The below transcript is from an April 2012 interview with Brian Rogan, Chief Risk Officer at BNY Mellon. Interviewees for the series Out on Top: Executive Pride were asked for their personal opinions and not those reflective of their current or past employer. The views expressed are not necessarily those of any employer or this website.

Quick Question Links:
Personal History – Out at Work – Work Relationships – Productivity Impact – Work Not Place to Be Out – Inclusion Dividend – Executive Pride – Advice to Non-LGBT Inclusive Companies

Dagoba Group: Give us a brief overview of your work history and your current role.

I am a Vice Chairman of the firm and its Chief Risk Officer. This role has all of the disciplines of risk, compliance and security. I have been sitting on the company’s executive committee for 14 years now. I actually came to the risk department in the middle of an industry crisis in June of 2008. Prior to that, I had experience with just about every facet of the business. In total, I have been at the company for 31 years.

Dagoba Group: At what point in your career did people know you were heterosexual? How did they know?

I just assumed they always knew, so in some respects this is a difficult question to answer. When I was a trainee and unmarried, I would go out on dates and discuss my dating relationships with work friends. I also had a number of colleagues at my wedding. When I started in 1979, I suspect the assumption at the time was that everyone was straight.

Dagoba Group: If you were not able to be public about being heterosexual (wearing wedding ring, photos of spouse on desk, openly talking about home life or weekends) how would that affect the conversations or relationship with colleagues and supervisors?

I think it would be very stressful. When you work with people in our industry, you are with them 8 to 10 hours a day. Not being able to reveal your personal life with your colleagues would be extremely stressful and I think you would end up feeling excluded.

Dagoba Group: Because you have been able to share your family life with colleagues, supervisors and clients how do you think this has impacted your collegial relationships?

It is all about the conversations and about building rapport. When you are younger it is about who you are dating, and when you are older it’s about your family. Shared life experiences are one way you can relate to colleagues. And, conversations help you bond with your colleagues. This can also help with career development with your colleagues or a mentor.

Dagoba Group: Have you known colleagues to come out as being gay? Did you notice a strengthening or weakening of their collegial relationships? Did this change in relationships impact their productivity?

I have learned a lot by attending our LGBT employee affinity network, which is a resource group for all employees. This is where I have learned more about colleagues who have decided to become open about their sexuality. There is no doubt in my mind that being open allows people to be much happier and more satisfied at work, which ultimately has to equate to more productivity. The law of physics will tell you that if you spend less time at one thing — such as hiding your personal life — you’ll have much more time to spend on something else such as your career.

This not only impacts our LGBT employees, but also the parents of LGBT children. Parents feel more included and comfortable talking about their children. They have said it is good to work for a company who respects them and values diversity. I hear this a lot and it moves me.

Dagoba Group: Do you think gay employees believe they need to pretend to be straight at work to protect or promote their career? Why? Don’t restrict yourself to BNY Mellon in your answer. It could be friends or family employed by other firms.

As for why some people have hidden their personal lives, I think they fear there will be retaliation and that somehow this will derail their career. I think this differs by industry and professions. I believe in finance it was common to keep your GLBT sexual orientation a secret. A lot of my friends are in the entertainment business. None of them have kept it a secret.

Also, timing has a lot to do with it as well. In the past it was much more difficult to come out compared to today. Then there is also your geography, which may also create different situations. In my experience, bigger cities tend to be more comfortable with colleagues who are out versus smaller, more rural places but I think this is changing too.

Dagoba Group: What does it mean for your company for employees to be comfortable with their sexual orientation at work?

It makes for happier colleagues. One woman told me about not being able to have a photo of her partner and children on her desk. The first time she took it out was in 2007, even though they had been together for 20 years. We work for the benefit of our families. I just can’t imagine not being able to have a photo of my family at work.

There is no doubt in my mind that diversity and inclusion of all types makes companies stronger, more effective. Different life perspectives allow the company to have diversity of thought around business issues too. It is not healthy for a company to have a monolithic thought pattern.

Dagoba Group: Given it is common for straight employees to be out, how do you respond when somebody says, “Work is not the place to be out.”?

The question I will often get is, “I don’t discuss my sex life at work, why do gay people feel like they have to discuss theirs?” My answer is simple. This is not about their sex life, it is about their life. It is about having a photo of your family on your desk. It is about sharing who you are the same way everyone else at work does.
It would be odd to me if I could not discuss my sons or wife at work.

Dagoba Group: In your opinion, does a company that expands its inclusive policy to include sexual orientation have a positive, negative or neutral effect on their client base?

In the US, this has a definitely positive effect. How we score in the different best places to work / social responsibility programs is often part of new business proposal requirements. So, all of this is a significant positive. This is also true for Western Europe. In some other parts of the world where the GLBT issue is not nearly as advanced, there is a neutral impact.

Keep in mind that when we are doing business with governments and municipalities or other Fortune 500 companies, if we did not have an inclusive policy it would most certainly be a negative.

Dagoba Group: How important is it for a company’s inclusive environment to have executives who are comfortable being out?

Three or four colleagues I have known for 20+ years asked me to take on a leadership role on this issue. They all felt it was extremely important for the most senior people who were GLBT to be open as well as straight executives to be aligned with our company’s Prism network.

Dagoba Group: For those companies that do not currently have an inclusive policy that includes sexual orientation, what is your advice?

I think you are really doing your employees and the company harm. The energy people have to use to keep their personal lives hidden has a negative effect on the company. Also, not having a diversity of thought puts a company at a disadvantage.

On a personal note, one employee sent me a letter thanking me for being involved on this issue. My wife was so proud she had the letter framed to put up in our home.