June 25th, 2008
Beyond the open doors
More LGBT employees are choosing to work for companies that don’t just speak about welcoming diversity – they also prove it
MARJO JOHNE
Special to The Globe and Mail
June 25, 2008
Almost everyone in Brooks Beaudoin’s life knew he was gay; he had come out years ago to his parents, sibling and friends.
There was just one more door to open: at work. But his employer wasn’t exactly the gay-friendliest of places.
So Mr. Beaudoin, who had just finished his MBA studies at the University of Minnesota, began to search for another job.
"It was the last part of my life where I still hadn’t come out. I knew at that point that I would only work for a company where I could be out and it would be okay."
It took some sleuthing, trolling Internet sites and tapping his network of friends, to find such an employer, but he finally set his sights on global accounting firm Ernst & Young.
And he landed a position there, first as a staff consultant in its Minneapolis offices, and then last summer relocating to its Toronto office as a senior tax staff member in its transfer pricing practice.
He is happy to report that he has found a workplace where he can be himself. And he’s not the only one.