Scroll below to view the 2020 Workplace Summit live workshop sessions. The full schedule, including pre-recorded sessions, will be available on our virtual platform (Pathable) at the end of September.
View workshops by track:
Belonging & Workplace Culture
All In: Taking a holistic company approach to LGBTQ visibility
Join us for a panel discussion about how an intentional, multi-faceted approach to specific issues of importance to the LGBTQ and other diverse communities can take education and engagement on those issues to the next level. Aligning efforts across D&I leadership, ERGs, marketing, and HR can build impactful synergies that lead to superior outcomes. This discussion will also highlight the ability to leverage related events and activities to press for timely action or augmentation across inclusion efforts.
Allyship? Me?
An intersectional panel delves into the topic of allyship. What it is? What it isn’t? How can we support communities beyond the LGBTQIA+ communities? Allyship to other marginalized communities helps our community gain allies. As a panel, we have identified and would like to discuss supporting queer and trans Black indigenous people of color (BIPOC).
Designing for Diversity
This session is aimed at anyone involved in software development, or in specifying business requirements for RFPs for software for their companies. We will cover ways to ensure diverse genders and sexual identities can be included for reporting and self-identification, privacy concerns, other requirements such as accessibility concerns that are often overlooked. HR departments have a lot of power to shape the software from vendors that they use, but only if they contract for it and demand it. There will be a short presentation, then we will break into groups to discuss items that we should require in our software, such as name change ability, gender marker diversity and privacy
Engaging Senior Leaders – The Belonging Campaign
Engaging senior leadership to embrace diversity initiatives is a challenge for most LGBTQ+ ERGs. This workshop is a case study about how the Oracle Pride Employee Network created The Belonging Campaign as a competitive challenge to our global senior leaders to sign on and actively participate in the promotion, education and implementation of creating safe and diverse working environments.
Inclusive distancing in the new (ab)normal
The global crisis is an accelerant in the ways we’re working and is changing the way we will work forever. For corporate cultures trying to adapt, 2020 has been a year of accelerated reinvention. At IBM, we believe an inclusive culture allows us to harness the power of our reinvention and emerge from crisis stronger and united. With 95% of our global workforce now working remotely, this session will offer a best practice guide to help organizations build workforce resiliency & meaningful connection with diverse employee communities. We will share how IBM adapted our collaboration tools, engaged global BRG communities, adjusted benefits, built skills in resiliency and reset workplace cultural norms to ensure employees feel connected and supported.
Intervening with Intention
This workshop addresses harassment and bullying in the workplace, which disproportionately impacts LGBTQ+ folks. Employees must be able to identify concerning behaviors that cue them to intervene. Think about behaviors you might witness that cross your line – a colleague’s intentional exclusion from projects or coworkers being asked details about their sex life. Imagine your colleagues are equipped to recognize the barriers that keep them from intervening, and are then able to identify realistic solutions to navigate those barriers. This workshop provides tools for your organization to do just that! We’ll end by identifying proactive ways employees can communicate their values around intolerance of harassment and bullying, and the expectation that everyone does their part to create an inclusive workplace.
New Bottom Line: The ROI of Connecting DEI&B to CSR
There are many reasons that companies invest in both internal and external facing DEI&B (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) efforts. One is perceived business value, more important now than ever. There is 10x more ROI (Return on Investment) than you may be aware of! Especially when we work intersectionally to advance equality for all. This interactive workshop will uncover the 8 pools of value that DEI&B can unlock (Talent, Sales, Market Access, Innovation, Risk, Brand/Reputation, Stock Performance, Value Chain) and show how companies can embed DEI&B in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility, inclusive of HR, advocacy, philanthropy, volunteerism, value chain, core business practices) to amplify impact. Participants will leave equipped to make a more robust DEI/CSR business case when they return.
The Cost of Non-Inclusion…How a strong Ally Program can positively impact your business
Building a robust Ally program can be hard work and requires engagement at all levels in your organization. The commitment to foster a safe an inclusive environment for LGBT+ teammates comes from the top. Join Bank of America for an overview of our robust Ally Program with over 30,000 members. We will explore the benefits of the program both internally and externally, including attracting and retaining LGBT+ talent, and external business practices among our clients and third parties. We will share best practices, tech enablers, creativity and taking the next steps to activate every Ally and Out at Work employee in your global organization through training, gamification and leadership buy-in.
Bisexual+/Queer
Bi Bi Baby – Parenting while Bi
Whether you have kids or want kids, parenting while being not straight and not lesbian or gay can offer some unique challenges. This Roundtable discussion is a great place to talk about it.
Bisexual, Person of Color, and a Womxn – 3 strikes
How do these diversities impact work, life, and relationships? How can an Employee Network make room for these important voices, and why are these intersectionalites important? Panelists will share what it’s like to fit into three or more minority groups. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions and learn how these specific identities can bring forward important value to your Employee Network.
Bisexuality and Pansexuality: Similarities, Differences, and Togetherness
Are you struggling to understand the differences between Bisexuality and Pansexuality? This session will clearly define the similarities and differences, and panelists will share history and background on these two identities, as well as share personal insights and learnings as to why they self ID as both. We’ll discuss how to bring inclusiveness to our “B” community, co-exist, and benefit from the shared partnership under the rainbow. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions and will leave with deeper understanding of both identities.
Free to B: Creating Community that Empowers Bisexual Men
While gay and lesbian Americans are out in large numbers, bisexuals are not–just 19% say they’re out to the important people in their lives, in a recent Pew study–and the LGBT cohort least likely to be out are bisexual men. Understanding why bi men feel unwilling to be out can help empower them to join the LGBTQ community–and improve the quality of their lives.
Resting Bi Face: We’re Looking At You
With the goal of full inclusion of all LGBTQ identities in ERG programming, Wells Fargo and Northwestern Mutual have prioritized educating their members on the bisexual (bi+) identity. This panel includes bi+ professionals and a fierce ally parent of a bi+ teenager. They share stories about being misunderstood and questioned and provide actionable ideas to create a more inclusive experience in your ERG. If you identify as bi+, join this session to find community, understanding, and support.
