Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling - RSA

Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling

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  • Business and entrepreneurship
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How can LGBTQ+ people thrive and succeed at work?

There are currently only four LGBTQ+ CEOs across all Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies who are out at work, and just 0.8% of Fortune 500 board positions are filled by LGBTQ+ people. This deficit, occurring across sectors and around the world, reveals a diversity gap playing out in today’s workplace: LGBTQ+ people are less likely to reach the top jobs. But what is holding LGBTQ+ people back at work – and what can be done?


Layla McCay is Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation, Executive Lead of the UK's Health and Care LGBTQ+ Leaders Network and author of a new book: Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling. Combining fresh data with personal insights from over 40 prominent LGBTQ+ trailblazers, from CEOs to Ambassadors, the book reveals the challenges that LGBTQ+ people commonly encounter as they find their way in work environments, and provides practical strategies that can help empower LGBTQ+ people to reach their full professional potential.


Join Layla at the RSA to explore how everyone – from boards, CEOs, HR professionals, managers and colleagues, through to LGBTQ+ people navigating their own career paths – can recognize and address the barriers to progression, achieve their career goals, and build a more inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and succeed.

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