Businesses Are Facing an LGBTQ+ Leadership Crisis and Lack of Role Models for Younger Talent

Aside Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, who came out in 2014, there are only two other out CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. One of whom worked for 30 years before he felt comfortable telling his colleagues he is gay.

The legal context is likely a factor in the decision to remain in the closet. Not until 2020 did the Supreme Court rule that it is illegal to fire someone for sexual orientation in the U.S., and that decision was hardly unanimous, with three of the nine voting against it. For LGBTQ+ employees of global companies, navigating which countries (29) honor their marriage or which make homosexuality in general illegal (69) can make applying for foreign assignments to facilitate advancement a vexing decision.

Nearly the entire LGBTQ+ workforce, across multiple generations, grew up without visible LGBTQ+ role models in business. The lack of visibility stems from a combination of both reluctance to disclose and the fact that 330,000 gay men have died of AIDS since the 1980s.

For LGBTQ+ youth, the lack of representation can be incredibly isolating. For leaders, the lack of a mental imprint of successful LGBTQ+ executives can lead to unconscious bias in both hiring and development.

Microaggressions and unconscious bias

Developing a personal brand identity as a unique individual is a critical precursor for promotion, but bias can tarnish that brand. For example, when your identity is reduced to who you love (“that gay guy”), when your experience is diminished (gay men in their 40s are routinely called “boys”) or when you are confused with a colleague (“Whose is whose?” said a ticketing agent as she handed me and my blonde husband our passports).

For LGBTQ+ youth, the lack of representation can be incredibly isolating.

Studies show that coming out on a resume can reduce the likelihood of an interview by 40%, and women and gay men routinely receive personality-based feedback rarely given to straight men. Gay men often exist in a space that is between genders that confounds expectations, invited neither to the Super Bowl nor the bachelorette party.

Inclusion and a sense of belonging are essential to enable LGBTQ+ professionals to be authentic at work, which is key to unlocking their full potential.

Allyship and self-advocacy

Leaders often bemoan the lack of data when confronted with the fact that there are so few LGBTQ+ C-suite executives (most companies do not collect data on sexual orientation). While it is true that recruiting diverse talent is easier when the demographics are searchable in a database, there is a vibrant representation of LGBTQ+ professionals in junior roles.

Given that the talent is often already present in organizations, it is incumbent upon allies in senior roles to pull up that talent through active sponsorship. The recent surge in inclusivity training has taught us that “allyship is a verb,” and advocating on behalf of LGBTQ+ executives is the surest way to change the composition of the C-suite.

I also implore LGBTQ+ leaders to flip the script on their personal narratives, seeking strength from their extensive self-discovery process. The pandemic has highlighted the benefits of empathic leadership, adaptability, high-risk decision-making and authenticity. Who better to relate to others than someone who has spent their entire life navigating a society where they are simultaneously invisible, illicit, intimidated and in doubt of their identity?

The gauntlet of growing up LGBTQ+ creates a gritty resilience that makes LGBTQ+ leaders unstoppable, and those leadership skills should be extensively advertised in interviews and resumes.

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