If you don’t identify as bi+, attend this session to learn more about this community and grow your personal allyship and leadership. However you identify, we’re looking at you to build a more inclusive culture!
Why Is It Challenging to Organize Around Bi+ Identities?
The mainstreaming of bi+ (used for bisexual, pansexual, and other non-monosexual identities) has been on the slow track for decades. Why is that? What’s the hold-up? We’ve known for years that there are as many bi+ people as there are lesbians and gay men. Why do bi+ people continue to be invisible and marginalized? Unlike with trans people, whose needs, asks, and offerings are clearly articulated, bi+ people’s narrative has rarely been clearly, memorably articulated. What do bi+ people want? What do we need? What do we have to offer? People of all sexual orientations are welcome to this interactive exploration.
Changemakers
Be the Persuasive Advocate You Were Born to Be, Even During a Crisis
Advocacy within the LGBTQ movement is often led by lawyers, but you don’t need a law degree to be a persuasive and effective advocate for LGBTQ rights. This session will help you hone your advocacy skills and develop confidence as an opinion leader and provide tips on how to do so even in our current crisis. Learn what is within the advocate’s tool kit and the dos and don’ts of advocacy. And, learn how to gather people together to move forward, based on lessons learned and taught by the lawyers that settle conflicts.
Book Publishing 101: Leverage your expertise and change the world
There has never been a better time to publish a book! Leverage your expertise and unique point of view to drive positive change in your industry, board room, and breakroom. This interactive workshop is for you if you: feel curious about how nonfiction book publishing works, have a book idea (or outline, or manuscript) that makes you feel energized, and are ready to dig in and put the WORK in workshop! You’ll leave this workshop with an understanding of the publishing process, where your book might fit, and most importantly real & measurable progress, including: clarity around your book’s core message, audience, and sales goals/markers of success, an outline/mind map of your project, and 3-5 actionable next steps.
LGBTQ Inclusion On Screen: A Conversation with Storytellers
Join storytellers from across The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) as we discuss the importance of accurate representation and inclusion of the LGBTQ community on screen. This session will highlight TWDC’s inclusive content, the journey toward getting LGBTQ representation on screen, the learnings and real hurdles that continue to exist. We’ll discuss why LGBTQ representation matters in front of and behind the camera and the importance of visibility for different LGBTQ identities and intersectionality in our characters, stories and content.
Lean in for the Win: Corporate Advocacy for Nondiscrimination
We’ve all seen the open letters and social media posts from business leaders supporting nondiscrimination. This session will take a look at what’s happening behind the scenes to make that public advocacy possible. Over the last five years, companies have become much more sophisticated and emboldened to back up their words with actions, and working with ERGs, executives, allies, and public figures, and using a diverse range of tactics to fight for nondiscrimination across the country. Join us to learn more about the wide variety of engagement efforts open to companies, the business coalitions providing the frameworks for action, and how you can engage, personally and through your company, in the fight for fair treatment for LGBTQ people.
Risky Business: Serving as an LGBTQ+ Leader in a Conservative Industry
Join CNA Insurance to understand unique challenges of being an LGBTQ+ leader in a conservative industry, and brainstorm how to strategically overcome these challenges. Roundtable participants will have the opportunity to hear from leaders at various levels of CNA Insurance, a 120+ year-old insurance company with an extremely active Pride Employee Resource Group. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions to the presenters and engage in dialogue with panelists. We aim to facilitate an inviting conversation to encourage folks to share and develop best ideas, practices, and aspirations. Leaders will discuss their experiences as LGBTQ+ leaders around topics including visibility, organizational change, difficult conversations, and professional development.
Time and Talent (Virtual): Blending skills and volunteering to create impact
Your company loves to give back. You have yearly events to paint houses or clean parks. You know you are making a difference, but want to offer more – so what’s next? In this session, we will discuss how you can use skills-based volunteering events to leverage your teams, and the skills they’ve mastered, to make an incredible impact on your local community in just a few short hours. In this time of social distancing and small gatherings, we will show you how to run this type of event digitally!
Corporate-Community Partnerships
#workingpositively to End Discrimination for People Living with HIV
#workingpositively is an anti-discrimination program that invites employers to commit to being visible role models in their support for HIV-positive employees. Building on the success of the June 2019 German campaign that saw more than 70 companies commit to ending discrimination for people living with HIV, IBM, SAP and the Human Rights Campaign with support from Deutsche Aidshilfe are launching this campaign in the US on World Aids Day, Dec 1st 2020. Learn how your organization can sign the pledge and take action to fight stigma and discrimination in your workplace and society, promote awareness and education to your employee population, and create opportunities for BRG community engagement and advocacy. Let’s end discrimination for people living with HIV!
Beyond Your Four Walls- The Power of Corporate Collaborations
Moderated by Ash Beckham, this virtual panel will include leaders from Target (Upper Midwest Region), Qualcomm (Pacific Region) and AT&T (South Central Region), who will discuss opportunities and challenges they’ve faced in meeting diversity & inclusion goals. They will share the evolution of their respective cross-company regional teams and the unique perspectives their companies have brought into these collaborative environments. The panel will offer ideas on strategies and lessons they’ve learned from these experiences that have helped evolved their workplaces. They will address topics such as resource allocation, local policy initiatives, and working with direct competitors. We will use real-time polling and Q & A throughout to ensure an interactive session that offers guidance tailored to the concerns of participants.
Impacting Communities: Building Your LGBTQ+ Network’s Philanthropic Operation
2020, more than any other recent year, has highlighted the importance of taking action and getting involved in your local community. But doing so, particularly during these chaotic times, can be challenging and confusing. How do you start building impactful relationships with nonprofits in your local community at scale? How do you identify which organizations to partner with when there are so many great ones out there? How do you achieve intersectionality across major movements? This session will focus on how BlackRock has built relationships with nonprofits on a local level across the Americas, how we determine who to work with, and how we try to touch on the various issues facing the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s Personal, Not Business: Cross-Company and Community Collaboration During COVID
Did you know LGBT people are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as non-LGBT people? Worse yet, COVID-related layoffs have disproportionately affected the LGBT community, widening an entrenched inequity. Come learn how HP, Inc and Northrop Grumman expanded upon their community ties and collaborated with San Diego Pride to create and deliver timely educational content and free resume review to unemployed LGBT people. This program reached over 5,000 people and relied on donated expertise and volunteer resume reviewers. Participants at this session can expect to takeaway actionable skills to develop or strengthen corporate-community ties and build a network with other equality-minded corporations. Additionally, come learn how to create authentic and year-round engagements with LGBT nonprofits.
