Thomas International’s Stephen Cuppello on how LGBTQ visibility makes workplaces better

“Something about growing up queer makes many of us curious about how our minds are different and how the mind works.” Stephen Cuppello, Senior Manager of Psychology at Thomas International, spoke to myGwork about his career and how it ties into identifying as LGBTQ+.

He also provided a fascinating insight into the inclusive culture at Thomas International and the impact its Rainbow Alliance network has already had within just one year of its inception.

Growing up in a typical working-class town in northern Manchester and raised by a supportive and loving family, the circumstances for Stephen to come out to his loved ones seemed ideal. Yet coming to terms with his sexuality was still an immense struggle, much more so the idea of discussing it with his family. It was this internal conflict that awoke, subconsciously at the time, a desire for Stephen to understand the intricacies and complicated nature of the human mind.

Thus, a keen interest in psychology was born, through both the natural curiosity to understand his mind and a genuine impulse to want to help other people. Stephen expressed a personal theory that many LGBTQ+ people take a particular interest in the field of psychology for these reasons – self-discovery and an empathetic inclination to help those going through similar experiences to them.

“You fear that people will think you’ve been lying to them”

“I’ve always really believed that advancing psychological knowledge has a real power to help people,” he stated. “I think being LGBTQ+ myself and coming from a group that is traditionally disadvantaged, trying to do things that will help disadvantaged people more generally is something that also possibly attracts people to psychology.”

Soon after graduating from university, Stephen travelled across the world to live in Australia for a year. At the time, he had only come out as gay to very close friends and family in the UK, but on meeting new friends in Australia he found he was immediately able to be himself.

“The fear of rejection from new friends wasn’t as hard to bear,” he said. After experiencing a taste of living his life authentically, he felt inspired to go back home and embrace his identity with pride. He then began to understand the nature of the fear he felt about coming out, despite the welcoming environment. For Stephen, it wasn’t about identifying as gay; it was about maintaining an honest relationship with his loved ones – an underlying concern for many closeted LGBTQ+ people.

“You fear that people will think you’ve been lying to them,” explained Stephen. “That your relationship with those people has been based on a lie. Of course, no one responds like that, they’re just happy that you’re able to be yourself. But there’s that fear – not that I’m gay, but that I’m a liar. That was the real struggle.”

“If you’re not able to share that part of you, you’re less of yourself”

After this transformative realisation and a loving response from his family, Stephen briefly travelled around Europe and West Asia, spending a number of years working in Oman. Though he loved the work and his colleagues, the laws regarding homosexuality in Oman meant that Stephen was forced back into the closet in public. He reflected on how he brushed it off and got on with the job but, looking back, this definitely had an impact on his confidence.

“Even though sex and relationships and partners and family shouldn’t have to be part of the workplace, it still is part of your life. And it’s part of everything. So, if you’re not able to share that part of you, you’re less of yourself,” he explained.

Moving forwards, he decided that he would only apply for jobs that made it completely clear that they were accepting of LGBTQ+ people and striving for inclusivity and progression in other areas. “If there was going to be an issue, I’d rather just not get the job.” Upon moving back to London, Stephen applied for a role at Thomas International, impressed by their progressive outlook, and has since had a seven-year career at the company.

Thomas International is the leading talent assessment platform provider, helping various organisations understand the nature of human personality and behaviour to benefit staff and business success alike. The unique value of psychology is appreciated here, providing a range of business solutions based on psychometric science, all to create a better work environment and inspire new levels of ambition.

Even beyond this progressive style of work, Stephen felt the desire to do more to help the LGBTQ+ community specifically, motivating him to set up the Thomas Rainbow Alliance with friends. This network, meant for both LGBTQ+ people and allies, exists to help anyone who wishes to talk or to reach out to the community.

“My coming out journey is why I want to be so visible now”

“My coming out journey is why I want to be so visible now, especially at work,” shared Stephen. “When we set up the LGBTQ+ group, a real drive for me was just to have out, visible queer people at work. So that anyone like myself when I was younger could see that there are people to reach out to, if that was something they felt confident doing.”

A particularly heart-warming benefit of the Rainbow Alliance that Stephen did not anticipate was the number of parents of LGBTQ+ children who sought after them for advice. Whether it was simply discussing how to best support their loved ones or parents who believe their children might be closeted and asked for guidance, the network provided a safe and open space for these topics to be considered.

To Stephen, he considered this achievement a highlight of his career so far. “That’s been really special. Because it’s wonderful to be in a position where you can have those conversations with these loving parents who just want to be good parents for LGBTQ+ people.”

Considering the future of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace, Stephen felt certain that many LGBTQ+ people would share his principles in only applying for jobs where they know they would be accepted. Having witnessed the growing success of Thomas International, he believes that more than ever, companies must be transparent about their inclusivity if they wish to be successful.

“It speaks to how important it is for companies to share that they care about diversity and inclusion,” he explained. “Not just being LGBTQ+, but disability status, ethnic diversity, to really state that ‘we celebrate this, and we welcome this’. Because many people just don’t want to work somewhere that they’re not convinced is going to be accepting of who they are. Companies are just shrinking their talent pool if they’re not very, very, clear and open about that.”

Thomas International is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about jobs at Thomas International.