GOAL SETTING FOR LGBTQ+ BUSINESS LEADERS IN 2026
2025 was a year of some concern- and chaos- for queer professionals globally. Anti-DEI policy and trends towards more visible workplace discrimination leave a greater percentage of the LGBTQ+ workforce uncertain and unhappy in their current roles.
One undeniable fact is clear: it is incumbent on LGBTQ+ professionals to take success and workplace visibility into their own hands in the new year.
With that in mind, the team at Authentic Leaders offers three fiercely loving goals for the queer business community in 2026.
These goals are reflected in upcoming “LGBTQ+ Leadership Report: 2026 Call to Action” white paper. The paper includes powerful insights with Claudia Brind-Woody, former Global VP of IBM and a preeminent thought leader and LGBTQ+ business advocate.
Connect with us! Authentic Leaders provides professional and personal LGBTQ+ leadership coaching in Australia, Asia-Pacific and around the world. Learn more about us.
3 Critical Goals for LGBTQ+ Professionals in 2026
In the coming year, the global queer workforce must step past the shortcomings of DEI initiatives, which are often performative despite being delivered with the best intentions. 2025 has proven these DEI programmes to be subject to legislative trends and cannot be relied upon to “always be there”.
Queer employees must be bold and advocate for their own positions, promotions and corporate advancement. They must also prove their worth by bringing a full toolbox of gifts and skills to the boardroom table- you can’t be accused of a “handout” when you’ve earned it.
With this in mind, these are our 3 key goals for queer professionals in the year to come:
To recognise that psychological safety at work is not a goal- it is merely the starting line.
To make your worth undeniable by identifying, recognizing and demonstrating your unique gifts- then, by trusting the allies in your midst.
To strive for authentic representation in the workplace by presenting queerness as an asset, rejecting misinformation, and owning our identities.
Safety is the Starting Line, Not the Goal.
The 2020s have provided progress and change in organisations, within the context of safeguards for LGBTQ+ employees. But reported psychological safety for these individuals has decreased in the last year:
LGBTQ+ workplace wellbeing fell from 73% to 63% in 2025- while heterosexual employee wellbeing increased from 76% to 77%. (WorkL)
14% of LGBTQ+ employees are open about their sexual or gender identity at work, compared to 45% of the general workforce. (Monster Insights)
36% of LGBTQ+ employees faced workplace discrimination in the last year, vs. 17% of non-LGBTQ+ employees.(Center for American Progress)
These statistics sit in opposition to reported DEI metrics, which suggest progress in workplace inclusivity. So why don’t LGBTQ+ workers feel safer?
We find the answer to be two-fold:
A lack in truly systemic inclusion for queer professionals, and
An internalised fear among the queer workforce to demand necessary change to the system.
The lived reality of queer professionals is inherently different from their coworkers. A toxic blend of internalised homophobia and external discrimination hinders many LGBTQ+ people from unleashing their true potential at work.
A great deal was made about Google, Disney and other large corporations rolling back DEI in 2024. But existing DEI programs without substantive, ongoing LGBTQ+ programming do little more than “check the diversity box”.
It’s incredibly difficult for queer professionals to step forward and demand systemic change. Beyond their own self-doubt, the rise of government and public critique of DEI initiatives makes “standing up” seem dangerous.
We respect and acknowledge the deep trauma, negative lived experiences and self-doubt that create this choice of “flight over fight” in our queer work community. But we also — lovingly — assert that this is unacceptable.
We have a part to play in changing the system, as scary as it may be.
Feeling safe at work doesn’t give LGBTQ+ people an advantage — it merely brings them to the beginning of a marathon that others have been running for decades. Safety is only the starting line.
And in the midst of anti-DEI sentiment, we must show up to the starting line for ourselves.
Nobody’s coming back to the starting line to “make things fair”. They’re running their own race. It’s up to us to make things more equitable for ourselves.
Showcase Your Undeniable Worth.
On July 29, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released a memorandum that effectively killed diversity and inclusion practices in many U.S. organisations.
In it, Bondi cited “preferential hiring or promotion practices” and “unlawful use of protected characteristics” as arguments against DEI in the workplace.
We recognise the hopeless feeling these comments cause in many LGBTQ+ professionals. They limit access to opportunity, safe spaces and promotion.
And yet, there is a clear pathway to success in spite of this powerful opposition. Make your worth undeniable, and it’s far more difficult for companies to openly discriminate.
For LGBTQ+ professionals, this pathway involves taking 4 key steps:
Identify and highlight your unique talents;
Recognize how your attributes are essential to your employer;
Demonstrate your worth by stepping bravely forward; and
Trust the allies around you to support your growth.
“One of the things I share with people that I mentor everywhere, straight, gay, male, female, transgender, whatever they may be, is that as a business person, you need to be very good at something,” Claudia Brind-Woody told us.
“We own our own careers, and we must add value. What are we authentically good at?”
Queer professionals must identify the strengths and inherently valuable traits they bring to the workplace. In doing so, they transcend the label of “LGBTQ+ person” and become an undeniable set of skills, assets and gifts.
We must do more than show up. In spite of these fears, we must stand up and be undeniable in our value to the employer.
And standing up inspires people. Your courage and tenacity gives permission to others to step forward as allies and champion your cause.
Strive for True Workplace Representation.
There is a fine line between one's queerness being celebrated, and being included solely for that queerness.
Today’s LGBTQ+ professional worries about becoming corporate “quota bait” — being hired because they’re a lesbian, gay man, bisexual, non-binary or transgender person.
The answer to this problem lies in our previous discussion. By identifying our unique talents, recognizing them as indispensable, bravely stepping forward to demonstrate our worth, and trusting our colleagues for support, our gifts and attributes become the measure of our worth in the workplace.
We then become free to present our queerness as a further asset, not be defined by it.
At Authentic Leaders, we define owning your authentic identity as “realizing the wholeness and intersectionality of your identities, and owning who you truly are as a unique LGBTQ+ person and leader.”
Identify your true, intersected self, and you’ll unlock the full potential of your role in the workplace. This intersection is unlike any other in the world — the ability to define and share it with co-workers is the key to a truly authentic career.
LGBTQ+ Professionals: Own Your Career in 2026
Authentic Leaders provides LGBTQ+ leadership development programming for progressive organisations.
The success and advancement of queer businesspeople in 2026 will be determined by their ability to bravely stand up, self-advocate, and demonstrate an undeniable worth to their organisations.
We can no longer wait for the “gift” of psychological safety from DEI initiatives- that is a gift we must give to ourselves. Queer employees must actively seek opportunities to refine their skills, demonstrate their worth, and rely on workplace allies to support their cause.
Authentic Leaders publishes our complete white paper, “LGBTQ+ Leadership Report: 2026 Call to Action”, in January 2026. We are thrilled to share our insights with you and champion the progress of queer leaders worldwide in the near year.
Progressive organisations: work with us! Support, nurture and develop the innovative queer talent in your ranks- talk to us about the Authentic Leaders Programme.