Up Your Game – Building Power with Cross-Company LGBTQ+ ERG Alliances
Do you want to know what other ERGs are doing to support their LGBTQ+ communities? Do you want to take your ERG to the next level? We have the answer for you: building a regional cross-company LGBTQ+ ERG Alliance. Come hear why and how the Silicon Valley/San Francisco LGBTQ+ ERG Alliance was formed. You’ll also hear about the 45+ companies we represent, how we’re organized and manage ourselves, and the work we’re doing to improve the success of our ERGs in our area and to help our community. One of our members called this work “nourishment” – working with like-minded, culture-changing colleagues provides hope, information, and drives action. Come discover how you can do this in your area.
ERG/BRG
360 Programming in a Pandemic
The office as we know it might be forever changed, but that doesn’t mean your BIN/ERG has to take a break. Join us for an engaging and informative session on how your ERG can drive meaningful 360 programming to keep members engaged and thriving during this global crisis. Participants will leave this session with real-world examples and execution strategies to immediately implement in their own company.
Amplify Pride, Grow Belonging and Sustain Progress through your network leveraging stories
Starting a new network chapter has its own set of challenges but results can be good with the right approach and efforts. Once the charm of new has faded out, keeping the magic alive and continuing to make a positive impact takes a different set of approach, ideas and actions. The session shares experiences and explores ideas for not only sustaining but truly growing a culture of belonging leveraging stories. A framework is proposed for a long term sustained growth trajectory of inclusion efforts in an organization.
Ask Me Almost Anything: Reddit-Inspired AMAs for Resource Groups
In today’s world of increased social distancing, social media and unique virtual get-togethers are in vogue. But how do you apply that dynamic to your employee resource group (ERG)? CVS Health’s Pride+ ERG successfully launched a new Reddit-inspired program—Ask Me Almost Anything (AMAA)—during Pride Month to promote engagement, inclusiveness, and belonging via virtual Q&A storytelling. During this highly interactive workshop, you will learn about AMAA, key success tips, and how you can launch similar programming for all your employee resource groups.
Creating Connections: Growing Inclusion and an ERG Virtually
Creating personal touch points between employees is a key step in moving from a corporate culture of inclusion to one of belonging. John Deere’s Rainbow ERG will share how they’ve found an effective tool of creating those connections across geographies, organizational layers, and even languages with their Virtual Coffee Chats. In this session, you will hear how a program that started in a corporate cafeteria has grown across the globe engaging LGBTQ employees and allies. Rainbow ERG will also share how this tool has grown membership in the ERG as well as other tangible results for John Deere.
Creating impact BEYOND the Home Office
Looking to broaden the reach of your ERG BEYOND the Home Office to your field organization? Maybe your ERG is designated as a home office or campus-based group, but you KNOW the real power of LGBTQ inclusion is happening across the larger field/operations organization. Your ERG team is a small group relative to the size of the organization and you simply can’t do it ALL in EVERY location. How do you bridge these gaps and deliver real change while still staying true to the ERG mission? Come learn from Walmart’s PRIDE team and hear what they’ve accomplished with a “pull” instead of a “push” approach to connect across this multi-national organization.
ERG to OMG: Changing the Game at Any Level
Pride has gone from riot to retail with Rainbow and Pride logos pop up everywhere… in June. Even as ERGs it’s easy to go big on parades, happy hours, and festivals, but more challenging to have impact the rest of the year. In 2020, your year-round influence is needed more than ever in your company, community, and with your consumers. Join us for an engaging, informative session on how your Pride team can drive meaningful programming year-round as a true business impact network–even virtually. Whether your ERG is brand new or well-established, participants will leave this session well-equipped to identify next steps, create an action plan, and secure resources to elevate the impact of your ERG.
Expanding Your ERG/BRG Footprint: Training Local Ambassadors
While Liberty Mutual is a Boston based company, we have employees in more than 800 offices worldwide. At the inception of our Pride ERG, our primary focus was on our headquarters office. To expand Pride@Liberty beyond HQ, we introduced the Pride@Liberty Ambassador program in our U.S. locations. This workshop will discuss the basics of our Ambassador Program, review differences we observed in Ambassador experiences across our footprint, and a training program we developed to create a Pride@Liberty experience across the country. Participants will be invited to discuss their approaches and challenges with expanding their ERG/BRG footprints and creating a consistent ERG/BRG culture across offices.
Here for it: Re-imagining inclusivity, Support #OwnVoices and Learning Allyship
Like most LGBTQ+ ERGs, our mission at Nestlé Pride Alliance is to create a more inclusive environment for our LGBTQ+ colleagues. 2020 has been a year where we have had to re-imagine what it means to be more inclusive in the face of Covid-19 and the long overdue social reckoning about racial injustice.
We are a relatively young ERG (<2 years old), active on 3 campuses, with increasing field outreach. Join us for a lively session on collaborating across geographies, creating community in a virtual world, acknowledging our own intersectionality, and learning to be good allies to other ERGs.
Leading BRGs Through Crisis and Pandemics: Lessons Learned
Learn how companies and BRG leadership shifted operations and programs to navigate the pandemic and continue to deliver value to employees, the company, and communities.
Planning ARG/ERG Leadership Transitions – Turf War or Gay ol’ time?
Leadership transitions are tough! What makes for a good transition and how can we proactively manage our leadership pipelines to ensure continuity of work? Walmart recently expanded our leadership team and transitioned chair roles – the previous chair had been with the ARG since its inception and the incoming chair was relatively new to the entire enterprise – did a turf battle ensue or was it just a good ol’ gay time? Join us to hear our story and learn from our mistakes and successes!
