Only 24 out of 5,690 Director seats (0.2%) in Fortune 500 companies are held by openly LGBTQ leaders, confirmed Out Leadership’s latest study.
The results of the report Visibility Counts: The LGBTQ+ Board Leadership Opportunity were revealed this week at Out Leadership’s inaugural Quorum Summit; a first-of-its-kind global talent and advocacy initiative focused on increasing LGBTQ+ representation on corporate boards.
“Despite major progress on LGBTQ+ civil rights, as well as inclusion and visibility into the workforce of over 90% of the Fortune 500, the boardroom is still ‘stuck in the closet’ when it comes to empowering LGBTQ+ out leaders and creating equal opportunities,” commented Out Leadership CEO and Founder, Todd Sears. “The ‘business case’ for board diversity was settled decades ago. But legacy structures continue to impede efforts to achieve the diversity of thought and perspective that growth-minded companies need to innovate.”
LACK OF LGBTQ REPRESENTATION ON BOARDS
According to the study, 88% of LGBTQ+ senior leaders said that this lack of representation directly resulted in LGBTQ+ leaders being excluded from board opportunities. The seven main reasons for this lack of representation boils down to:
- Lack of inclusion in diversity recruiting efforts.
- Perceived ‘lack of demand’ among major search firms for LGBTQ+ board representation from their corporate clients.
- Perceived ‘lack of offer’ for LGBTQ+ board representation.
- Gaps in data collection and reporting.
- Anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in policy and practice.
- Self-exclusion.
- Low turnover and long tenure of board members.
EXPANDING BOARD DIVERSITY
Sears hopes the summit and research will show CEOs, board chairs and companies how many of these barriers to entry can be solved by taking a proactive, policy based and data-reporting approach.
“For too long, LGBTQ+ inclusion has been overlooked and undervalued as a crucial part of diversity metrics on corporate boards. Out Leadership is changing that,” noted Sears. “For the past seven years, we’ve been filling critical knowledge gaps to bring intersectional diversity to a new level through our Quorum initiative. We’re proud of the momentum our work has created, especially in the last 12 months from California AB 979 to the Nasdaq’s diversity proposal. The summit, and the ground-breaking research we’re launching will hopefully take that momentum to the next level – accessible to leaders and companies of all levels.”
The Visibility Counts: The LGBTQ+ Board Leadership Opportunity report is the ‘first-ever’ US study into LGBTQ+ board diversity, said Out Leadership. The research, launched at its Quorum summit taking place this week (from 2-5 February 2021), was published in association with Ropes & Gray. The report also contains policy examples and best practice. Its aim is to expand the board diversity conversation globally to be more LGBTQ+ inclusive.
For more information about the Quorum Summit, click here.
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