  Background. The mass transition to remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic
profoundly affected software professionals, who abruptly shifted into
ostensibly temporary home offices. The effects of this transition on these
professionals are complex, depending on the particularities of the context and
individuals. Recent studies advocate for remote structures to create
opportunities for many equity-deserving groups; however, remote work can also
be challenging for some individuals, such as women and individuals with
disabilities. Objective. This study aims to investigate the effects of remote
work on LGBTQIA+ software professionals. Method. Grounded theory methodology
was applied based on information collected from two main sources: a survey
questionnaire with a sample of 57 LGBTQIA+ software professionals and nine
follow-up interviews with individuals from this sample. This sample included
professionals of different genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and
levels of experience. Findings. Our findings demonstrate that (1) remote work
benefits LGBTQIA+ people by increasing security and visibility; (2) remote work
harms LGBTQIA+ software professionals through isolation and invisibility; (3)
the benefits outweigh the drawbacks; (4) the drawbacks can be mitigated by
supportive measures developed by software companies. Conclusion. This paper
investigated how remote work can affect LGBTQIA+ software professionals and
presented a set of recommendations on how software companies can address the
benefits and limitations associated with this work model. In summary, we
concluded that remote work is crucial in increasing diversity and inclusion in
the software industry.
