And just like that, the world changed.
Greetings from freezing New York City! Wherever in the world you are, I hope this finds you healthy and finding ways to be happy amidst a seemingly nonstop barrage of negativity. As I said in the last few months after Trump was elected, challenges (but not long-term changes) to so much of the forward progress that’s been made over the last twenty (in some cases hundreds) of years are happening, and at rapid speed. Here in the US, Trump has ordered the furlough of diversity professionals from their jobs across every agency, and removed all diversity and inclusion language from federal government agencies and websites. Particularly painful to me was his rescinding of President Johnson’s 1965 Executive Order for affirmative action in government hiring and operations.
As you’d imagine, over the last four days I’ve had conversations with leaders around the world, both within Out Leadership members and former colleagues from my Wall Street days, and I want to share with you a few common threads.
When a lot of us started this work decades ago, we had to convince CEOs and businesses that inclusion was good for the bottom line, and that LGBTQ+ people existed, mattered and brought value. Turns out, we did. If you don’t know, LGBTQ+ issues, specifically marriage equality was the very first time Corporate America spoke out about something that was heretofore a “social” issue. We were able to tie a direct line between inclusive policy (and government recognition) and bottom line business results (happy to explain in detail if you don’t know). To use this economic power, some companies had to literally change their corporate board charter to allow them to sign on to amicus briefs to the Supreme Court in both the Obergefell & Windsor cases. I remember one CEO of one of our banks (which was the largest group of industries supporting LGBTQ rights) jokingly saying to me, “Todd, if you get us to sign onto this, you’re going to ask us to sign on to support everything.” At the time, I laughed and told him that this was a one-time in history event, and that they wanted to be on the right side of history—which was right.
But it turns out, he was also right. In the last 15 years, once that door was opened,companies have been expected and are now forced to weigh in on every issue from Gaza to TikTok bans. Then came the horrific murder of George Floyd, and the racial reckoning in America. And Corporate America was now expected to fix the problem, to somehow solve hundreds of years of systemic racism in the United States. And to their credit, they rose to the task, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars and hiring folks to “solve the problem.” But what also happened was that the last 25 years of work on inclusive leadership and the myriad benefits of a diverse workforce was suddenly merged with a social justice demand. Fixing systemic racism was now tasked to the same folks who before were making sure a company wasn’t making a gay co-worker feel unwelcome, or firing a pregnant woman. And guess what, it didn’t work out how everyone wanted. And when a company spends millions of dollars on something that doesn’t work (generally in a 3 year period), they stop. Add to the mix, over that same time period, the right wing in the US targeting trans people and diversity (DEI overall) as their political target (which they actually did focus groups about to decide what culture war would work), and now here we are.
But here’s the thing. All the years of bottom-line business results of inclusive leadership and diverse companies didn’t just disappear in this fog of political vitriol. Companies were doing this work long before the murder of George Floyd, and not because they’re “nice”. They did it because they saw results. And so, to me, we have to get back to basics. Remind folks that this is not about quotas, hiring black people over white people, but about diverse thought and perspectives leading to better outcomes. And the great thing is that data is on our side.
And that’s where Out Leadership will continue to create conversation around the world. As we have for the last fifteen years. Yes, that’s right, 2025 is Out Leadership’s 15th Anniversary!! And I have major plans (that won’t be derailed by Trump) that include the first-ever 4 generational look at LGBTQ talent globally & by industry, a trans-continental trans leadership summit, and so much more! My team and I will continue to have private conversations with our member companies and leaders, helping them navigate the year ahead with our data, our research, our OL-IQ diagnostic tool, and by connecting leaders across our global network to help companies achieve Return on Equality.
Want to hear more? Well, here’s your opportunity. This upcoming Wednesday, January 29 at 12PM EST, I am hosting a Global Town Hall, where I will share what I’ve been hearing from leaders around the world and present a model for how companies can act in the coming year. I’ve invited a couple of amazing friends to give their perspectives, like Rufus Gifford (former US Ambassador to Denmark and former Chief of Protocol of United States), and Camilla Taylor (Deputy Legal Director for Litigation for Lambda Legal), and others that I can confirm next week. You can register below – you don’t want to miss this!
I’ll close with some thoughts from the brilliant Chase Strangio, who I had the privilege of watching argue before the Supreme Court a couple months ago in US v. Skrmetti, who posted this powerful reminder on Monday: “…resistance will come through denying the administration the chaos they seek. It will come by remembering that their plans and rhetoric are just the regurgitated policies that we have long defied. It will come through our insistent and urgent love for each other. We have the collective memory and mapmaking to guide us.”
In other words, they can keep their fear, confusion, and chaos. I’ll be over here with my friends, family, and allies, keepin’ it resilient, resolved, and always–always–moving forward.
See you soon,
Todd Sears
Founder and CEO
Out Leadership
Register for Out Leadership’s Global Town Hall
Resources and Help
#1 Trump Early Actions on DEI: Implications for Private-Sector Organizations
Longtime Out Leadership friend, supporter, partner, and amazing legal scholar, Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU, in collaboration with the Meltzer Center, has released a comprehensive guide to the DEI executive orders issued by the Trump administration.
This resource also outlines key implications for private employers. It’s a must-read for staying informed on these developments and ensuring you and your team are well-prepared for the evolving landscape.
Kenji, along with David Glasgow, also authored Say The Right Thing: How To Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice. I highly recommend reading this if you haven’t already!
Download Trump Early Actions on DEI: Implications for Private-Sector Organizations
#2 Guidelines for Corporate Engagement
Nine years ago, we published the Guidelines for Corporate Engagement, which provide a set of practical guidelines to help companies navigate the landscape for when and how to engage on LGBTQ+ issues, with input from 30 companies who shared their internal decision-making frameworks. These guidelines remain relevant today and we will be refreshing them in 2025.
Download Guidelines for Corporate Engagement
#3 The Importance of Allyship
And last but certainly not least, now more than ever, the LGBTQ+ community needs strong allies. In June 2020, Out Leadership, in partnership with global agency FCB, published a comprehensive guide to allyship titled AllyUp. The study provides a guide to how allies can make a real difference in the workplace, with input from 5,000 participants across 11 countries and regional reports from Asia, Australia, Europe, the U.S., and Latin America.
In addition, Jane Barry-Moran, Managing Director of Research and Programs, has been hosting a series of conversations to explore these findings and help companies understand the power of allyship. Please email events@outleadership.com if you’re interested in hosting one of these conversations!