Putting your Executives to Work
A roundtable discussion covering how to create an Executive Council with out LGBT+ executives within your company. Executive councils supplement traditional Employee Resource Groups to further action and strategy within the company. This also includes how LGBT+ Executives can sponsor others to further their career.
Tracking Change: Proving ERG/BRG Value Through Data
Do you want proof that the work you do has value? Do you want your community, your sponsors, and your teammates to have clear visibility into what is working and where change is happening?
We will show you how to maximize your group’s ability to measure change without getting overwhelmed with data collection, provide best practices for data presentation, and solutions to common data collection roadblocks! Eli Lilly and Company has been working with data for over 140 years through clinical trials. We want to bring our data expertise to your ERG/BRG!
Volunteers – Unleash the magical power of your ERG
ERGs can be magical for your organisation when volunteers are empowered to make a difference. Explore how to achieve your ERG goals through attracting, motivating, valuing and retaining volunteers who are dedicated and aligned with your cause.
Global
Black and indigenous lesbian, bisexual and transgender women perspectives
The LGTBQIA+ movement, inside and outside organizations, need to recognize the sexism and racism are still in our community and we have to make it visible and we have to work for a more inclusive and representative movement. Thus, the Brazilian Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Women Network invite you to listen to the black and indigenous LBT women’s perspectives about this intersectionality.
Casa Trans Argentina: A story of collaboration and support for the transgender community
Learn about how the intersectional D&I vision of SAP has helped to shape a better future for the transgender community in Argentina. From Corporate Social Responsibility to HR and the Pride@SAP ERG, SAP colleagues have supported Casa Trans Argentina in creating a safe space for the community to develop their personal and professional skills.
Collaborating Globally within your Employee Resource Group
For larger organizations with highly distributed employee resource groups, it can be challenging to collaborate and stay aligned. In this session, global Pride@SAP leaders will share insights on how we came together to plan and promote an extensive series of virtual Pride events with intersectional participation, developed and shared branding elements for our members, including pronoun graphics, virtual meeting backgrounds and LGBTQ+ images, and how we leverage tools like Microsoft Teams and Jam to collaborate and communicate across our global members.
ERGs Addressing Stereotypes and Bullying
The purpose of this presentation is to share Dow Brazil’s initiatives addressing topics such as bullying, discrimination, stereotypes and unconscious biases, themes that are closely linked to the social sciences.
Evolución de la Aceptación Laboral (Global Roundtable in Spanish)
The 50th Anniversary of Stonewall inspires us to consider how society has changed across the decades. Join Oracle employees from various continents as they discuss workplace acceptance through the years. For many LGBTQ+ people, decisions must be made about how and when to reveal sexuality and gender identity at work. These global colleagues will talk about their expectations, the reality, and their observations about how workplace acceptance has changed over time.
Exporting your Rainbow Overseas
While the world has been watching USA’s LGBTQ+ rights transformation, Dell Technologies has been pursuing a mission to export the same freedoms overseas to regions like Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe. In this workshop our global leaders will share their experiences from multiple global locations and you will learn more about the business and employees strategic outcomes of replicating benefits and practices across global offices outside North America.
Global Crises Require Global Responses – Partner with Global LGBTQI Advocates
The murder of George Floyd has catalyzed a global movement uniting the Black community and their allies against structural racism that pervades American society and the world, reminding us to reflect on the shared experiences of discriminated groups and to stand in solidarity with those fighting against injustice. Unique to this moment, is the backdrop of an unprecedented public health crisis that is magnifying stark inequalities around the world. We must reimagine our LGBTQI community partnerships to ensure we are bridging gaps and being more reflective of our increasingly global workforces. Join us for a discussion with LGBTQI advocates from Sri Lanka, Barbados, Mexico, and South Africa who will share their experiences as activists in the age of COVID-19.
Glocal LGBTQ+ Inclusion: Launch your ERG around the world!
Having 92% of Top Fortune 500 companies with LGBTQ+ policies, there is a constant global path of inclusion in these companies, but what about their operations across the globe? In this interactive session we will present a launch plan for going from Global to Glocal, maintaining the identity, mission and vision of your Global ERG but taking the cultural and social reality of the region you want to launch. Dow & SAP will present cases of their launches overseas, in Europe, Latin America & Asia to show examples and strategies to succeed with you ERG everywhere!
Intersectionality between LGBT+ and LATAM communities
Join JPMorgan Chase & Co in a panel where we will talk about intersectionality, between LGBT+ and Latin American community. This region presents variances from country to country; we will review and listen to testimonials from those who live in LATAM and others who migrated. Also, we will cover how the language has been adapted to the evolving LGBT+ needs.
Key Aspects for Increasing Your LGBTQ+ Company Engagement, A Latin American Case
There are many ways ERGs can work to bring value to companies and increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In this session we focus on key aspects we have experienced and lived as a Latin American ERG for LGBT+ inclusion, specially intersectionality and volunteering, and share useful tools that anyone can use to collaborate and bring meaningful and impactful results. We will share our case from Salesforce Outforce Latin America to illustrate the exposed ideas and tools presented.
La Matriz Soy Yo: Brazilian Companies’ Best Practices for LGBTQI+
This session will share how the biggest Brazilian companies are building and addressing their D&I programs focused on the LGBTQI+ people, under the Brazilian perspective. Brazilian D&I Global Leaders will reveal their challenges, experiences and innovative practices for the LGBTQI+ inclusion in the workplace.
Leading LGBTQ+ legal teams in different regions of Brazil
Machado Meyer is a law firm based in São Paulo, Brazil, with branches in other capitals of the country. Specific teams of the firm, consisted of partners and associates from different locations, have been allocated in other cities to deal with crisis management, in connection with major events that took place recently in Brazil. This panel aims to share the experience of Machado Meyer’s LGBTQ+ leadership and employees that are working in these cases an are allocated in different regions of the country. The discussion will consider Brazil’s well known social inequality and multicultural influences, which leads to different challenges in multiple regions regarding diversity (not only for LGBTQ+ people, but also for ethnic-racial and gender equality issues).
