Q&A: The "Rainbow Ceiling" for LGBTQ+ Workers, with Layla McKay

Layla McCay’s 2024 book, Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling, won the Axiom Business Book Award for career books. She is a medical doctor turned health policy leader who has worked at the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the British government, and several NGOs. Her latest nonfiction, The Queer Bookshelf, about LGBTQ+ literature, is out now.

Q: Only four LGBTQ+ CEOs are out at work across Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. You’ve invented a phrase to describe why this happens: “the rainbow ceiling.” What is it, and why does it persist?

"In fact, since I wrote the book, some of these CEOs have left or are about to leave. There’s now only one CEO who is publicly known to be LGBTQ+ across Fortune 500 companies.

"The rainbow ceiling is the set of barriers that holds LGBTQ+ people back as we climb the career ladder. Like the glass ceiling, it’s built from societal prejudice. It manifests in hiring decisions that are influenced by someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, opportunities not offered, connections not made, and doors not opened. It also comes from within: years of being told we’re less deserving causes many LGBTQ+ people to self-limit and second-guess ourselves."

Q: LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Awareness Day falls on June 17 in 2026. In the U.S., LGBTQ+ workers earn between 10% and 32% less, with similar gaps in many other countries. What’s driving that gap? What can LGBTQ+ employees do to help ensure they’re paid fairly?

"The pay gap has multiple roots, and they start long before people enter the workplace. Bullying, isolation, and stress at school can affect educational attainment and career decisions. In the workplace, unfair performance assessments hold LGBTQ+ people back. Informal networks can be harder to access. And LGBTQ+ people are less likely to reach senior roles where salaries are highest.

"As for what LGBTQ+ employees can do: The evidence is clear. Being in the closet reduces performance and holds careers back. Beyond that, actively seek mentors and sponsors. And if you can, find employers who include LGBTQ+ people visibly in senior leadership and in their benefits policies."

Q: Many of our readers strive to be good allies to their LGBTQ+ colleagues. What’s your most practical advice on how to do this well?

"The most important thing is to avoid assumptions, which can play out in a thousand small ways: asking about someone’s husband when they have a wife, not including a colleague’s partner in an invitation, or referring to someone by pronouns they don’t use. If someone mentions their partner, follow their lead on language. Speak up whenever you hear derogatory language or jokes. And if you get something wrong, don’t panic; just apologize and move on.

"If you’re in a position to advocate for LGBTQ+ talent in promotions discussions, or push back when a hiring short list seems oddly homogeneous, do it. Allies can often raise these things in ways that LGBTQ+ people sometimes cannot."

Q: Your book draws on insights from 40+ LGBTQ+ trailblazers. Was there a tension in what they told you between the advice to “bring your whole self to work” and the reality that doing so can still carry significant risks?

"Absolutely, and I think being honest about that tension matters. In over sixty countries, being LGBTQ+ remains criminalized. So “bring your whole self to work” is both true and, in many contexts, dangerously incomplete advice if it isn’t followed by the words “when it’s safe to do so.”

"The leaders I spoke to were generally glad they decided to come out at work. Almost all described periods of hiding that were both psychologically costly and professionally limiting. Their experience reflects the research: authenticity matters enormously for progression. "