Cornell’s Johnson School of Management recently highlighted several of its Lgbt student organizations and fellowships that actively challenge attitudes in the workplace and help LGBT MBAs feel more supported.
The article cites a 2013 Deloitte and Kenji Yoshino study entitled Uncovering Talent, which finds that 83 percent of LGBT employees covered their identities at work, a practice that “decreases employees’ loyalty and commitment to their organization.” Compare this figure to “79 percent of blacks, 66 percent of women, 63 percent of Hispanics, and 45 percent of white heterosexual men.”
“LGBT employees may feel conflicted if they have to lead double lives in fear of being passed over for a job promotion or fired for being who they are. Today, employers in 28 states can terminate workers for self-identifying as LGBT,” explained Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) Fellow Brian Tsui, MBA ’18.
“People on the outside wonder about your status, and the LGBT person, whether out or not, can be constantly managing their image and behaviors,” adds Ryan Armstrong, MBA ’17.
Photo via Cornell Johnson
In addition to the Out for Business student group, Johnson offers two fellowships in conjunction with ROMBA, a 20-year-old organization that helps students “find sincerely welcoming communities.”
“ROMBA was originally meant to build a stronger network of LGBT peers who would go into well-paid, high-powered jobs, and be able to look after each other as a network,” says ROMBA executive director Matt Kidd.
ROMBA promotes LGBT business school leadership and “provides information about the LGBT status of business schools worldwide, application and job prep and guidance, and conferences and treks to help students find environments that are right for them.”
”I’ve had many doors open because I had an introduction from someone within the LGBT community,” said ROMBA Fellow Sara Johnson, MBA ’18.
Tsui adds, “I found the courage to be proud and vocal after finding support at the annual ROMBA conference. LGBT alumni from MBA programs proved to me that I could be successful in my career and authentic at the same time.”
You can read more about the student organizations at Cornell’s SC Johnson Graduate School of Management here.
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