We argue that CEO political liberalism, or the extent to which CEOs are more liberal rather than conservative, affects firms’ support for LGBT employees. Specifically, compared to conservative CEOs, liberal CEOs will be more likely to support LGBT employees by implementing LGBT-friendly policies. We furthermore posit that the presence of certain internal and external stakeholders—including boards, top management teams, and employees, as well as transient institutional investors and LGBT advocacy organizations—alter the proposed effect. Results based on a sample of Fortune 500 firms support our arguments. Our findings contribute to the literatures on leadership, stakeholders, and workplace diversity.

我们认为，CEO 的政治自由主义，或 CEO 更自由而不是保守的程度，会影响公司对 LGBT 员工的支持。具体来说，与保守派 CEO 相比，自由派 CEO 更有可能通过实施对 LGBT 友好的政策来支持 LGBT 员工。我们进一步假设，某些内部和外部利益相关者（包括董事会、高层管理团队和员工，以及短暂的机构投资者和 LGBT 倡导组织）的存在会改变所提出的效果。基于财富500 强公司样本的结果支持我们的论点。我们的研究结果为有关领导力、利益相关者和工作场所多样性的文献做出了贡献。