Masculinity in Latin America and its impacts on workplace equality
This panel proposes to discuss the toxic cultural construction of male identity in patriarchal societies. This identity has negative impacts on workplaces, especially for LGBTQ+ people, cisgender women, and represents actual harm to men themselves. This presentation aims: to address the main concepts of male identity and masculinities in Latin America and the challenges that such identity presents to workplace equality; to offer real-life testimonials of how LGBTQ+ people and women have dealt with these men in workplaces and what companies can do to build a more diverse and inclusive organizational culture. Combating these men’s toxic behavior and misleading influence in workplaces can certainly make companies’ organizational culture more diverse and inclusive, especially for LGBTQ+ and women.
Using Design Thinking to build a Global DEI program remotely
One email to the CEO pointing out that his D&I program lacked diversity and inclusion lead me on the path of building a global D&I research program across 40 countries using a local New Zealand provider who had never done a global lift. The story of how educating not just my company but also the provider lead to one of New Zealand’s most advanced D&I programs. Highlighting how senior leadership buy-in is critical, how to influence the organization, hire D&I leads that report to the CEO (not HR) and making a 40-country survey legal across all countries back up by focuus groups, 1:1 interviews and a design thinking framework.
Intersectionality
Accelerating innovation through Diversity – Making the untapped potential possible
It has been said that the necessity is the mother of invention. Real or imagined needs have always inspired a search for new and better ways to meet those needs. Along that journey, challenges present themselves requiring changes in course, some of these changes are incremental steps while others are paradigm shifts. All of which can lead to accelerated progress if the obstacles are perceived as opportunities for positive change. As an ally or a member of the LGBTQ+ community, we are a part of the change that we want to see in our workplace. Learn how you can be a part of the disruption that drives mindset shift and innovation in your organization.
Accessible Digital and Physical Events
Being a member of an underrepresented minority group is hard. Being a member of multiple URMs is harder. Many LGBTQ+ community members also identify as having a disability. It is important for everyone to take active steps to ensure that members of the disability community are not excluded from digital and physical events. Intentionally or unintentionally excluding people with disabilities can result in bad publicity or even lawsuits. This session will review the many ways that digital and physical events can be made more accessible through accessibility review.
Being LGBT+ and Over 50: Needs, Challenges, Resources
This session will provide an overview of the needs, concerns and unique history of LGBT older adults, as well as meaningful steps that can be taken to improve the quality of support and services they receive. Viewpoints on these issues will be provided by representatives from SAGE (A national LGBT Non-Profit), Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Johnson & Johnson.
Beyond the Blame Game: Effectively Navigating LGBTQ+/Religious Identities
The intersection of religion with sexual orientation and gender identity/expression is often a place of conflict and hurt for many LGBTQ+ people and allies. The assumption that the confluence of identities will always end up in conflict often drives interactions and assumptions, although evidence shows significant growth in acceptance from many people of faith. In this session, we’ll look at experience vs. change trends to understand where opportunity for connection lies, discuss strategies for workplace efforts focused on building connections to people of faith, and share powerful skills for navigating conflict when it happens. Participants will apply these skills to real-world scenarios to develop and sharpen their ability to connect, transform, and build acceptance at work.
In Good Faith: How Walmart ARGs Welcomed and Challenged Intersectionality
In this session, Walmart PRIDE will share our learnings and victories from this year’s celebration and exploration of the intersectionality of Faith and LGBTQ+ during June Pride. PRIDE’s first-ever partnership with our interfaith ARG required challenging dialog across these two communities and robust support from senior leaders to lean into this conversation as a company. Learn how we came together for an unprecedented series of events while building ongoing dialog to open hearts and minds.
Inclusion, Equity and Allyship Matters Now More than Ever: Courageous Conversations Across Difference
In 2020, we find ourselves living through a time of great uncertainty and change, and navigating multiple concurrent crises. Amidst the pandemic experience, the movement for black lives called to light the need for courageous conversations across difference and for practicing allyship. Inclusion, Equity, and Allyship — even imperfect allyship — matters now more than ever before. Two leading educators model healthy cross-race conversations and tackle questions to facilitate learnings for allies that are deep and rich. What are the ingredients of successful partnerships and how do we start building these? What does it look like to hold space for each others’ journeys of understanding as we forge critical 1×1 bonds across difference?
Intersex in the Workplace
What does it mean to be intersex? How can you become a supportive employer, colleague, and/or ally? Attendees will learn about intersex realities as well as the similarities and differences with the broader queer community. Concrete steps on how to be more intersex inclusive in your policies and practices will be examined in this interactive session. The “I” doesn’t stand for “invisible” – come learn more!
Serving Those Who Serve: Building LGBTQ+ Military and Veteran Communities
The San Diego region has the highest concentration of Active Duty military and Veteran personnel in the world and the United States military has a higher percentage of LGBTQ individuals than the general population. These two factors uniquely position San Diego Pride, a position which has afford the organization the opportunity to achieve historic accomplishments, including being the first Pride that received Pentagon authorization that allowed Active Duty service members to march in uniform and be the first Pride Parade in the United States to host a fighter jet flyover. At this panel, participants will gain practical insights to the LGBTQ service member and veteran community, and how ERGs can collaborate with Pride organizations to enhance their LGBTQ military programming.
Silent Scream
An Experiential Workshop: Understanding the Deaf LGBTQ+ world in their language. Learning to communicate with the Deaf LGBTQ+ Community with ease. Participate and Experience the Joy of Making a Difference
Tea Chat: Intersecting Gender and Race
Grab a cup of tea and come listen to a panel session about intersecting race and gender in the workplace. Session moderator, Angelica Erazo, Oracle Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, will share the history of intersectionality in the gay rights movement and how intersectionality, inside and outside the workplace, manifests itself today. She’ll be joined by two Oracle LGBTQ+ employees with different racial backgrounds who will share how they’ve built toolsets to aid them in bringing their true identities to their workplace, which in turn has helped them to contribute, innovate, and thrive. You will leave the session inspired by their stories and with concrete examples of how to foster empathy and build solidarity with all members of your work community.
