Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Seattle University Law Review
Publication Date
2023
Volume
46
First Page
255
Abstract
(Excerpt)
Corporate boardrooms sit at the heart of most of society’s most consequential decisions but fall far short of the diversity of our society. The current movement toward board diversification aims to remedy the underrepresentation of marginalized groups on corporate boards. More recently, some efforts have included LGBTQ+ people, even though the basis for their inclusion on corporate boards remains largely unstated. This Article examines both the normative and instrumental bases for LGBTQ+ inclusion in board diversity initiatives, articulating unspoken assumptions and linking LGBTQ+ people to the broader inclusion effort. In so doing, it begins to surface the unique issues LGBTQ+ inclusion raises, understanding of which is critical to making any such policies work.
Gay corporate leaders are paradoxically nowhere but everywhere. Openly LGBTQ+ people represent less than 0.3% of Fortune 500 corporate board members (twenty times lower than their 5.6% representation in the total US population). Even so, it is likely that many uncounted closeted directors serve in board roles. For these directors, the fear of exclusion overshadows a prouder existence, and ticking an LGBTQ+ box may feel more like an unwanted disclosure. Heterosexism’s historical power has yet to subside, even though some LGBTQ+ people wield substantial social and economic capital.
Comments
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sulr/vol46/iss2/3/