“In the ultimate breaking of the lavender ceiling, LGBT business leaders are increasingly being named to corporate boards,” according to the San Francisco Business Times. Out Leadership’s Quorum initiative, in particular, is helping to publicize the need for LGBT voices in the boardroom.
California Controller Betty Yee and New York City State Comptroller Scott Stringer, in partnership with Out Leadership, sent a joint letter to fourteen other public officials overseeing pension funds outlining the importance of LGBT-inclusion when it comes to board diversity. While the letter noted that progress was being made, it also stated that “straight directors predominate in corporate boardrooms.” According to Out Leadership research, there are fewer than 10 openly LGBT directors on the boards of Fortune 500 companies.
Keith Wetmore, a member of the Quorum Leadership Committee and board member of the private consulting firm North Highland, told the Business Times that LGBT people are often more likely to have learned “skills about how to get along with all people” – an asset that he and other LGBT directors bring to the boardroom and their careers.