Gays and lesbians are finding it easier to work on Wall Street these days, but career advancement can still be hindered in the macho world of high finance.
A panel of investment bankers offered advice, anecdotes, and frank discussions about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in banking and the marketplace at the 2005 "Reaching Out" conference in Boston on February 5th. The conference was organized by gay and lesbian students at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Yale School of Management.
With the exception of one person who asked not to be identified by name, all of the panelists said that they are "out" at work. Before coming to Lehman Brothers, Jay Coleman said he had talked to other employees at the company about diversity issues and was pleased with what he heard.
"I wanted to be someplace where I would be valued for who I was," said Coleman, who is now managing director, head of equity capital markets. "This is a very competitive business and if you're not comfortable going to work every day, you won't excel."
Jack Corwin began his career on Wall Street in the early 1980s and found the environment at that time less supportive.
"Employers didn't know why I didn't fit in—but they were sure that I did not," he said. "They helped make my decision by terminating me. After two or three iterations of this, I realized that the only firm I wouldn't get fired from was my own company." In 1987, he launched Huntington Holdings, which he still runs today.
Conformity rules
The panelist who has kept his preferences private at work said that he made his decision based on the conservative nature of the M&A department where he works. "It's still a white male-dominated business where conformity rules," he said. "I knew that getting into it—my overriding objective has always been to work in M&A. What you learn makes it an incredibly rewarding experience, so I was willing to make that sacrifice."
"At the end of the day, people are looking at your performance," said Patrick Kennedy, a vice president at Goldman Sachs. "That isn't to say there isn't bias out there, but I think it's very important that we're out at work and that people see us." Kennedy said he started at Goldman in 1994 as a straight, married man with two children. Four years ago, he came out to his family and his colleagues at work.
| I wanted to be someplace where I would be valued for who I was. |
| — Jay Coleman, Lehman Brothers |
"They were very supportive," he said. "One of my coworkers told me that I was the same person to her; I just had much more fabulous haircuts."
How much do company policies matter? wondered moderator Todd G. Sears, of the Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Group. If an organization is supportive of diversity on paper, is it still wiser to wait to come out until after you make managing director? Is there a glass ceiling for gay employees?
"Investment banking is unfortunately a last bastion of old attitudes," said Coleman of Lehman Brothers. "Do your due diligence on firms," he advised. "It's easy for firms to say they'll buy a table at the Empire State Pride Dinner, but are there people at the company who are out and in positions of leadership?"
Job hunters
Should an MBA looking for work make sexual orientation clear on his or her resume, or bring it up in the interview? asked Sears. Is it wiser to wait until one's first day of work?
"We have to put the fear aside and live our lives," said Chad A. DeMartino, an associate at Lehman Brothers. "You don't want to work at XYZ Securities if they don't want you because you started a gay group at school. When you're choosing an employer, don't think about fear. This is Wall Street, this is exciting, this is Rosa Parks—get on the bus and do it!"
"That sounds great, but the reality for me was different," said the panelist who is not out at work. "Another option is to play by the rules until you get to a position of greater power." However, being closeted at work can limit the development of relationships with colleagues and clients, he added.
Most of his dealings with clients are fairly business-focused, said Trevor R. Burgess of Morgan Stanley. But if a client asks what he did over the weekend, he won't hide the fact that he's gay.
"Sometimes, it's worked to my advantage," he said, noting that the CEO of a company he's taking public is gay. "The entire management structure of Morgan Stanley is so happy that I'm working on this deal," he said wryly. "It's a good old gay time we're having."
"Lehman is at the vanguard on this," said Coleman. "We're putting together a group of people to strategize about originating business with the gay and lesbian community."
Positives and negatives
So what's the final verdict? asked Sears. Do the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to being out in the world of banking?
"The world is changing a lot," said Coleman. "Don't make life any tougher on yourself by being something you're not. Celebrate who and what you are."
"It has a lot to do with trust," said David Kuntz, an associate director at UBS Investment Bank. "Senior managers have to be able to trust you to make important decisions. If you're hiding something, that's a difficult position to be in with a client."
Every year there are more and more examples of top-ranking executives who are out of the closet, said Stuart Poyser, an associate at Citigroup. "Take advantage of who and what's gone before you," he said.
"We each have our own path to success," said the panelist who is not out. "If you're interested in investment banking, go into it with open eyes and assess the political environment. There are going to be some departments where being gay means you're not going to be on the A-team."
"I think you should be out," said DeMartino. "What's the alternative? If Stonewall hadn't happened, we wouldn't be here today. That's the bottom line." 