A billion-dollar insurance company in Texas threw a “Drag Queen Bingo” event for up to 300 employees during Pride Month, and it featured a drag queen who performs for corporate giants Google and Amazon.
Skyward Specialty Insurance invited employees to attend a virtual bingo game at 11 a.m. on a work day, led by a man dressed in drag and using the name Schwa Works.
The company’s LGBTQ employee resource group, dubbed Soaring Skyward, hosted the event June 13, a company source familiar with the event told The Daily Signal.
Schwa Works, the drag queen, specializes in “company-focused and corporate-friendly Zoom events.” He has hosted over 500 such virtual drag shows for companies around the world, including Amazon, Google, Snapchat, Forbes, Square Space, and Sephora, according to his website.
The website says these corporate bingo sessions last an hour and include:
—“Two dragtastic performances.”
—“4+ rounds of Bingo using virtual cards.”
—“Amazing party music (with requests from the team).”
—“Tons of sparkling and joyful interaction.”
Skyward Specialty Insurance, based in Houston, has 515 employees and a net worth of $1.44 billion.
Virtual “Drag Queen Bingo” events for audiences of 300 cost $1,300, Schwa told The Daily Signal in an email.
“My performances are live-sung musical performances,” the drag queen said. “Currently I’m performing ‘New Attitude’ by Patti LaBelle and ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’ from “The Golden Girls.”
In response to employee complaints about the event, Skyward’s Chief People Officer Tom Schmitt reiterated the company’s commitment to “diversity in thought,” according to a message he sent to employees that was obtained by The Daily Signal.
“As we continuously strive to create a workplace that reflects our core values and the diverse world we live in,” Schmitt wrote, “I am aware that a recent ERG-led event has drawn a variety of reactions [from] our employees.”
ERG is an acronym for employee resource groups.
Schmitt continued: “We understand not every event will align with the interests and beliefs of each of our employees, and as a company which believes in diversity of thought, that is OK. In fact, it is the dialogue of these diverse opinions which provides the best opportunities for different parties to come together to learn from each other.”
Skyward Specialty Insurance didn’t respond to The Daily Signal’s question about whether the company’s desire to welcome a diversity of viewpoints includes employee prayer groups and pro-life speakers.
Schwa, the drag queen, says he is an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church who has officiated at over 100 weddings.
Skyward Insurance has a history of pushing a political agenda on employees. Schmitt sent a message in the LGBTQ employee resource group’s online chat at the end of June, urging employees not to vote for candidates “focused on limiting people’s rights.”
Another employee responded by inserting an article on the “connection between protection for gay marriage and the anti-Roe decision (the Dobbs decision),” referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs to overturn Roe v. Wade and abortion on demand and send the abortion issue back to state legislatures.
The consulting firm McKinsey & Co. announced in 2015 that it had “found a link between profits and executive racial and gender diversity,” leading to a massive increase in corporate DEI initiatives, The Wall Street Journal reported, referring to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs.
However, the pro-business justification of DEI turned out to be a scam.
But the Journal reported that “academics have tried to repeat McKinsey’s findings and failed, concluding that there is in fact no link between profitability and executive diversity.”
This report was modified within an hour of publication to include more about the McKinsey study.