Wake Up Sisters! We Are Reclaiming Our Space.
15 years ago women held only 15.7% of executive roles. However, the trend of women in leadership positions is on the rise. In fact, today there are more women running Fortune 500 businesses (25.5% until 2019) than at any point in history. Still that’s only 7.4% and there isn’t even an official number regarding women of color. With recent high-profile stories regarding the gender pay gap and female entrepreneurs citing an imaginary male co-founder for credibility, it’s clear women’s inequality is still a big problem. Here we are creating a safe space for women to discuss topics that are more relevant than we thought showing that we are not so different from one another. That’s why we will be sharing our individual point of view in different areas and some best practices to work towards a diverse business environment. Learn how to create a toolkit to assess, develop and strengthen women capabilities within their lives.
What (LGBTQ)POC ARE Asking For
In response to the pandemic and social uprisings, comanies have scrambled to highlight their workplace diversity and inclusion practices and show support for POC, and especially black, communities. Much of that has not been what people/communities of color asked for. Based on being in leadership at a dozen POC-serving nonprofits, running a network for LGBTQ professionals of color, and working with hundreds of primarily Black/Brown entrepreneurs, this presentation outlines meaningful strategies that companies can readily implement to actually support and empower black and brown communities, center LGBTQPOC employees, and address workplace diversity and inclusion challenges.
White Leaders of Conscience: Unlearning Racism
In this powerful moment of global transformation, it can be nearly impossible to balance the call for bold anti-racist action and the needs of your organization. The most critical part of building an anti-racism organization is clear, humble leadership, and this session will provide transformative, evidence-based practices for combatting internal defensive mechanisms (also known as “white fragility”) for leaders who are white or bi/multiracial with light-skinned privilege. Leaders at all levels of organizations and with all experiences around anti-racism are welcome in this skills-based session.
Law & Public Policy
Banning LGBT Discrimination in the Workplace: Implications of the Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County
In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment because of sexual orientation or gender identity, on the grounds that it is a form of sex discrimination. Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, No. 17-1618 (June 15, 2020). During this panel discussion, attorneys who practice in the area of LGBTQ+ discrimination will talk about the background and circumstances leading to the Supreme Court’s decision in this critical case and the practical impact of the Court’s holding on the workplace and beyond.
Taking A Corporate Stand: Endorsing the UN Standards of Conduct for Business
Companies must either decide to proactively stand up and combat discrimination against LGBTI people by publically expressing support for the UN Standards of Conduct for Business or accept that they are, in effect, remaining silent and not adding their voice to the nearly 300 companies that have affirmed their commitment to equality and human rights by endorsing five concrete steps all companies can take to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex people. During this highly interactive panel discussion you will learn about the 5 Standards from leading companies and hear about the work they have done to operationalize the Standards within their organizations.
The Economic Case for LGBTQ Equality
Homophobia and transphobia harm LGBTQ people in countless ways. One of the world’s leading LGBTQ economists and theorists argues that the true costs to all of us are even greater. In conversation with LGBTQ business leader, Bob Witeck, Dr. Lee Badgett, will share the compelling research she has unearthed on the consquences of anti-LGBTQ practices around the world – and how our economy loses when we miss out on the full benefit of the contributions made by LGBTQ people. Badgett will explore how unequal laws, job and workplace discrimination, harassment and bullying in school, violence and hate crimes on the streets, exclusion from intolerant families, and health effects of stigma all make it incredibly difficult to live a good and rewarding life.
Mental Health & Well-Being
Beyond HQ – Mental Health and ERG Engagement Remotely
As our workplace environments continue to change, more and more employees are working beyond the walls of the corporate headquarters. ERGs play a critical role in keeping employees connected and supported. Many of the challenges that our auxiliary locations face in replicating the culture at headquarters are now disrupting our established ERGs throughout the organization. How are can we proactively create what our employees need in this new normal from networking and engagement to mental health and non-traditional support services? In this engaging and authentic session, you will hear individual stories from companies that are mastering this challenge. Our panelists will include Wil Lewis, Diversity and Inclusion Executive, Bank of America, Kevin Bleyle, Procter & Gamble Senior Supply Chain Leader and GABLE (P&G’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group) Global Affinity Team Leader and Rae Stuart, Site Diversity and Inclusion Leader & Boeing Employee Pride Alliance Enterprise President – Boeing Heath, Ohio. They will share successes, hurdles, best practices, and strategies for effectively establishing, fostering, and advancing inclusive cultures via ERGs at auxiliary facilities and to remote employees. The panel will be moderated by Tedx Speaker, Ash Beckham.
LGBT+ and Mental Health: An Asian Perspective
Despite a dramatic shift in public opinion on LGBT+ issues, LGBT+ people still face widespread and persistent stigmatization, exclusion, and harassment because of their SOGIE status. Mistreatment and fear of discrimination can compromise the mental health and wellbeing of LGBT+ people and an LGBT+ friendly work environment is clearly necessary to enhance LGBT+ employees’ mental health. However, social acceptance of the LGBT+ community in many parts of Asia is not the same as western world, regional support and initiatives are necessary for supporting LGBT+ employees in Asia. Based on Community Business’s Asian based research into the topic, this session will explore the LGBT+ population’s situation in key Asian markets and assist organisations in designing more regional specific Diversity & Inclusion policies.
Life Is Hard…
Mental Health is often such a taboo topic that we don’t ever discuss it even though it affects such a large portion of our community. Join us as we begin an open discussion about normalizing mental health while focusing on its prevalence, risk factors, and resources available.
Rehab Rebound: Returning to Work after a Mental Health Crisis
Many members of the LGBTQ community suffer from addictive disease or other mental health issues and receive help from corporate health insurance plans or supportive work colleagues in a crisis. However, when returning to work some find very little support. This panel will open discussion around personal experiences, what some companies offer as support on return to work, and open discussion around what can companies do better and what are best practices.
