Angelique Magi, Vice President – Specialty Solutions, Transportation shares her story of coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Angelique worked at the Guarantee Company of North America for years but felt uncomfortable coming out at work. “Only one of my own staff knew,” she explains. “It didn’t feel comfortable. It was a 160-year-old insurance company, and I was the first female vice president there.”
But when Intact acquired The Guarantee in 2019, Angelique decided she wanted to come out to her new colleagues. “I wanted to be out. I wanted to be myself, finally.”
“When I went through what Intact had to offer around inclusivity, and diversity – and specifically LGBTQ+, I was blown away,” she says. “That gave me a level of confidence.”
She started by using words like “my partner” as she met new members of her team and eventually came out to her manager.
“Carla Smith was my SVP at the time,” she explains. “I said I want to get involved with the LGBT Network here at Intact, you know because of my background, and she went ‘What? Wait – can we back up a little bit?’ And I said, ‘I thought you knew I’m gay.’” Magi smiles. “[Carla] was just genuinely excited.”
She says Carla immediately connected her to resources and to Brian Shepheard, the former Co-Chair of the LGBT & Allies Network.
“This is a person who’s an ally and immediately thought, ‘How do I connect this person to community?’ She acted on it and followed through with it.”
Angelique says the resources Carla connected her to were immensely helpful and a great example of what active allyship can do to build a safe and inclusive workplace.
“The biggest piece that you can give to someone is those resources, and not just forwarding them something but walking them through it.”
Magi says acknowledging Pride Month is another way to create a safe and inclusive environment.
“Because it’s not just about the individual. It could be that it’s their child; it could be that it’s their brother,” she says.
Angelique says working for a company that sees diversity as a strength made it possible for her to come out at work, making her a better leader.
“There’s no greater power than being authentic. Having that ability to be fully authentic and still do a great job, and still be acknowledged for doing a great job makes me want to work harder.”