I learned a shocking statistic recently. According to a poll by the HRC [PDF], up to 51% of LGBT professionals on Wall Street are still in the closet. That means over half – half – of LGBT professionals are uncomfortable being themselves in their workplace.
We must ask why so many professionals are still afraid, in 2011, to be open about who they are and who they share their lives with. If anything, this statistic reveals some very shocking truths about the nature of inclusiveness in our top firms and companies. It’s time for those cultures to change.
This week and next, to celebrate PRIDE on Theglasshammer.com, we are featuring profiles of several amazing women who live their lives as openly gay/lesbian professionals – despite the challenges (perceived and real) that exist for LGBT individuals in the workplace. It is our hope that by shining a spotlight on these successful women, more LGBT professionals will feel inspired and empowered to bring their whole selves to work.
Theglasshammer.com was founded on the principle of creating professional networks where you can relate to people who are in the same situation as you – for example, being the only women on your team can be tough. Yet, many of us have other identities, such being a different color or nationality or being mothers. These are very visible differences, and are protected from discrimination by law. On the other hand, gay and lesbian professionals are often the invisible minority in the room, and in many respects LGBT is the last taboo in the workplace. Legal protections are still not up to par in the U.S. (In 29 states you are not protected from getting fired on the spot for being gay or “accused” of being gay.)
There are some very simple reasons why companies should work harder to create an inclusive culture for their LGBT employees.
1) You have gay clients – the business case.
2) You have gay employees – the retention case.
3) Generation Y (and many others) won’t want to work for you if you are doing nothing or doing evil around gay issues – the recruitment case.
Theglasshammer.com creates networking groups of women in financial and professional women, but perhaps one of our greatest challenges is to find senior lesbian business leaders who are “out” and visible in their firms. Why is it so hard to find a critical mass of role models to inspire other women who may be struggling to be themselves at work?
The cost or perceived cost of being “out” seems to be still very high for gay people, and the fear of negative consequences from employers or co-workers can be clearly seen in the HRC study “Degrees of Equality” detailing why gay employees don’t come out.
- “Thirty-nine percent believe they will lose connections.
- Twenty-eight percent believe they will lose promotion opportunities.
- Seventeen percent believe they will be fired; this number increases to 42 percent for transgender workers.”
Everyone reading theglasshammer.com can do something to contribute to creating a better culture in your firm. Here’s are three ways to reach out.
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Closet-Cultures Mean Costly Flight Risk for Employers
Featured, Managing ChangeLast week the Center for Work Life Policy released a long-awaited report entitled “The Power of Out,” a report that details the cost of the closet. Based on the results of a CWLP survey, out of the estimated seven million LGBT employees in the US workforce, 48% are closeted. And according to the report by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Karen Sumberg, that closet costs companies big time.
Sumberg said, “What surprised me most about the research is that so many people are still in the closet at work, and really the effect of someone’s engagement at work is profound.”
The report says, “Among those LGBTs who feel isolated at work, closeted employees are nearly three-quarters (73%) more likely to say they plan to leave their companies within three years.” Not just that, write Hewlett and Sumberg, but when employees are out, they are more productive and build stronger relationships with co-workers and clients.
Based on the CWLP’s numbers, that means almost two and a half million LGBT employees in the US are looking for a new job, simply because their company’s culture prevents them from being themselves at work.
Attrition is expensive. If simply doing what is right (providing a workplace that’s open to people of all stripes) isn’t good enough to encourage employers to build inclusive workplaces, doesn’t the cost of potential attrition show it’s time for companies to address the issue of the closet culture?
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35 Under 35: Sarah Odell, Manager, Talent & Organization Performance, Accenture
35 Under 35British born Sarah Odell began her career in the USA thanks to her youthful prowess with a lacrosse stick. Whilst at school in Surrey, she played for the English youth lacrosse team, was spotted by a US college recruiter, and won a sports scholarship to Vanderbilt University in Tennessee where she studied Human and Organizational Development. This was followed by an MSc from Capella University in Minnesota which in turn enabled her to stay on and work in the US.
