Be a Better Ally
How to make workplaces more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community and increase corporate diversity
Diego Nunes is tired of seeing LGBTQ+ friends bump up against discrimination—often unintentional—at work. He’s watched shoulders sag after misplaced water cooler questions about girlfriends, seen friends sneak into gay nightspots fearful of being spotted by a client. Nunes (MBA’18) is the former president of Cohort Q, Questrom’s LGBTQ+ MBA club, which provides networking opportunities, tracks down internships, and brings companies to campus to talk about diversity efforts. Now the marketing manager for Shoobx, a Boston-area start-up that provides software for entrepreneurs, Nunes’ personal mission is to make workplaces more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community and increase corporate diversity.
1Work and home can—and should—mix “Is there really a difference between who people are outside of work and who people are inside of work? When I started my career, I had two very different Diegos: one that was going to work and the other one outside of work. My biggest fear was that the two Diegos would have to meet, that I was going to be with some friends and I was going to meet somebody from work and that was going to be very complicated. You want people to feel like they can be themselves and bring their whole to their work; when I have to put my energy into thinking about the way I move, the way I behave, the way I talk, that’s energy I could’ve been putting into work and achieving better results.”
2Don’t make assumptions “My native language is Portuguese; we don’t have this neutral word ‘partner,’ but here you have it, which is great. So, instead of asking, ‘Do you have a girlfriend or a wife or a husband?’ just ask, ‘Do you have a partner?’ You don’t have to make assumptions that people are straight.”
3Recruit differently “As soon as companies reach out to a college’s career center, they should ask about making connections with student groups like Cohort Q. If they let people know they’re particularly interested in attracting diversity candidates, it passes on a positive message.”
4Encourage employee resource groups “Employees with different kinds of affinities can gather in groups to expand their network and try to influence a company’s policies. The fact that they’re part of a club, and people know they’re part of a club, minimizes the need to come out every time they meet someone new at the workplace.”
5Expand your view of diversity “We have a very, very low representation of people of color or women who are lesbian, bi, or trans within the MBA LGBTQ+ community—maybe the corporate MBA community. It’s so male, white, and straight-passing that I just want people to notice that; think about your professional network, see how diverse it is, and you’ll see why we have so much work still to do.”
