Nominations Closed

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for the 2008 Out & Equal Workplace Awards. Please check back in June for a list of finalists.

Winners will be announced September 12, at the 2008 Out & Equal Workplace Summit in Austin, Texas.

What Are the Out & Equal Workplace Awards?

The Out & Equal The Out & Equal Workplace Awards (commonly referred to as "The Outies") honor individuals and organizations that are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees in America’s workplaces. Through these awards, Out & Equal provides the business and LGBT communities with examples of innovative approaches and proven successes to help create safe and equitable workplaces. The awards are presented annually at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, the nation’s preeminent conference addressing LGBT issues in the workplace.

The 2008 Summit will take place September 10-13 in Austin, Texas. The awards ceremony will be held Friday evening, September 12 and will be hosted by celebrity emcee Kate Clinton during a formal gala dinner.

Out & Equal accepts annual nominations in five categories; two awards recognize individuals and three recognize organizations.

Individual Awards

« Trailblazer Award

This award recognizes an LGBT person who has made a significant contribution to advancing workplace equality. This individual’s activities will have made a marked improvement in their own workplace and/or have contributed to equality nationally.

« Champion Award

This award recognizes a non-LGBT person who has played a pivotal role in championing equal treatment of LGBT employees on the job. This individual will have shown a unique commitment to LGBT workplace rights and will have used his or her talents to further that cause, even at some risk.

Organizational Awards

« Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Employee Resource Group of the Year

This award recognizes a particular employee resource group(ERG), sometimes referred to as a business group or network, that has a proven track record of success in advocating for LGBT equal rights in its own workplace.

« Significant Achievement

This award recognizes any employer that has made significant strides in the past year in advancing a fair and equitable workplace for its LGBT employees, such as: announcing domestic partner health insurance, including gender identity diversity training, or initiating a unique general advertising campaign that includes LGBT people.

« Workplace Excellence

This award recognizes any employer that has an historic and ongoing commitment to pursuing and executing workplace equality for LGBT employees in their own workplace. This employer has a history of continually raising the bar of workplace equality for others to follow.

Awards of Distinction

Out & Equal may create awards that are unique and may not be awarded annually. Awards of Distinction are an honor bestowed upon an individual or organization who has made a significant difference or had a major influence in sustaining and growing LGBT workplace equality over an extended period of time. This honor is awarded only when Out & Equal Directors and the Governing Board want to recognize the outstanding and sustainable contributions of an individual or organization.

Additional Information

For specific questions about the Out & Equal Workplace Awards, please contact the Summit and Events department at (415) 694-6500 or summit@outandequal.org.

Back to top