hotdog1846
To Wed Mr. Clean in Iowa!
Yes, companies do extensive background checks on executives, but -- unless you're trying to get a job at Focus on the Family or some other hellaciously conservative outfit -- sexual orientation is not something that's screened for anymore, and hasn't been for many years. That kind of thinking dates back to the bad old days when people thought homosexuals were mentally ill, and that line of thinking has been scientifically disproven.
In today's world, most companies' HR codes are such that anyone who discriminates based on sexual orientation will be fired faster than you can blink. And, if a company doesn't have those kind of codes, they're probably some hellaciously conservative outfit you wouldn't want to work for anyway.
For instance, one of the senior executive VPs at my Fortune 500 (actually, it's a Fortune 10 with over $120 billion in annual revenue) -- there's one level between her and CEO and she's trusted with a great deal of power and money -- is an out, loud, and proud lesbian, and considered a great asset to the company.
Again, the "old boys club" does still operate in some places (rural areas and the Bible Belt, for example), but that club works against women and racial minorities too, and its influence is informal. Swellegant's post is spot-on-the-money. The most important thing is your skills and ability to help make lots of money, and so long as your private life isn't a distraction, it's irrelevant even in conservative corporations. Religious organizations and wack-job outfits like Focus on the Family, however, are in another league -- and why would anybody work for one of those anyway?