For the past five years, Quorum, Out Leadership’s initiative dedicated to increasing the representation of openly LGBTQ+ directors on corporate boards, has been at the forefront of these efforts through research, advocacy with CEOs and industry leaders, educational programs for current and aspiring board members through Quorum’s global sponsor KPMG, and building the only global database and network of LGBTQ+ aspiring board members.

Yet, despite the increased focus on diversity on boards (which centers solely on gender and ethnicity), the LGBTQ+ representation on corporate boards remains truly abysmal. In fact, our recent joint research with Out Leadership’s Global Sponsor Ropes & Gray showed that only 24 seats out of 5,670 in the Fortune 500 are occupied by openly LGBTQ+ people. Among these seats, only 2 LGBTQ+ persons of color (both men) are included. This is the outcome of an almost complete lack of inclusion of LGBTQ+ diversity in