The Journey: Mental Health and Your Career
How best to engage your ERG and other departments within your company to collect information.
What Doesn’t Bend Breaks: Resilience and Self-Advocacy
The revolution won’t happen overnight. So how do we survive imperfect systems while pushing for change? Join internationally-renown transgender leader and speaker Trystan Reese and LGBTQ+ Muslim leader and DEI expert Raquel Saraswati at this session for LGBTQ employees, people of color, people with disabilities, women, and others with marginalized identities (and those with multiple points of marginalization). Learn and share concrete strategies for maintaining your humanity in the face of microaggressions, systemic bias, and more!
Professional Development & Executive Leadership
Drag as Leaders Beyond the Stage
This panel discussion led by diverse drag performers in costume compares the skills one develops/requires as a drag performer and demonstrates how those skills align to key leadership skills required in non-performer roles/jobs across many industries. Learn how to translate those skills into a leadership role. If you are looking to develop leadership and have an interest in performing in drag, this workshop will help you see the connection.
Harnessing the Conference After Glow
When you leave Out & Equal, you’ll have tons of energy and be ready to take on everything and conquer the world, right? It’s an exciting time but eventually the ERG ‘conference afterglow’ wears off and you and your teammates are faced with once again balancing your paid jobs with your non-paid passion job. Then come the ERG ‘after-conference blues’, where things fall off the radar and project slow down or grind to a halt. Learn how to ‘harness the afterglow’ and fight the ‘after-conference blues’ by focusing your ERGs energy on a few well thought out priorities and a plan focused not only on today but on the future.
Search Inside Yourself: Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence
HP presents a Search Inside Yourself (SIY) keynote facilitated by Craig Souza, Certified Teacher™ with the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI). Born at Google and based on neuroscience, SIY teaches mindfulness and emotional intelligence skills for sustained peak performance, strong collaboration and effective leadership. Empathy and leading with compassion support inclusion while increased self-awareness and resilience help create positive emotional and mental states and a strong, inspiring leadership presence. The workshop focuses on mindfulness (being present), self-awareness (understanding thoughts, emotions, and habits), and empathy (awareness of others). The skills you’ll learn will help you: Enhance well-being, resilience, and stress management. Improve performance, collaboration, and empathy. Increase effectiveness and decision-making capacity. Cultivate innovative, creative thinking.
Understanding, Identifying and Correcting Unconscious Bias Across Your Organization
The year 2020 will certainly be one that will stand out in bold as it is written in the history books. With a strengthening focus on how LGBTQ organizations can act as allies to the BIPOC community and help drive racial and social justice, the time is now to not just address, but to also commit to actionable items to help fix and change what has been broken for so long. In this session, we will focus on the pernicious and intersectional topic of unconscious bias, the “below” the water part of the discrimination iceberg. What is unconscious bias? What are the different types of it? How do you overcome your own, as well as systematically address at the department and enterprise level? This session will focus on what BlackRock has done historically to address this, as well what it intends to do in future to hold itself accountable and act as an industry leader. The hope is that from today’s session, you will leave with ideas and strategies to help influence change within your organization. We will also crowdsource ideas and share those with all participants.
Talent Acquisition & Retention
Eli Lilly and Company LGBTQ Journey
What is it like to be a member of the LGBTQ community and work at a company headquartered in the conservative Midwest? At Lilly, we conducted research to understand employees’ lived experiences. We learned was that LGBTQ employees feel left out when heterosexual, cisgender people assume that everyone is straight and cis. We heard loud and clear that deciding to “come out” is not a one-time thing—far from it. And we learned that LGBTQ employees who do not want to be out at work often cover in ways that hurt their careers and the company. As with previous Journey research for other minority groups and women, Lilly intends to use findings to help LGBTQ people reach their full career potential.
Future of Work: Building Back Better, Leaving No Worker Behind
The challenges we face in “building back better” from this global crisis are at the nexus of economic and social policy and engagement. The world of work is a unique entry point, and provides an opportunity to reflect on what has and has not worked for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace. This panel discussion will draw on lessons learned from different communities and groups to consider how governments, employers, and workers can work together to champion LGBTIQ+ rights. Panellists will explore what challenges the future of work, COVID-19 and beyond, will bring for LGBTIQ+ people and workers, and how they can be addressed.
Leading the Way: Achieving LGBTQ+ Diversity & Inclusion Success during Corporate Relocation
Geographically relocating offices is a major decision for any company. Maintaining an inclusive corporate culture and consistently supporting LGBTQ+ employees across a variety of locations nationwide can be tricky. During this discussion, employees from McKesson Corp will be highlighting many of the challenges and revelations that were addressed during the recent relocation of their corporate headquarters from San Francisco, CA to Dallas, TX. Like several other Fortune 500 companies who made moved to Texas from California, McKesson Corp had to quickly identify and resolve significant cultural, legal, and political differences specifically related to the safety and equality of our LGBTQ+ employees. Participants will be encouraged to offer similar discoveries and join the discussion as we share our journey to provide consistent support and resources to our LGBTQ+ employees across a variety of workplace environments and locations.
Promising Practices for LGBT Diversity and Inclusion in the Intelligence Community
Finding and leveraging the best talent to address national security priorities is embedded in the Intelligence Community’s (IC) mission. From outreach to recruitment, through every facet of the career ladder, IC professionals must intentionally design and maintain an inclusive environment for LGBTQ employees. This session examines the best practices and new horizons for LGBTQ workplace equality, diversity and inclusion.
Reaching Diversity & Inclusion Moonshot Goals by Leveraging Stars!
The start of 2020 meant many things for Dell Technologies, but more importantly it meant the beginning of a 10-year journey towards our Progress Made Real goals. “We share a vision of a future that is better than today” – Michael Dell, Chairman & CEO Dell Technologies What is Progress Made Real? In this session, you will hear about our goals for 2030. The goals are around Advancing Sustainability, Transforming Lives, Upholding Ethics & Privacy and Cultivating Inclusion. Our workshop will focus on the Cultivating Inclusion goals that will impact Diversity Hiring. These goals address increasing diversity of Women, Black, Latino and include Leadership roles. Our goals also include increasing our Employee Resource Group membership engagement. Our speakers will discuss what it takes to align on these goals and put into action. You will hear from Diversity &Inclusion, Talent Acquisition, and our Diversity Action Council.
