Financial wellness looks different for everyone. This Pride Month, Laura Battle, Human Resources Business Partner at World Investment Advisors, shares what she's learned about the structural challenges LGBTQ+ individuals and families face and what it takes to design benefits that actually reflect people's lives.
Q: What's one thing you've learned as an HR leader that changed how you think about financial equity for LGBTQ+ employees?
One shift that has really stayed with me as an HR leader is recognizing that financial equity isn’t just about pay, it’s about whether our policies and benefits actually reflect people’s lived experiences.
For LGBTQ+ employees, factors like access to inclusive healthcare, family-building support, and even how we define “dependents” can have a meaningful financial impact. As an HR leader, I understand that equity requires intentional design that thoughtfully considers where people's needs differ, not just equal treatment.
Q: What have LGBTQ+ colleagues or employees taught you about financial resilience that you think more people need to hear?
What has stood out to me most is how resilience often shows up as adaptability and proactive planning. Many LGBTQ+ employees have had to navigate systems that weren’t originally designed with them in mind—whether that’s access to benefits, legal protections, or family structures. What stands out is not just resilience, but a proactive approach to building stability: asking better questions, planning ahead, and advocating for themselves in ways that strengthen long-term outcomes. That mindset, being intentional about your financial future, is something we can all learn from.
Q: What do you wish more people understood about the financial challenges that are unique to LGBTQ+ individuals and families?
One thing I wish more people understood is that many financial challenges LGBTQ+ individuals face are structural, not individual. For LGBTQ+ individuals and families, this can include higher costs associated with family-building, navigating inconsistent legal or healthcare coverage, or simply not seeing themselves reflected in traditional financial planning models. These aren’t one-off situations, and they can compound over time. Greater awareness helps us design better benefits, create more inclusive policies, and ensure financial wellness support is truly relevant to everyone, not just the “traditional” employee profile.
Q: Has leading HR through a lens of inclusion changed how you think about who financial wellness programs are really designed for?
Absolutely. Leading through an inclusion lens has definitely changed how I think about financial wellness programs. Wellness programs often start with a one-size-fits-all approach, but inclusion challenges us to ask: who might this not be working for? That includes LGBTQ+ employees, as well as others whose financial journeys don’t follow traditional paths. When we design with inclusion in mind, we create programs that acknowledge different starting points, family structures, and goals. The outcome isn’t just more equitable, but ultimately more meaningful and effective for everyone.
