Forming an MBA LGBT+ Organization

Forming an MBA LGBT+ Organization

Putting the cart before the horse a little, I was thinking about what other LGBT graduate business school groups call themselves. Most are pretty typical, while some are a bit more playful (e.g. The Letters, Out of Office).

What is in a name?

I was thinking: Dignity by Diversity. It’s long, but easily abbreviated (or I suppose it’s an initialism of sorts) to DxD or something. Anyhow, I am thinking through two questions: 1) what is the mission? and 2) who is our target audience?

Certainly LGBT rights, issues, stories, etc. are at the forefront. It might be a mistake to limit this only to that (those?) community. I tend to see more similarities than differences when it comes to black Americans or even women (recently read about “period parties” in the NYT and the “tampon tax”), and with my MBA cohort have a 3:1 ratio of men to women, it might be more focused and better articulated to use the terms dignity and diversity together rather than “allies”. It would allow us to invite others to the table, perhaps in a more organic way, and draw more parallels or commonalities. This more so addresses the second question.

As for the mission, I think it is to advocate for LGBT rights in the workplace and to better understand the role of our humanity in the work place. (E.g. When does professionalism get in the way of our being authentic to ourselves? What role does being our authentic selves play in the workplace?) I think this is rooted in our being gay or different, our having to flinch or hesitate in those moments we think others are “watching” (that we should feel shame), but I think the mission is to openly discuss and bring the spotlight on how our common experience (as LGBT) manifests itself in real-life, especially in the business context.

Okay, I don’t think any of this escapes you, but I hope it isn’t too cerebral or serious — albeit I think this is a serious endeavor. And while I think cute names are fun and show a certain jovial personality, I can’t help but think it in some small way diminishes the effort.

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