From Holding Back to Leading: Our Journey as LGBTQ+ Professionals

By Grant Suckling and Mark Wileman

Pride is many things at once: a celebration of progress, a moment of visibility, and a reminder that progress is never guaranteed. In 2026, all of this feels particularly real.

In this article, we celebrate Pride Month by reflecting on how our experiences as LGBTQ+ professionals have shaped our career journeys, and helped define us as leaders today.

We have, today, greater openness and more inclusivity in workplaces, but prejudice has not disappeared. Hate crimes related to sexual orientation remain a grim reality (18,000 last year), and negative sentiment towards Pride at times feel as if it is strengthening.

This is why visibility and leadership matters

With Stonewall reporting around 40% of LGBTQ+ employees in the UK still feeling like they have to hide their identity at work, and over a third fearing that their gender identity or sexuality has actively held back their career progression and pay, our hope is that being open about who we are demonstrates that there is space for everyone to succeed.

It is in this context that we – as both members of the LGBTQ+ community, and as IGG Executive Team leaders – understand that our visibility is not just personal, but also about helping to create a better future.

We stopped editing who we were depending on the room

Despite what our youthful looks and general joie de vivre may otherwise suggest, we are quite far advanced in our careers now. In the early years of our working lives, office life felt far more formal, guarded, and less open. It often felt like a constant exercise in having to “come out” where you found yourself constantly calculating how much of your true self you could safely reveal, testing the waters in small ways before deciding whether it was wise to be fully open.

But over the years, we have seen that change comes from being more visible in small, everyday ways. Talking naturally about a partner, sharing something about life outside of work, or simply not editing who we are depending on the room; these are important changes. They normalise difference and challenge the idea of what leadership ‘should’ look like.

We have experienced what happens when assumptions still occur. In one instance, during a tender process, it was fed back that there must be a mistake in our written proposal as a reference had been made to Grant having a husband, with the comment being it was clearly a typo and therefore “lazy”. It reinforced how deeply embedded others’ assumptions can be. Challenging them, calmly but clearly, matters.

It is with pride that we embrace how increasingly normal it is now to share personal circumstances, whether that is a husband and three cats, a partner, children, no children, a deep adoration of Kylie or something else entirely; all in the same way others might once have shared more conventional narratives.

But progress never stops. Assumptions still happen. Language still matters. Inclusion still requires conscious effort.

We make a conscious effort for the new colleagues we are all yet to meet

To anyone reading this at the start of their career, or maybe with a relative or a friend entering the workplace, we wanted to share advice that we would give our younger selves: the people who matter will accept you for who you are and value you for it. Be yourself and worry less about what the others think. And importantly, on your terms, talk openly about who you are.

One of Grant’s favourite singers, Grace Petrie has a great lyric in their song “Black Tie” that might give comfort: “And you never will surrender, to a narrow view of gender. And I swear there’ll come a day, when you won’t worry what they say”.

For us, growing up as gay men in a less open era, the experiences – even the very worst – have been central to our leadership style. That’s because we know how that experience has made us who we are. Skills that now as leaders we actively seek out when promoting and hiring at IGG; resilience, empathy, emotional intelligence, the ability to listen and understand different perspectives; those might understandably felt hard won, over time, they have become strengths.

Finding a network can also make a real difference. Connect with others through communities such as O:Pen. or LGBT Insurance Network. They will help you to build confidence, share experiences, and find your belonging in our industry.

Progress should be recognised, but never assumed

The Pride movement must continue to honour its origins while being resilient to the times. Attitudes will keep changing, but that won’t always in a linear fashion. The future we both want is one where outdated prejudices decrease or disappear altogether, where language continues to evolve, and where being your authentic self becomes entirely… unremarkable.

Allyship has a critical role to play in that resilient journey.

Being an ally is not just about good intentions. It means speaking up when something does not feel right, even if it feels uncomfortable. It means actively listening to lived experiences, challenging exclusion, and not leaving that responsibility to others. The LGBTQ+ community fight many fights – help us win more.

These actions help to break down barriers and remove the sense of “us and them”. In its place, they create something far more powerful: belonging.

Pride isn’t just for June; it is an ongoing commitment

The entire IGG leadership team firmly believes that diversity strengthens our business, our work, what we deliver for our clients and their members. It has made us the successful firm we are today.

Different perspectives lead to better conversations, stronger decision-making, and ultimately a key driver of success, because in pensions we all know better outcomes come from broader perspectives.

As leaders, for Pride now and tomorrow, our responsibility to keep the conversation moving forward will always be front of mind; bringing people with us to challenge assumptions, champion difference, and create environments where everyone can thrive.