Welcome to QueerBio.com
DID YOU KNOW?
LGBTQ Chief Executive Officers of Business Enterprises
History was made in 2014 when Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc, publicly announced that he was gay. He is the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to openly declare himself a member of the LGBTQ community. Tim Cook's venerable global profile ensured that his announcement became news around the world. This represented a major step forward in the both the visibility of the LGBTQ community and its fight for equality. His announcement filled a gap that existed in the advancement of LGBTQ rights around the world - the lack of an active LGBTQ business leader.
It is important to have prominent LGBTQ individuals in the business community. These individuals represent the public face of their corporations. As such, the CEOs represent the company's employees, many of whom also identify as LGBTQ - having an out CEO shows their inclusion in the organization. It also shows that one's sexual preference is not a barrier to either promotion or the ability to successfully manage a business enterprise. The confidence for a CEO to be comfortable with his/her sexual preference reveals the honesty of the individual, thereby reflecting the values inherent in the company's culture. Public disclosure shows leadership by example, an important trait in motivating others within a company.
The presence of LGBTQ Chief Executive Officers in business enterprises helps to advance the efforts for global human rights. These business enterprises operate differently from government organizations and non-profits through extensive networks of suppliers and customers. By having visible LGBTQ leadership in the organization they are sending a message to those partners that being a member of a minority group does not impair the economic functioning of the relationship that has been established.
There are many more current and past Chief Executive Officers of business companies around the world who identify as LGBTQ. These leaders represent industries such as media, technology, fashion, communications, sports, biotechnology, consulting, publishing,, finance, hospitality, manufacturing, and more.
We have identified LGBTQ Chief Executive Officers of business enterprises from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, The Netherlands, and The United States. To read more and see the complete list, click HERE
Directory of past 'Did You Know?' Articles See Here
The goal of QueerBio.com is to be the definitive online biographical reference source for the international LGBTQ community. Its database lists over 17,000 contemporary and historical figures who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, two-spirit, or gender fluid (LGBTQ) and includes artists, sports figures, politicians, entertainers, business leaders, academics, activists, and more. The database is widely international in scope and is an ideal source for research and analysis with full search and sort functionality.
The mission is to inspire, educate, and motivate all generations of LGBTQ individuals and others through a collective knowledge of this international community.
Managing Editor: Mark S. Bonham
Search for a Biography
To search for an individual from the database of over 17,000 biographies, simply type the name in the Search Box located in the top right hand corner of this Home Page and click on GO. Similarly, you can search for a common characteristic such as Country, City, Nobel Prize winners, writers, and so on.
Alternatively, you can view and scroll through the entire list of biographies by viewing the All Biographies section.
Library of Congress Historic Collection - LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive
QueerBio.com has been chosen for the Library of Congress Web Archiving Program - Preserving important cultural artifacts by acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collections material of historical importance to foster education and scholarship.
Announcing Our New Documentary Project - Being Different: 101 Global LGBTQ Individuals Who Changed the World
Despite adversity and discrimination, LGBTQ individuals have excelled throughout history. Yet historians and academics have conveniently participated in the heterosexist erasure of these LGBTQ contributions by omitting the LGBTQ status of prominent historical figures from academic and historical documents. Accordingly, there are relatively few comprehensive projects which document and showcase the influence of these LGBTQ efforts.
Being Different: 101 Global LGBTQ Individuals Who Changed The World will be an original documentary outlining the contributions that members of the LGBTQ community have made, individually and collectively, to changing the world.
We are now Crowdfunding to get this project off the ground. We would love to have you as part of our team. You can help us and SUPPORT THIS PROJECT!
SEE THE TRAILER, READ MORE AND CROWDFUND HERE
Donate
Our goal is to make QueerBio.com the go-to website for global biographical information on LGBTQ identified individuals. To do this requires a serious commitment of people and resources, so we need your help to fund and help this project grow.
Click here for more information.
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Sign up to receive our informative bi-weekly newsletter. Included in the newsletter is the updated 'DID YOU KNOW?' column, a sample of new biographies added since the previous newsletter, and relevant news features pertaining to QueerBio.com.
Bonham Centre Awards Gala
Annual Awards established in 2007 to recognize individuals or groups that have made a significant contribution to the advancement and education of human rights issues surrounding sexual education. Click here to find out more about the Bonham Centre Awards, past recipients, and present nominees.
Books Available From QueerBio.Com
It's A Fabulous Morning! My Interviews With Fascinating People in the LGBTQ World (Pearse Murray and Mark S. Bonham, 2019) presents fascinating interviews with individuals from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Two Spirit and Ally (LGBTQ) community. Icons such as Lily Tomlin, Chaz Bono, Melissa Etheridge, Mark Tewksbury, John Cameron Mitchell, Kathleen Wynne, Wanda Sykes, Tony Kushner, David Hockney, Edmund White and more provide their personal stories of the community and their lives within it. Compelling insight into events of the community, such as Toronto’s Bath House Raids, is also provided. 262 pages.
A Path to Diversity: LGBTQ Participation in the Working World (Mark S. Bonham, 2017) investigates the current state of employment markets around the world for the LGBTQ community. Included is a discussion of equality in the workplace and why it is important to both the employer and employee, the wage gap, which professions are attractive to LGBTQ individuals and why, and the role of unions and government legislation. A survey of seventy five professions provides a status report for each, and seventy two biographies of influential LGBTQ professionals from around the world is included. 242 pages
Notables: 101 Global LBGTQ People Who Changed the World (Mark S. Bonham, 2015) reveals a group of select global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals whose accomplishments in their profession changed the world in some relevant way. Included are founders of various social movements, innovators in sports, leaders in business and politics, explorers and discoverers, instigators in religious movements, thinkers in philosophy, infamous villains, creators of new academic fields of study, and risk takers in the arts, culture, and entertainment worlds. 212 pages.
Champions: Biographies of Global LGBTQ Pioneers (Mark S. Bonham, 2014) reveals a group of select artists, writers, politicians, lawyers, sports figures, activists, and religious figures from around the world who have helped shape the history of the LGBTQ community. Presented in a convenient notebook format. 114 pages.
READ MORE AND PURCHASE PRINT or EBOOK COPIES HERE
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