Navigating the Unseen
I\’ve been an \”out\” business professional since my first corporate job with InsideTrack in 2007. I remember when I first invited my work team over to my house because I was the only one with A/C that could fit everyone, and had to take some scandalous magnets off the front of the refrigerator because they screamed GAY and that just wasn\’t how I wanted to (re)present myself.
Since then I\’ve enjoyed a multi-disciplinary career with twists and turns not for the faint of heart but with one singular mission: to create connected communities were people can thrive and grow.
Because of the sometimes invisible nature of my identity within the LGBT community, and the fact that I\’m a white cis-male, it\’s not always apparent that I\’m gay. I\’m also not always aware of hostile or repressive actions towards me. Sometimes it\’s hard to tell when people are trying to undermine you, or just don\’t have your best interests at heart due to some learned judgement of your identity, not based on the actual experience of YOU, consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes repression goes unseen as well.
But its impact is still very real.
Because I\’m lacking a generation of LGBT mentors that died in the AIDS crisis of the 80\’s, I\’ve had to find my own way in my career, often through other minorities that took me under their wing. Perhaps they recognized in me a similar fate to themselves, proscribed by systemic \”-isms\” in our institutions, exacerbated by the silencing of minority voices in media, public policies, and culture. Perhaps they saw what my naive eyes did not see. Perhaps someone helped them too, and they were paying it forward.
Thank you Sheree Fields, Jacqueline Jones, MJ Petroni, Scott Forgey, J.D. and all my professional colleagues who have helped me along the way to bring my full talents to the workplace and overcome systemic barriers that still exist.
This month we celebrate Pride to remind people of the courageous messengers that responded to repression, first in Amsterdam in the 40\’s, and then in the US in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots. I don\’t believe these reactions to repression were from a desire to hurt, but from a desire to be heard (and seen and respected).
Did you know?
In the USA, over 1.4M business owners identify as LGBTQ+, according to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). These businesses combined account for $1.7 trillion worth of the United States’ gross domestic product annually, or about 6.6% of the United State’s $25.44 trillion GDP.
The economic impact of LGBTQ+-owned businesses is only anticipated to grow and nearly a third of the US’s LGBTQ+-owned businesses are located in the South, indicating that LGBTQ+ people continue to drive economic growth even in areas where they may typically experience social and political discrimination (*ahem* FLORIDA).
So take a moment to celebrate diversity this month. Diversity drives innovation and diverse teams create better solutions: for business and for the world.