The OUTstanding lists 2018: LGBT+ leaders and allies
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Since 2013, the OUTstanding lists, presented by the FT, have been celebrating those LGBT+ executives and allies who are not only successful in their careers but are also creating supportive workplaces for other LGBT+ people.
We have recognised LGBT+ future leaders and ally executives too, and this year we have our second list of LGBT+ workers from the public and third sectors.
Trans representation fell this year, from 9 per cent in 2017 across the lists to 6 per cent, but there were more lesbians (up 2.3 percentage points). Gay men still claim more than two-thirds of places. Financial services tightened their grip on the lists, up to almost a third of all nominees. Representation from the law and professional services grew too. Together, these three categories make up over half of the lists. There were sharp drops in those coming from the tech sector and industry.
Judges and methodology
All 2018 role models were nominated by peers and colleagues.
Nominations were then reviewed by the OUTstanding independent judging panel: Dawn Airey, chief executive Getty Images (pictured below); Lord Browne, executive chairman, L1 Energy; Prof Vicki Culpin, professor of organisational behaviour, Ashridge Executive Education; Harriet Green, chairman and chief executive, IBM Asia Pacific; Suki Sandhu, founder and chief executive, INvolve; Josh Spero, journalist, Financial Times; Ashok Vaswani, chief executive, Barclays UK.
Each nominee was scored on the seniority and influence of their role, their impact on LGBT+ inclusion inside and outside the workplace and their business achievements. Everyone named in the lists has given their permission to be included.
For the leading LGBT+ executive and ally executive lists, the nominee’s seniority and influence were taken into consideration. They must be visibly out or a vocal ally, working to create a positive environment for LGBT+ people. It was important that people were working towards this goal over and above their day job, which made it hard for the judges to consider diversity and inclusion professionals.
Suki Sandhu, chief executive of INvolve, parent organisation of OUTstanding, said: “Our sixth list is our most international and diverse ever. We’re so proud to see so many senior and future leaders recognised as role models for their work driving cultural change and creating work environments where everyone can succeed.”
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