Out at Work: Building Genuine LGBTQIA+ Inclusion in a Conservative Industry

Summit Insurance Group is a 650-person regional insurance firm operating primarily in conservative Midwestern markets. The company added sexual orientation and gender identity to its non-discrimination policy in 2019 following state legislative pressure. The CEO sent a Pride Month email last June. On paper, Summit looks inclusive. In reality, LGBTQIA+ employees describe a culture of careful silence: they don't bring their partners to company events, they avoid mentioning their personal lives, and several have reported that managers have made dismissive or othering comments that went unaddressed. A confidential internal survey, triggered by the departure of three high-performing employees in eight months, surfaced alarming data: 61% of LGBTQIA+ respondents said they do not feel safe being fully out at work; 44% reported witnessing anti-LGBTQIA+ language in the past year; only 12% said HR had ever responded effectively to a concern. The Head of HR has brought you in, but has not yet disclosed the full survey findings to the leadership team.

Key Stakeholders

Greg Halverson

CEO

Dana Kowalski

Head of Human Resources

Marcus Ellis

Senior Underwriter (LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group Lead)

Cheryl Branson

Regional Manager, Operations

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish symbolic LGBTQIA+ inclusion (policy, Pride emails) from structural and cultural inclusion
• Apply psychological safety frameworks to gender identity and sexual orientation dynamics in the workplace
• Diagnose the organizational climate factors that produce self-censorship and identity concealment
• Navigate a consulting engagement where key stakeholders hold information asymmetries
• Design interventions that address benefits equity, managerial behavior, and culture simultaneously
• Work with Employee Resource Groups as organizational data sources and change partners