“I was very lucky! I started in the US in the telecommunications industry in learning and development, spending seven years with Sprint Nextel, primarily working to develop Learning & Development capabilities in its contact centres and delivering training to its employees all over the country.
“In 2007, I moved back to the UK with Accenture, and I now provide Learning & Development consultancy for clients in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. It’s the full cycle of consultancy, from building relationships with current and existing clients through to delivering strategic and operational services.”
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What’s Your Leadership Practice?
Ask A Career CoachIf you want to be a better golfer what do you do? Practice. How about if you want to be a better musician? Practice. If you want to be a better leader, what do you do? You get the picture. So what’s your daily leadership practice?
To improve our leadership, we read leadership books, attend seminars, observe famous leaders, even look at our bosses and swear we will never be like them. But do we have a conscious leadership discipline that we practice every day? Based on my observations (including exhaustive research on myself), most leadership is fairly unconscious, so here are three tips to come up with your very own leadership practice.
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How Does the City Approach the LGBT Workforce?
NetworkingAs part of this year’s celebrations of Gay Pride, The Glass Hammer decided to take a look at Sexuality in the City (of London) and ask – how are London’s big companies and financial institutions approaching the LGBT agenda and what do best practices look like in 2011? Are networks making a difference, is it any easier to be out at work than it once was and what does “success” look like if you’re building an integrated and inclusive workplace?
We started by examining the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index – Britain’s leading tool for employers to measure their efforts to tackle discrimination and create inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees. Since launching in 2005, more than 650 major employers have taken part in the Index, using Stonewall’s Index criteria as a model for good practice. Each year, Stonewall publishes a list of the Top 100 Employers – the list of those they dub “the most gay friendly employers in Britain.” 2011’s top three such employers are the Home Office, Lloyds Banking Group, and Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young and, when we asked around, it became clear that having a place in the Stonewall Index was regarded as essential best practice amongst the LGBT community, with one typical comment being:
“… I would … research the company’s stance and reputation on “gay equality”. I have previously checked whether a company has ever featured in Stonewall’s Equality Index and also spoken to friends who have knowledge about the company.”
After several interviews, we determined a number of best practices that the City’s top companies are engaging in to attract and retain LGBT talent. Here are just a few of the methods these firms are employing to create more inclusive workplaces.
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Voice of Experience: Christie Smith PhD, Principal and Northern Pacific Sector Leader for Life Sciences, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Voices of ExperienceChristie Smith, Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, is a passionate supporter of women in leadership, and has been significantly involved in the firm’s women’s initiatives since joining the organization in 2001.
The former professional golfer said, “My advice to women is to be fearless.”
One of the firm’s most senior lesbians, she has also been involved in the Deloitte’s LGBT community for about five years. In fact, she said, being a more visible “out” leader has helped her be more confident in her career. She explained, “Being comfortable with who I am and bringing my whole self to work has been a fantastic experience at Deloitte”
Now taking on a new role building the firm’s life sciences consulting practice, Smith’s fearless attitude and devotion to authenticity have helped her build a notable career.
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Voice of Experience: Shelley Hurley, Senior Executive, Executive Director, Risk Management and Global Resources Lead, Accenture
Voices of Experience“Make sure that you understand what you want and also understand other’s expectations of you ,” advised Shelley Hurley, Executive Director of Risk Management and Global Resources lead at Accenture.
She explained, “Sometimes you’re asked to take on a role that you’re not comfortable with. But stretching yourself is important. Others may see strength in you that they need elsewhere in the organization.”
She added, “Flexibility will help you a great deal in the long run.”
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Harnessing the Power of LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Industry Leaders, LeadershipThe imperative for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender awareness in the workplace has grown dramatically in recent years. This has been fueled by a larger conversation around workforce engagement and diversity, which asks the question, “Do our employees feel they can bring their whole selves to work?” When large swaths of employees feel the need to manage or hide their identities on a daily basis, the losses in productivity, innovation, and corporate reputation are staggering. The introduction of ever-greater numbers of Gen Y employees, who display an unprecedented comfort with diversity and include many “allies,” stands in stark contrast to the closeted reality experienced by many LGBT Gen X and Baby Boomer employees.
