20 years ago in 2002 I graduated from university in Canada with a BComm (Finance, Risk Management & Insurance). Don’t get too excited, I am not one of those few insurance professionals in the London market who grew up longing to get into insurance! I came to the profession after suffering an injury that cut short my professional ballet dancing career, leading to a move back home with my parents and going to university. Back then, there was no same-sex marriage in Canada and in my home province of Alberta, same-sex rights were not common or secure.
When I graduated from business school, the careers office called me in to discuss if I could add any sporting pursuits to my CV – as it was full of dancing-related education, jobs, and volunteering – and they felt it lacked the suitable sports padding necessary. I stayed clear of that path following my elementary school career as a rather poor soccer player. I asked the careers advisor if it was the dancing that was the problem because people might (correctly) assume that I was gay. After turning a deep shade of red, she just advised that in her experience, people with non-traditional backgrounds often struggled to find work. I left that meeting and sent a letter to the Dean about my experience and expressed my feeling that if companies were known to discriminate in on-campus hiring, they should be banned. I guess that was the start of me being more directly involved in gay activism.
I persisted and I got the job I wanted. Even to this day, more often than not, I am probed about how I made the switch from ballet to insurance. It always sparks curiosity and pivots the interview into an interesting conversation. I view this as an asset. People remember me. I have only once knowingly had an offer revoked from a firm on my visa application when they noticed I put a man down in the female partner box.
Looking at society today, so much has changed. Same-sex marriage exists in the UK (where I now live) and Canada, corporate benefits plans provide benefits to same-sex couples, and adoption by same-sex couples has gained broad social acceptance.
When I compare the environment for gay people coming into insurance in 2022 versus 2002 the landscape is remarkably different. Many companies have LGBTQ+ focused employee resource groups, insurance businesses participate in Pride parades, and even have internal Pride celebrations. You also can't miss the sea of rainbow logos on LinkedIn for most insurance firms during Pride month.
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