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The 2017 Outie Awards

2017 Outies banner

Celebrate Together.

October 9-12 | Philadelphia, PA

The “Outies” are awarded at the annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit. Outie Awards recognize individuals and organizations who are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in workplaces globally.

2017 Outie Award Winners


2017 Outie Award Finalists

ERG of the Year

Champion Award

Workplace Excellence Award

IC Pride – US Intelligence Community Jose Berenguer – J.P. Morgan Chase Bank of America
OUT – Comcast NBCUniversal Mitchell Harris – BNY Mellon BlackRock
dbPride Americas – Deutsche Bank Debbie Lang – AT&T Central Intelligence Agency
Walmart PRIDE – Walmart Jayzen Patria – NBCUniversal Comcast NBCUniversal
League at AT&T – AT&T Rebecca Powers – Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Deloitte
Spectrum – GlaxoSmithKline Ramkrishna Sinha – Intel Corporation First Data
GLOBE & Allies – Deloitte Suzanne Theden – UTC Aerospace McDonald’s Corporation
GLOBE of Verizon – Verizon Antonio Zappulla – Thomson Reuters Foundation Wells Fargo

The 2017 Outie Categories

LGBT Employee Resource Group of the Year

This award recognizes a particular employee resource group (ERG) that has a proven track record of success in advocating for LGBT equal rights in its workplace.

To learn more about 2017’s LGBT ERG Award nominees, click here.

Champion Award

The Champion Award recognizes any LGBT person or ally who has made a significant contribution to advancing workplace equality. The Champion Award winner will have shown a unique commitment to LGBT workplace rights and will have used their talents to further that cause, even if at some risk.

To learn more about 2017’s Champion Award nominees, click here.

Workplace Excellence 

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

To learn more about 2017’s Workplace Excellence nominees, click here.


Outie Award finalists are announced prior to the Workplace Summit. Winners are revealed to much fanfare on stage during one of the Workplace Summit plenaries.

A selection committee determines the finalists based on nominations throughout the year. Then an independent panel of business and community leaders decide the winners based on information and references provided for each finalist.


Past Winners

Workplace Excellence
Regional Affiliate of the Year Award
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Employee Resource Group of the Year
Champion Award
Trailblazer Award
Significant Achievement
Special Awards of Distinction
Selisse Berry Leadership Award
LGBT Workplace Equality Pioneer

Workplace Excellence
Recognizes any employer that has a longstanding 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.
2017 – Bank of America
2016 – Dell Inc.
2015 – The Walt Disney Company
2014 – Chevron
2013 – The Dow Chemical Company
2012 – Google
2011 – Accenture
2010 – IBM Corporation
2009 – Sun Microsystems
2008 – PepsiCo
2007 – Wells Fargo
2006 – JPMorgan Chase
2005 – Citigroup
2004 – Kaiser Permanente and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (Tied)
2003 – NCR Corporation
2002 – American Airlines
2001 – IBM
2000 – Eastman Kodak Company

Regional Affiliate of the Year Award
Recognizes an Out & Equal regional affiliate that has demonstrated commitment to the Out & Equal mission through exceptional programming and sound organizational practices.
2015 – San Francisco
2014 – Chicagoland
2013 – Seattle
2012 – New York Finger Lakes
2011 – Houston
2010 – Dallas-Ft. Worth

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Employee Resource Group of the Year
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.
2017 – IC Pride – US Intelligence Community
2016 – PRIDE Team Network – Wells Fargo
2015 – Open & Out, Johnson & Johnson
2014 – Citi PRIDE Network
2013 – PRIDE (Lockheed Martin) & LGBTA Business Council (Target)
2012 – OutServe (U.S. Department of Defense)
2011 – LGBT Pride Resource Group, Bank of America
2010 – The Clorox Company
2009 – (Tie) General Motor’s People Like Us & US Department of State and USAID’s Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies
2008 – Hewlett-Packard’s HP PRIDE
2007 – Nike’s GLBT & Friends Network
2006 – GLEAM, Mircrosoft
2005 – Chevron Lesbian & Gay Employee Association (CLGEA)
2004 – Lambda Network at Eastman Kodak Company
2003 – GLBC at SC Johnson
2002 – SEA Shell at Shell Oil, Co.
2001 – Pride at Walt Disney
2000 – LEAGUE at AT&T

Champion 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.
2017 – Ramkrishna Sinha, Intel Corporation
2016 – Thomas Vilsack, USDA Secretary
2015 – Howard Ungerleider, The Dow Chemical Company
2014 – Vijay Anand
2013 – Cathy Bessant, Bank of America
2012 – Harry van Dorenmalen, IBM
2011 – Dr. Sophie Vandebroek, Xerox
2010 – Mark Bertolini, Aetna Healthcare
2009 – Randy Kammer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
2008 – William C. Thompson, Jr., City of New York
2007 – Ana Duarte McCarthy, Citi
2006 – Deborah Dagit, Merck
2005 – June R. Cohen, DuPont
2004 – Laura Brooks, Eastman Kodak
2003 – Judy Boyette, University of California
2002 – William Perez, CEO of SC Johnson & Son
2001 – Cathy Brill & Lisa Vitale, Kodak
2000 – Ethel Batten, Lucent Technologies

Trailblazer Award
Recognizes a 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.
2014 – Greer Puckett (Northrop Grumman)
2012 – Lance Freedman, Lockheed Martin
2011 – Claudia Woody, IBM Corporation
2010 – Bill Hendrix, The Dow Chemical Company
2009 – Richard Clark, Accenture
2008 – Chris Crespo, Ernst & Young
2007 – Dr. Judy Lively, Kaiser Permanente
2006 – Emily Jones, Kodak
2005 – Leslie (Les) Hohman, GM PLUS
2004 – Robert Burrell, Ford
2003 – Wesley Combs, Witeck-Combs Communications
2002 – Dr. Louise Young, Raytheon
2001 – Mary Ann Horton, Avaya
2000 – Tom Ammiano, Leslie Katz and Susan Leal, San Francisco Supervisors

Significant Achievement
2011 – Google, Inc.
2010 – The Dow Chemical Company
2009 – Salt Lake City Corporation
2008 – Goldman, Sachs & Co.
2007 – Ernst & Young LLP
2006 – PricewaterhouseCoopers
2005 – IBM
2004 – Hewlett Packard Company
2003 – Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
2002 – JPMorgan Chase
2001 – Motorola
2000 – Ford Motor Company

Special Awards of Distinction
Special awards of distinction are bestowed upon an individual or organization that 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’s Directors and Governing Board want to recognize the outstanding and sustainable contributions of an individual or organization. There is no formal nomination process or form.

Selisse Berry Leadership Award
Recognizes an exceptional individual whose visionary leadership, tireless efforts, and remarkable accomplishments have been a critical contribution toward achieving LGBT workplace equality. In addition to leading change in the world of employment, this leader inspires countless individuals to champion workplace equality for all inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, or characteristics.
2013 – Kevin Jones
2011 – Brian McNaught
2008 – Selisse Berry, Founding Executive Director of Out & Equal

LGBT Workplace Equality Pioneer
2007 – Dr. Franklin E. Kameny

OUR VISION

Global workplaces where all people are equal, belong, and thrive.

OUR MISSION

Out & Equal is the global convener, thought leader and catalyst actively working to achieve workplaces of equality and belonging - supporting LGBTQ+ employees and leaders who thrive in their careers and lives and achieve greater impact on the world.