Although many employer-of-choice companies have made great strides and commitments on the policy level, this reality continues to lag behind corporate aspirations and declarations of support. This is especially true in the financial services industry, where the war for talent (especially of the younger variety) rages, and yet where there continue to be serious cultural challenges around diversity and inclusion efforts, and LGBT inclusion specifically.
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Voice of Experience: Jennifer Barbetta, Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer, Alternative Investments & Manager Selection, Goldman Sachs
People, Voices of ExperienceIn fact, Barbetta said, “Watching those I have mentored find success is one of my proudest achievements.” She believes in having candid and honest conversations with her team and mentees. “These conversations provide them with the tools to help lead them down the path to success.”
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Why We Need More Gay Role Models in Financial Services
Thought LeadersWe must ask why so many professionals are still afraid, in 2011, to be open about who they are and who they share their lives with. If anything, this statistic reveals some very shocking truths about the nature of inclusiveness in our top firms and companies. It’s time for those cultures to change.
This week and next, to celebrate PRIDE on Theglasshammer.com, we are featuring profiles of several amazing women who live their lives as openly gay/lesbian professionals – despite the challenges (perceived and real) that exist for LGBT individuals in the workplace. It is our hope that by shining a spotlight on these successful women, more LGBT professionals will feel inspired and empowered to bring their whole selves to work.
Theglasshammer.com was founded on the principle of creating professional networks where you can relate to people who are in the same situation as you – for example, being the only women on your team can be tough. Yet, many of us have other identities, such being a different color or nationality or being mothers. These are very visible differences, and are protected from discrimination by law. On the other hand, gay and lesbian professionals are often the invisible minority in the room, and in many respects LGBT is the last taboo in the workplace. Legal protections are still not up to par in the U.S. (In 29 states you are not protected from getting fired on the spot for being gay or “accused” of being gay.)
There are some very simple reasons why companies should work harder to create an inclusive culture for their LGBT employees.
1) You have gay clients – the business case.
2) You have gay employees – the retention case.
3) Generation Y (and many others) won’t want to work for you if you are doing nothing or doing evil around gay issues – the recruitment case.
Theglasshammer.com creates networking groups of women in financial and professional women, but perhaps one of our greatest challenges is to find senior lesbian business leaders who are “out” and visible in their firms. Why is it so hard to find a critical mass of role models to inspire other women who may be struggling to be themselves at work?
The cost or perceived cost of being “out” seems to be still very high for gay people, and the fear of negative consequences from employers or co-workers can be clearly seen in the HRC study “Degrees of Equality” detailing why gay employees don’t come out.
Everyone reading theglasshammer.com can do something to contribute to creating a better culture in your firm. Here’s are three ways to reach out.
Read more
Building Careers and Doing Good
Women and PhilanthropyOn Wednesday, Morgan Stanley held its third annual Strategy Challenge event, the culmination of an eight-week program in which 60 of the firm’s up-and-coming talent put their skills to use for fifteen charities in need of strategic advice on organizational growth.
Audrey Choi, Managing Director of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley, remarked, “At Morgan Stanley, we have a long standing, deep commitment to giving back to the community.”
The non-profits are not the only beneficiaries of the program, though. Choi added that the participants in the Strategy Challenge are nominated by their business leaders as future leaders of the firm. They are able to make connections with other rising stars, and gain access to senior level individuals they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet, in addition to gaining valuable skills and experience.
As a result, Choi said, Morgan Stanley has donated 6,500 hours of community service this year, worth approximately $1 million – and that figure does not include the value of the advice provided by the firm.
Joan Steinberg, Managing Director and Global Head of Philanthropy at the firm, added, “When we say we want to deliver the best to our communities, this is what we mean.”
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