Eligibility & Verification Policy
Last updated:Â 01 March 2026
1. Purpose
The OUTCompanies Directory is a public directory featuring businesses founded and led by queer women. To preserve the integrity, credibility, and trust of the Directory, all listings are subject to structured eligibility and verification requirements.
Inclusion is not automatic and is contingent upon satisfactory review.
2. Eligibility Criteria
A business qualifies for listing only if all of the following conditions are met:
2.1 Leadership Requirement
The business must be founded or led by at least one queer woman who holds one of the following positions:
- Founder or Co-Founder
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Managing Director
- C-level Executive (e.g., COO, CMO, CFO)
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The qualifying leader must hold genuine strategic decision-making authority within the business.
Symbolic, advisory, or non-executive roles do not satisfy this requirement.
2.2 Business Status
The business must:
- Be legally registered, or
- Be demonstrably in the process of starting to trade.
Freelancers and sole traders are eligible provided they meet the leadership criteria.
2.3 Public Business Presence
The business must maintain at least one clear and verifiable public-facing presence, such as:
- A website, and/or
- An active professional social media profile, and/or
- A recognised public business listing.
Listings consisting solely of a contact email without public business presence will not be approved.
2.4 Trading Activity
The business must demonstrate evidence of genuine trading activity. Dormant, inactive, or placeholder businesses will not be approved.
3. Submission Requirements
All applicants must provide:
- A formal self-declaration confirming eligibility.
- A written statement describing the qualifying leadership role.
- Business website and/or active social media profiles.
- Company registration documentation (where applicable).
Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide a LinkedIn profile of the qualifying leader to support the verification process. While not mandatory, providing a professional profile may significantly expedite review.
These materials form the basis of the initial eligibility assessment.
Where the information provided is insufficient to reasonably confirm eligibility, LBTQWomen reserves the right to request additional supporting context in accordance with Section 5.
Incomplete submissions will not proceed to review.
4. Verification Process
All applications are subject to manual review.
LBTQWomen will:
- Review submitted leadership information.
- Cross-check publicly available professional and business data.
- Assess the consistency of the application.
- Verify trading activity through reasonable public checks.
- Request additional clarification where necessary.
5. Identity Verification & Supporting Context
Eligibility is based on a formal self-declaration submitted as part of the application process.
LBTQWomen will assess eligibility using the information provided, including leadership statements, professional profiles, business presence, and publicly available information.
Where eligibility cannot be reasonably confirmed through submitted documentation and publicly available sources, LBTQWomen reserves the right to request additional supporting context.
Such supporting context may include relevant social proof or other reasonable evidence demonstrating that the business satisfies the Directory’s leadership criteria.
Approval will not be granted until eligibility has been satisfactorily verified.
6. Referrals
Businesses referred by verified members of the LBTQWomen community may receive expedited review. However, all listings remain subject to eligibility verification.
7. Right to Decline or Remove Listings
LBTQWomen reserves the right to:
- Decline any application that does not meet eligibility criteria.
- Request additional clarification at any stage.
- Remove a listing if misrepresentation is identified.
- Remove listings where eligibility criteria are no longer met.
Listing in the OUTCompanies Directory is a privilege, not an entitlement.
10. Contact Us
I hope these two separate documents meet your needs! Please let me know if you have any other questions or requests.
