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“Giving voice to people is just as important Encouraging allies to join your firm’s LGBTQ+
as visibility,” said Ozoemena Nnamadim, CPA, employee resource group is a great way to increase
Deloitte & Touche LLP senior consultant, ac- the amount of support within the firm, as well as
counting and reporting advisory, and co-chair of offer a way for closeted employees to join as an
the LGBTQ+ Initiatives Committee. “The first “ally” until they feel comfortable enough to come
step is naming and acknowledging that there are out at work. (See the sidebar, “How to Be a Good
queer people in this space, and the other side of Ally at Work.”)
that is actually giving voice and providing op- It’s also very likely that individual employees
portunities for insight, sharing ideas, and being a will be involved in multiple employee resource
thought leader and partner along the journey of groups, so firms should encourage groups to
inclusion.” work with one another to make sure initiatives
Firms should consider having a member of their are intersectional.
leadership team participate in employee resource “Intersectionality considers sexual orienta-
group meetings, as Moore said they do at Grant tion and gender, along with race, religion,
Thornton. That leader can then take any feedback or ability, military service, and more,” said Steve
ideas back to the C-suite, helping to ensure neces- Kampa, CPA, CGMA, partner with RSM US
sary changes are implemented across the firm. LLP (RSM). Kampa co-chaired the LGBTQ+

How to be a good ally at work

Firm leaders are in the best position to make systemic Be open and curious
changes in support of LGBTQ+ employees, but anyone PFLAG describes allies as people who know that they don’t
can take steps to improve the day-to-day work life of know everything but are willing to learn.
their LGBTQ+ colleagues. Chris Crespo, Steve Kampa, Nick “Be willing to ask questions, be willing to be curious,
Moore, and Jean-Marie Navetta offer their top tips for and don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know,” Navetta
being a good ally at work: said. “Admitting you’re learning doesn’t mean you’re a
bad person, and it doesn’t mean you won’t understand, so
Don’t make assumptions don’t let it shut you down. It’s in silence that people feel
One simple way to be a better ally in the workplace is excluded; it doesn’t happen when people are able to talk
to avoid making assumptions about someone’s sexual about stuff.”
orientation or gender. When meeting someone new,
Crespo likes to start the conversation by saying, “Hello, my Support the right companies
name is Chris Crespo. I don’t like pronouns at all, so you When you are thinking about donating your time or
can use any pronouns that are respectful. What are your money to a specific company or organization, consider
pronouns?” whether their policies provide protections for the LGBTQ+
Along with asking about pronouns, you can try to avoid community. If not, you may want to help get LGBTQ+-
assuming someone’s sexual orientation by asking how friendly policies on their radar, Moore suggested.
their spouse or partner is doing, instead of their wife or
boyfriend, for example. Be active
In addition to being willing to learn, Navetta said, allies
If you hear something, say something should be active in their support. While that support
Another way allies can support their LGBTQ+ colleagues should be more than placing a rainbow sticker on your car,
is by speaking up when someone says or does something it doesn’t have to be extreme activism either.
offensive in the workplace and they might not be aware. “It could be making sure that if you have people on your
“Be that voice to say, ‘I understand you might not know team who are queer, you are asking the same questions
what you said, but did you know that is not OK?’ ” Kampa about their weekends and families that you are about
said. everyone else,” Navetta said.

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