Pretending to be gay

Alright obviously on a moral standpoint this is incredibly low, but honestly, what is stopping someone from pretending to be gay / identifying as a different gender for diversity purposes?

It’s not like you get a certificate of gayness if your gay - as long as you don’t openly lust about the opposite sex, surely you could get away with it?

Some programs (e.g Jane Street’s ‘Insight’ program) have restrictions. Can you not lie and get around them pretty easily?

18 Comments
 

First, it's not as big of a help as you'd think. Second, it would become obvious very quickly if you were faking it.  Trust me on that.

Theoretically, given that my grandmother's maiden name translates from italian as 'of the moors' I can claim to be of African descent.  I don't look it.  I'd be obviously full of BS and get flagged so early in the process that I wouldn't make it to later interviews as a "black candidate." Even if you do land a job, people will figure it out, and expect massive shit at work and denied promotions as a known liar. 

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 
Most Helpful

I think it would work if the person doing it were sufficiently shameless about it. The label describes the feelings the person has towards others. It's not necessary that they be in a same-sex marriage and provide their spouse's personal info to HR. There is no way the employer could prove that they're lying about their internal orientation. Any attempt to do so would be a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.

I wouldn't say it's the path to a stable, decades-long career with the company and a path to becoming CEO. But I do think that there is no practical way that the company could push back without putting themselves in legal jeopardy.

In general, a lot of diversity stuff kind of works on the honor system.

 

ResMan

I think it would work if the person doing it were sufficiently shameless about it. The label describes the feelings the person has towards others. It's not necessary that they be in a same-sex marriage and provide their spouse's personal info to HR. There is no way the employer could prove that they're lying about their internal orientation. Any attempt to do so would be a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.

I wouldn't say it's the path to a stable, decades-long career with the company and a path to becoming CEO. But I do think that there is no practical way that the company could push back without putting themselves in legal jeopardy.

In general, a lot of diversity stuff kind of works on the honor system.

There's a lot beyond legal retribution.  You're in a group of four, let's say it's an Asian, a Hispanic or middle easterner and two white guys.  You're a known, or strongly suspected liar (remember, you're doing 60hr/wk with these guys) and they pick maybe 2 for promotion.  You have no grounds to stand on for not being promoted.  You many get in, but it's not a get out of jail free card, and may be a black mark for layoffs if somebody fels comfortable enough about their diversity score.  Enjoy being a first-year for the next five.

I play my sexuality close to the chest.  the biggest break I got was for being Catholic, and having gone to "good Catholic schools" beyond my charter.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 
Whatever1984

First, it's not as big of a help as you'd think. Second, it would become obvious very quickly if you were faking it.  Trust me on that.

Theoretically, given that my grandmother's maiden name translates from italian as 'of the moors' I can claim to be of African descent.  I don't look it.  I'd be obviously full of BS and get flagged so early in the process that I wouldn't make it to later interviews as a "black candidate." Even if you do land a job, people will figure it out, and expect massive shit at work and denied promotions as a known liar. 

You're forgetting the wildcard here. That someone like a white Irish Catholic can legitimately and literally go get a "race card" to throw down that they're native American to make HR and everyone else sit and spin, as they say.

The poster formerly known as theAudiophile. Just turned up to 11, like the stereo.
 

Reminds me of a guy I went to law school with, he is 1/16th Native American and 15/16th generic white person. Dude grew up in and affluent suburb of DC and has never struggled a day in his life. He now works at a real estate fund now and the first line of his bio is that he is a proud Native American.

 
hotdeaths

Alright obviously on a moral standpoint this is incredibly low, but honestly, what is stopping someone from pretending to be gay / identifying as a different gender for diversity purposes?

It's not like you get a certificate of gayness if your gay - as long as you don't openly lust about the opposite sex, surely you could get away with it?

Some programs (e.g Jane Street's 'Insight' program) have restrictions. Can you not lie and get around them pretty easily?

Go for it.  If you're ready to have your professional reputation absolutely destroyed the moment it comes out that you lied, then more power to you.

If you are willing to put in the effort to keep your private life entirely secret for years or decades so that no one realizes you lied about your sexual identity, then you probably would have been successful in life without lying.  It just doesn't make sense, you don't get much an advantage out of the lie and the downside is enormous.

 

Yeah haha don’t worry I wasn’t planning on it, just felt a bit butthurt about not being able to apply to the JS Insight Program.

 
bawstin

I'd take precaution. Recall the Diversity is Paradise post... usually if you're gay you will be called to gay diversity meetings and, oh well, there goes your privacy

This just... isn't how it works.  You don't get forced to go to LGBTQ meetings if you identify as gay.  You sound like someone who has never met a gay person, set foot in a professional office space, or really had any experience of the real world that wasn't an internet post.

 

Obviously there is no "certificate of gayness", it is actually much worse:

  • These applicants may have been bullied, struggled with their mental health, or worse. (TW: suicide)
    • 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year (link 2)
    • 73% of the surveyed students showed symptoms of anxiety (link 2)
    • 58% showed symptoms of depression (link 2)
    • This is all much worse for students of color, students from lower income backgrounds, and many other factors

Before you lie about this, consider what it might be like to actually live that experience that you are so callously passing off as your own. Please be an ally to your (likely few and far between) LGBTQ+ colleagues who are out. Attend the Pride/LGBTQ+ group meetings. Support any charitable work that group is doing for LGBTQ+ youth. Put your pronouns in your email signature.

Read more here about the LGBTQ+ experience: 

Specific discussion about depression and suicide in LGBTQ+ youth -> https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/bullying-and-suicide-risk-among-lgbtq-youth/

Survey of 34,000 LGBTQ+ youth (not a lot of text, worth the click) -> https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/

*****If you are considering that you might not be straight and using this application to try out a label, I'm happy you are considering exploring your sexuality in this way! I'm proud of you! Comp het is some really sticky shit.

 
Funniest

Unde qui totam odio itaque reprehenderit voluptatem. Voluptatem facere voluptatum qui quaerat aut nam eos. Similique architecto commodi explicabo magnam sint magni ut. Repellat aperiam dolor necessitatibus sit vitae. Unde eos quam rerum officia est. Et cumque asperiores iure veritatis blanditiis. Et est omnis libero nisi sed commodi.

Dolor inventore quam tenetur quo. Ex adipisci eos aut reprehenderit in quaerat ullam.

Distinctio dolor suscipit facere. In amet aut quia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.6%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.6%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”