Todd Sears says business is the main engine for equality and that CEOs need visible allyship, not silence. Many leaders have never known an openly gay person. When executives show up for inclusion, it lifts everyone: women, people of color, LGBT employees.
I firmly believe that the only way we will achieve full equality in the world is through the power of business. I've had an amazing opportunity over my entire career over the last 20 years to work with hundreds of CEOs. I've been told so many times over the years that I'm the first gay person that so many of these senior leaders have ever gotten to know. When I work with a lot of CEOs, they say, well, of course I'm good with the gays, right? They know that I'm supportive. And I say, well, how do your people know that? Are they mind readers? Have you told them? And nine times out of ten, they have not. And unfortunately, in most minority communities, especially the LGBT community, we have this thing called the assumption of negative intent. And what that means is, if you don't tell us something positive, we will unfortunately assume something negative. Because LGBT people are not visible. We are an invisible minority. What you do for us around inclusion actually sets the tone for the broader corporate culture. If a straight white male says that he's an ally to LGBT people, the overall engagement of women and people of color in his organization goes up. So the opportunity to create a culture from the inside, from an inclusion perspective, is. Is absolutely what differentiates a successful company from a failure. My name is Todd Sears, and I'm ready to make.
