideas, strengthen content, identify new audiences, and continue conversations about allyship and gender equity within their teams and across the organization. Their ongoing involvement demonstrates the value of creating opportunities for men to participate in and lead this work, and how meaningful engagement can result in continued learning, reflection and action.

Creating Space for Honest Conversations

One of the most valuable aspects of the Allyship Learning Labs has been the opportunity to have open and honest conversations about masculinity and gender norms that aren’t always common in a traditional workplace learning environment. Participants are welcome to share their personal experiences on how gender inequity has shown up and affected them in the workplace, their personal lives and in their communities. These conversations often include candid discussions about learning, growth and accountability. Participants have spoken openly about times they may not have recognized inequity, opportunities they missed to speak up, and how they are working to become more effective allies. 

Through the vulnerability of personal storytelling, participants learn from one another's experiences and gain a deeper understanding of how social expectations of masculinity can affect people of all genders. Many participants have reflected on how these conversations influence not only their workplace relationships, but also how they engage with family members, friends and young people in their lives.

“I just wanted to congratulate you and your team on the recent Allyship Learning Lab. The personal stories shared during the session and the discussions in the breakout room activity were really meaningful.” – Participant, Teck Allyship Learning Lab

Continuing the Journey

As the program has evolved, it has created opportunities for participants to continue their learning and engagement beyond the formal Learning Lab sessions. Feedback and discussion have consistently demonstrated an appetite for deeper exploration of allyship, gender equity, and related topics, reflecting a growing desire for ongoing learning, reflection and dialogue.

Teck plans to continue the Allyship Learning Labs through January 2027 while using participant feedback to refine future programming and learning opportunities, including the potential to expand into additional topics and learning formats, like site-specific micro-learnings. As Learning Labs continue to evolve, they will remain focused on equipping people with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to build a culture where allyship is a practice reflected in everyday actions, decisions and relationships.