be brought in from the cold

To be allowed to join or participate in a group from which one was previously excluded; to be accepted in a certain social setting. A relatively unknown director for most of her career, she was brought in from the cold after her work with the A-list celebrity garnered the attention of a major Hollywood studio. The striking workers were finally brought in from the cold after the union and corporate leaders settled the wage dispute. After excluding me from their meetings for months, I've finally been brought in from the cold by the rest of the executive team.