I came out in my twenties at a Big 5 consulting firm. I was good at my job, and even stepped up to help launch the company’s first LGBTQ+ employee resource group (ERG). 

However, I still spent an enormous amount of energy navigating being out at work and what that might mean for my career. That kind of vigilance has a cost. Not just to the person carrying it but to every team, every meeting, every idea that never quite surfaces. 

I think about that young professional often. Because the question of whether people can be fully themselves at work isn’t a wellness trend or a political position. It’s a business question, and the data has answered it clearly. 
Belonging drives performance. 

At Out & Equal, we’ve spent nearly 30 years working alongside employers to advance LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. When people feel safe, seen, and valued, they show up differently. They stay. They contribute. They take risks that lead to breakthroughs. And organizations that create those conditions don’t just become better places to work. They become stronger businesses. 

For LGBTQ+ employees, the workplace carries a particular weight. It is where many spend the majority of their waking hours, often away from family and community, in environments where they have little control over who knows what about them. 

In 2026, that calculus has become more complicated. Organizations that have quietly rolled back inclusion commitments, removed ERG funding, or stopped publicly affirming their LGBTQ+ employees haven’t just changed a workplace policy. They’ve told people something about whether they belong. 

And people are listening: nearly one in five LGBTQ+ employees are actively considering leaving their current employer because of it. 

Let's look at the bigger picture. Nearly one in four employees have already switched companies to find an environment where they could be more open. And nearly 80% say anti-LGBTQ+ laws affect their willingness to relocate for a job opportunity. That’s not a culture problem. That’s a talent pipeline problem, with direct consequences for recruitment, retention, and competitive positioning. 

For leaders navigating this moment, in which the legal landscape is shifting and the pressure to pull back is real, the evidence offers a clear counterpoint: The organizations sustaining this work aren’t doing it despite the uncertainty. They’re doing it because of it. They understand that belonging is what keeps people anchored when everything else feels unstable. 

Every fall, Out & Equal brings together more than 4,000 executives, HR and inclusion professionals, ERG leaders, and allies at our Workplace Summit: not simply to celebrate what’s been accomplished but to do the harder work of figuring out what holds when the environment stops cooperating. This October in Seattle, that conversation will be more important than it has been in years. 

Because belonging can’t be a one-time initiative. It’s a long-arc practice, and it requires a community willing to keep showing up for it. 

I’ve spent more than three decades watching what happens inside organizations that make this commitment, and inside the ones that don’t. The business case has never been stronger. The question is whether we have the courage to act on it. For the professionals still calculating how much of themselves to bring to work each day, the answer to that question matters more than any business case can capture. 

Erin Uritus (she) is CEO of Out & Equal, a nonprofit that partners with organizations worldwide to advance LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. The 2026 Out & Equal Workplace Summit will be held October 12-15 at the Seattle Convention Center.