Beyond Out: Corporate Leadership and LGBTQ+

Guthrie said that when the fight for diversity began, the issue mainly focused on race and gender. Panelists said we now find ourselves at an interesting point, with people of color being more likely to identify as LGBT than whites.

Lovitz said social media has also played a significant role in the LGBT diversity movement. For many  years the face of the movement, he said, was white, middle-age males which he said "made corporate America feel more comfortable" about the issue. 

But with social media, LGBT individuals began to see other people like themselves, prompting them to want to join the fight, but it also reminded people that many voices were still being silenced - which also increased participation in the fight for diversity.

Durruthy, who described herself as a "Baby Boomer", said she didn't have the benefit of social media to help with her decision to come out and work openly as a lesbian. 

"If you are gay and black or Latina, you operated under those two and tended not to divulge the other for many years," she said.

When she chose to come out, it was carefully planned.

"It was a decision," she said. "A very calculated decision" based in part by the fact that because she had managed to achieve a high level of success while not being open, she felt established enough to come out. It was also because her boss at the time was a gay man who promised to take care of and protect her from repercussions  - and he did.

The panelists said corporate America has played a large role in helping to promote LGBT diversity in the workplace, but they worry what will happen if the government chooses to operate differently - noting recent cases where the law sided against LGBT protections.

Kidd said getting corporate America to talk about the issue remains a challenge, despite the gains, and all of the panelists expressed appreciation that NBMBAA® and Prospanica® chose to focus on it at this conference.

"We still have conversations that LGBT is no diversity," Kidd said. "There is still a disconnect."

Lovitz cited statistics based on a survey of 900 businesses that have helped create 33,000 jobs. Among the numbers: There are an estimated 1.4 million LGBT business owners, and LGBT workers contribute $1.7 trillion to the American economy. "Think about that when someone says you're only 8 percent of the population," Lovitz said.

The panelists said it's critical to continue to find ways to meaure the numbers accurately. As for employers, Durruthy said companies must find ways to prove they want LGBT employees.

"In our companies and workplace, you have to say 'We want you to be here'," she said. "It's in our moral and economic best interests to do so."

She added: "The ability to create belonging is very powerful. "It's a very different experience when you're not hiding."