Out in IT: A work-in-progress for the LGBTQ+ community

While identifying gender and race is a common part of the onboarding process at most companies, sexual orientation and gender identity are not, which makes it all the more difficult to gather metrics. Because the decision to share that status is voluntary, LGBTQ+ employees have a different experience than other “visible” minorities, says Jeff Raver (he/him), a top-level IT executive, who openly identifies as gay. “Gay people must choose to share who they are and this affects people in multiple ways,” says Raver, vice president of strategy, growth, and innovation at SAIC. “Since teams may not know they are working with an LGBTQ co-worker, both unintentional and intentional bias becomes a greater challenge. Rue Roman (she/her), senior software engineer and Android developer, Capital One Capital One Rue Roman (she/her), senior software engineer and Android developer, Capital One The sheer size of the firm, the range of internal LGBTQ+ resources, including the Out Front business resource group (BRG), and the widespread use of pronouns in company emails were among the first signs Roman took that Capital One would be a better fit. Mindy Ferguson (she/her), managing vice president, Capital One Capital One Mindy Ferguson (she/her), managing vice president, Capital One “It was a strange dance, and it required a lot of effort,” says Ferguson, now managing vice president at Capital One, where is she out and active in the LGBTQ+ community.