PRIDE 2024: Adding AI Skills, Finding Safer Spaces to Work & Why Visibility is the Journey (Not the Destination)

Every single one of us in the LGBTQ+ community should have the options to be out, proud and PAID. Data from a recent LinkedIn survey found that 3 in 4 (75%) of LGBTQ+ professionals have code-switched in the workplace, downplaying their identity to seemingly become more palatable and advance professionally.

Despite the very real attacks on the progress we’ve made in the world and at work, it’s still a fight to be visible, authentic and successful. BUT WE DO HAVE OPTIONS; WE DO HAVE AGENCY. Here's the deal: great careers are a team sport. No one does it alone. Queer professionals and true allies can work together and share strategies to avoid or concur workplace roadblocks. We're stronger TOGETHER as a COMMUNITY.

To tap into our collective knowledge for insights and advice, my team at LinkedIn collaborated with Impact Media to launch the 2024 ‘Out @ Work’ Guide to Navigating the Invisible Roadblocks of PRIDE. This go-to guide reveals some of the “invisible roadblocks” LGBTQ+ professionals face at work—from building community, to finding equitable representation, to breaking paths towards upward mobility. Here are some of the key takeaways from the guide.  

Reimagine Your Gay — and Straight — Networks

64% of LGBTQ+ professionals wish there were more people like them in the workplace. You may not be able to change that alone but what you can do is re-envision how you think about your network. 

Your network isn't limited to your co-workers and bosses, past and present. Friend groups and industry acquaintances should be included, too. Even if they have completely different jobs than you, lean on them and other people who are queer in your network to have the candid conversations. Ask about their career progressions, what they’ve faced at work, and how they’ve managed issues. And then share yours.

Our community needs to network differently.

Our networks have to also include straight people. Inspiration and knowledge are everywhere so don’t be discouraged if you can’t find a lot of folks in your company or city. Use LinkedIn to find the thought leaders who’ve done amazing things in their career and follow their example. I follow Todd Sears from Out Leadership and Thasunda Brown Duckett from TIAA. While I've never met them in person, they are both executives who offer me great inspiration and help me see what’s possible when excellence and authenticity collide. 

PRO TIP: You can also find LGBTQ+ groups and newsletters on LinkedIn that will directly provide you with a selection of folk to connect with. Community is key in career and professional development — so start this journey by leaning into LinkedIn’s Catch Up and Grow features. These features can help you find your community by prompting you to catch up with someone you haven’t engaged in a while or grow your community by connecting with someone new. 

Now’s the Time to Double Down on AI Skills

My go-to advice for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community right now is to bone up on AI skills. In fact, according to the 2024 Work Trend Index from Microsoft and LinkedIn, there has been a 142x increase in LinkedIn members globally adding AI skills like ChatGPT and Copilot to their profiles. The shift in the workplace is inevitable and will change the way we all work. I want us as a community to be ahead of the curve on this, not behind. 

AI and AI skills won’t automatically negate homophobia in the workplace, but I strongly believe having AI skills gives you an advantage in the job market others might not have. Skills give you options and options give you agency. 

In fact, the majority of executives say that they would hire someone with AI skills over someone with more work experience. This is a real opportunity to potentially hyperspeed your job search or career advancement. Start thinking about how you can get — and showcase — these skills. It’s going to be really important today AND tomorrow. 

PRO TIP: I predict that one of the top questions recruiters and hiring managers will ask candidates over the next 18 months is ”How are you using AI in your personal or professional lives?” It could be a make or break question. Tech savvy and AI skills CAN help level the playing field. Check out free AI LinkedIn Learnings courses, like What Is Generative AI and Tips for Using ChatGPT for Business to learn these skill today.

Do Your Homework Before You Even Apply for the Job

It’s not the role or responsibility of queer people to go into a work environment and change it to be more inclusive. That’s work for corporate leadership and allies. But what we can do is find workplaces that have track records of being safer spaces for us to build and grow our careers.

One of the ways to do that is by doing your homework on any company you’re thinking about applying to. Find out if there are other LGBTQ+ professionals working there. Are there people in leadership and management who are out? 46% of LGBTQ+ professionals say they’d feel more comfortable showing their true self at work if they had more diverse leaders in their workplace. 

Check out their LinkedIn company pages and talk to your network. If you or a friend knows anyone who works there now or has in the past, ask what the work environment is like. Does company leadership use the pronoun feature in their profiles? These are all pretty good indicators of how people in those organizations feel about the LBGTQ+ community. 

PRO TIP: Ask smarter, more targeted questions during the interview process. Do they have an LGBTQ plus employee resource group? What benefits are specific to LGBTQ+ employees? Check out LinkedIn’s Top Companies List and Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for insight into great companies and their commitments to inclusion and equality.

Chances are, if they have a resources group, they either have a critical mass of LGBTQ+ employees that have either asked for or demanded it, or they're a company that has proactively said we know that the experience of our queer employees might be different and nuanced.

Authenticity At Work is a Journey and Not a Destination

Over the past decade the number of people who identify as LGBTQ+ has doubled and embracing LGBTQ+ acceptance in the workplace has reached major strides in recent years. But coming out at work is a deeply personal decision, and for better or worse there can be career impacts. Personal safety, healthcare and benefit alternatives, and workplace discrimination are real considerations for queer professionals. Many of us will come out in many ways over and over in our careers, but the way to have more voice — and more choice — is by building a strong diverse professional community; leveraging technology to help you make more informed decisions about career choices and sharing what has worked and what didn’t work with others. Always sharpen your skills to stay ahead of the game. 

So much of the career advice we’ve been given said, “Just get a job, put your head down and survive.” WelI want us to do more than survive. I want us to THRIVE! There are workplaces that exist that will allow us to be out, proud, PROTECTED and paid! You got this! And HAPPY PRIDE!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Coming out or code-switching at work is a personal choice, and there is no judgment here for anyone who has or hasn't done either of these two things at work. I was in my mid-30s before I came out at work, and I spent my 20s code-switching a lot as a gay Black executive. I felt I had to build my career and credibility first, but I also know that assimilation was exhausting for me. Wherever you are on your journey--much respect!