If you’re a young queer person trying to work out what on earth you’ve gotten yourself into with corporate life, read this book. Additionally, any senior leader considering how to move from the “nice idea” stage of LGBTQIA+ DEI to meaningful policy implementation needs to break out the highlighter and study every page.

Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling is a much-needed addition to the existing pantheon of corporate leadership books. Author Layla McCay covers the realities of LGBTQIA+ professionals, ranging from childhood challenges to current struggles.

McCay collected dozens of trustworthy and insightful interviews with corporate leaders across sectors in the US and Europe. The sheer quantity of excellent quotes in the leaders’ own words blew me away. Certainly the strongest element of the book, their frank suggestions and vulnerable stories make extremely clear the demonstrable impact of homophobia and transphobia in the workplace. McCay bolsters her anecdotes with clinical studies and data giving credibility beyond the realm of “nice ideas.” Something unusual in a corporate text, but immensely appreciated, is McCay’s inclusion of both micro and macro analysis, or how individual actions and systemic processes together influence the LGBTQIA+ experience. She closes with actionable recommendations for change, both at an organizational policy level and individual actions.

This text should be considered a “first of its kind,” rather than a comprehensive dive into LGBTQIA+ corporate life. My biggest frustration is in how the LGBTQIA+ experience is treated as a monolith within the corporate world. The lives and challenges vary significantly from those of diverse sexualities, versus those of diverse genders. McCay does a good job of including strong quotes from trans and gender-fluid people, and noting the compounding impact of intersectional identities, but could have gone deeper. The introductory chapter is the weakest, both dry and meandering, but I’m glad I stuck it out as all the subsequent chapters are focused and fairly succinct.

Reading this book felt like the missing piece I needed in my mid-twenties as an ambitious (but lost) young corporate queer leader. It would have given me desperately needed guidance in navigating office politics and my own identity. Now in my mid-thirties, I’m grateful to have had so many of my thoughts and experiences validated by other senior leaders, across all industries.

This was a DNF for me. I struggled to get into the content, it may have been the writing style or need of better editing. Thank you netgalley for the ARC.