Transgender & Gender-Nonconforming
A Model for Empowering Transgender Voices in the Workplace
In this panel, introduced by Co-Chairs of J.P. Morgan Chase’s LGBT+ Executive Council, we invite you to learn about the formation and sponsorship of the Global Transgender Working Group, comprised of transgender employees around the globe and backed by executive support for the group’s priorities. Learn how J.P. Morgan Chase has put its commitment of supporting each employee’s gender expression in the workplace into action, by empowering the group to be the collective voice of transgender employees, and provide guidance to the Executive Council on transgender matters. We will discuss the group’s structure, priorities, accomplishments, plans for the future, and its function as a development opportunity for employees who may experience stigma and inhibited career mobility.
A Revolutionary BRG! Lockheed Martin’s PRIDE Transgender Council
Be a Revolutionary BRG! This workshop brings the council journey front and center with an overview and history of Lockheed Martin’s PRIDE BRG Transgender Council. While operating under the umbrella of the PRIDE BRG, our principle mission is focused on transgender inclusion in the workplace. We continue to push the envelope with nine committees: Benefits, Communications, Current Affairs, Education, Family & Friends Support, HR Liaison, Employee Liaison, Military Outreach, and Name Change. Unwavering support from our corporate Global Diversity and Inclusion team, and our PRIDE BRG drives impactful changes to corporate benefits and programs, transition guidelines, and a support network for our transgender & gender non-binary community. Our members consist of transgender and gender non-binary employees, allies, and HR professionals.
A roadmap to corporate non-binary inclusion
How do we create inclusive workplaces for non-binary employees when changing company culture, processes, and tools can seem almost impossible? The trick is to focus on awareness building while driving a comprehensive approach. Attend this session to learn about the steps that HP has taken for non-binary inclusion as well as our plan for the steps we still need to take.
Bank of America: When Gender Doesn’t Fit in a Box
Do you have employees whose gender expression and/or gender identity doesn’t fit neatly into a binary box? Has this presented challenges for them at work? Is your ERG equipped to advocate, educate and mentor, or even accept these teammates with open arms? What about the day-to-day challenges such as pronouns, names, systems, bathrooms, general courtesy and dress guidelines? We have used employees’ experiences to build an internal training course focused on gender identity/expression in the workplace and offer 1:1 HR support for non-binary employees to engage their managers and teammates to create an inclusive workspace and to navigate challenges. We’ll share our development and rollout strategies and first-hand perspectives from non-binary employees. We have global non-discrimination policies and a longstanding commitment to LGBT inclusion to build upon. We look forward to exchanging best practices and challenges with other companies.
Need workplace Transitioning or Gender Identity support? Build a Toolkit
Using Best Buy as a case study in this interactive workshop, we will focus on how to create and launch a workplace transition and gender identity toolkit by sharing best practices, learnings and challenges.
The toolkit provides guidelines and resources for employees, leaders and coworkers to support employees through a gender transition and aid in establish an environment where non-binary gender expressions are respected. Participants will receive an abridged version of the Best Buy’s toolkit and a template to use as a blueprint for building your own toolkit.
Open Trans Roundtable – Tell Your Story
This program was well received last year, including one party crasher that had the audience in tears as this Mom shared her story. This roundtable discussion led by a mother and transgender daughter duo will engage the audience in creating and sharing their stories. This session lies between the closed trans session offered at Out & Equal and the general trans sessions creating a unique space for dialogue and discussion. It is intended for people who have a loved one, family member, partner, or are transgender themselves. We will open with discussion around how the power of using our voices at work can drive change at a corporate level, including influencing transition practices, policies, benefits, and support structures for transgender people. Attendees will also hear from Samanthat Brank (aka Samantha Lux) about how she has used social media to influence the transgender narrative and evoke emotion that opens people to her community. Participants will be given the tools to start their own story and an opportunity to practice in the safety of this group of supporters and loved ones.
Trans* Community Disproportionate Impact of Health, Wellbeing and Equality
Chevron is a proud sponsor of Surviving Voices project series led by the National AIDS Memorial. In 2019, focus was on “The Transgender Community and AIDS.” Join as we watch the video followed by a conversation around intersection of the Trans* community living with HIV/AIDS and experiences as a person of color. We’ll explore mental illness, and homelessness, at-risk lifestyle; and how these conditions can impact the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the community. We will discuss interventions like capacity building, employment services, raising visibility and awareness, removing stigma around mental health support, and related issues. Chevron and National AIDS Memorial have a long-standing partnership. We will be joined by John Cunningham, Executive Director at the National AIDS Memorial, and community members.
Transforming Your Transition (Stepping in and out of Privilege)
Fully Transitioning and Gender Affirmation can be tough and blissful at the same time! But what about those other things that you don’t notice until you have changed like privileges that pertain to one’s gender and ethnicity. Have you woken up to your bias?
Transmen and Transmasculine: Let’s hear your voices!
Transmen from various professions, generations and stages in their transitions share their experiences of being out and transitioning in the workplace from their unique point of view. They will try to answer the question “Where are all the Transmen in business?” by discussing the risks and challenges of being out vs going “stealth”, finding their champions at work and what the future looks like from their vantage point.
What Are Gender Roles When Gender is a Spectrum?
Our expectation of gender roles is unconsciously limiting the ability for LGBTQ+ people to thrive and bring their whole selves to the workplace. Today’s youth identify with as many as 20 distinct gender identities and will be entering our workforce with more than a binary definition of gender. How is your ERG influencing your corporate culture to confront the binary gender norms and embrace gender as a spectrum? This workshop will reveal and explore the conventional beliefs about gender and provide practical examples and methods for a workplace that truly values all genders.
The information above about workshops and other sessions for the 2020 Workplace Summit is subject to change. Conference attendees will have access to detailed information and the full schedule one week before Summit begins.