So we’re at 20 posts and no one has mentioned that in Wealth Management, being gay can be an advantage on many levels. There are a lot of wealthy gays, many don’t have child expenses weighing on their PV of future revenue. Many may have special financial planning needs too.
A gay wealth manager may well be both a better advisor (understanding gay-specific issues like trusts for same-sex spouses and stuff), and a better salesperson to a clientele with substantial assets.
The workplace requires a degree of professionalism. A man who is mildly effeminate (gay or straight) can still fit in. A man who is flaming gay probably won’t, but neither would a major emo woman, or a super artsy straight guy who refuses to wear a suit, etc…
And don’t forget that being gay isn’t necessarily about being efemminate (if you’re a guy). There are plenty of gay men that are pretty macho (just look at the gay bikers, for example - I wouldn’t want to get them angry in a dark alley). They just prefer having sex with men (usually, but not always more effeminate men). And there are plenty of lipstick lesbians that will get plenty a straight man’s mouth drooling. I’ve known a few (not in the biblical sense).
This may be pretty new age, but I still think of sexuality as a spectrum. If 10 is straight as John Wayne and 1 is Richard Simmons then I’m probably like an 8. A lot of gay guys are like a 3, i.e. Anderson Cooper.
Does anything really matter if you are beating the market? You can be a black, gay, atheist, communist without limbs and land a job if you are a good earner. We are all blind prostitutes for dinero.
The obvious answer to your question is “No. As long as you generate 28% alpha every year, you can land a job at my firm.”
Similarly, if a person was able to run the 100-meter dash in 7.5 seconds, I would probably invite him to represent the US in the summer Olympics. If a person could pitch a ball at 162 mph, I would invite him to try out for my MLB team.
The question is bogus, however. Nobody can run 100 meters in 7.5 seconds, and nobody can pitch 162 mph, and nobody generates 28% alpha every year. A better question to ask is, “Since you really don’t bring anything to the table beyond what the 128 other candidates bring, why should we risk alienating our conservative client base to accommodate your alternative lifestyle? Since you’re virtually identical to the straight candidates, shouldn’t I hire them, so I don’t have to explain to our partners and employees that I hired somebody who is outside the norm?”
I know this sounds shtty for the gay candidate, but as a hiring manager, I’m looking out for myself. And I really don’t want to explain to my Republican clients and bosses that I hired a gay person when there were several dozen straight ones available.
EDIT - Although the above was particularly targeted toward gays, the same could be said for racial, religious, sexist, or even educational bias. “How can I explain the fact that I hired a black/Muslim/female/local state grad, when there are plenty of white/Christian/male/Harvard grads available?” It’s sad, but true.
when i was in college i interned at a blugle bracket private bank. not the MD, but the guy in charge of overseeing like 5 of the other private banks in the region. he was pretty effeminate (maybe not ‘flaming’, but pretty obvious he was gay), but the dude was a straight boss (you could call hima ‘BSGD’) at his job and had mad respect from everybody in our firm.
needless to say the only thing different was that nobody ate the chikfila in our building’s basement when he was in town.
First of all, I can see why people are in “closet” because it’s none of anyone’s business at work.
I don’t think it’s appropriate for a gay person talk about who he sleeps witih over the weekend as much as a straight man talking about the women he sleeps with at work.
As for professionalism, i think everyone has to dress and act professionally, and the professionalism is definitely a set of standards people are most comfortable with and respect of. Just like piercings or tattoos, you are expected to cover them up in certain client facing industries, and that’s not to say they discriminate people who have piercings and tattoos necessarily.
A straight man, who may wear boxers and white tank top at home, does not go to work dressing that way. A gay man, who may wear floral printed tights and disco balls as earings on the weekend, should not dress like that in the office.
I think there are more similarities between gay and straight men than differences.
Everyone knows a pitching machine throwing 162 mph from second base is the same as a 100 mph fastball from the mound in MLB and the same as an 85 mph ball thrown at the LL world series.
Yeah there was a post about some guy who was fantasizing about being the terminator going into the test, it brought tears to my eyes back in the day. The post is at least 8 years old, probably hard to find.