Outie Awards (the “Outies”) recognize individuals and organizations who are leaders in advancing equality for LGBTQ people in workplaces globally. Outies are awarded at the annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit.
This award recognizes an organization that is innovating in its efforts to build a workplace culture that fosters connection, collaboration, and allyship among employees across boundaries of cultures and race. The winner will be piloting breakthrough intersectional programming, serving as an outspoken public policy advocate for the needs of multiple communities, encouraging joint projects among ERGs, and prioritizing the investment of resources into the LGBTQ community and other communities.
The 2021 Belonging & Equity Visionary Outie Award honorees are below. The Outie winners were announced at the annual Workplace Summit happening October 6-8, 2021.
Winner
Bank of America
Bank of America’s commitment to building cultures that foster collaboration, inclusion, and belonging across boundaries of culture and race is evident. In the past year, more than 165,000 employees have participated in over 320 conversations focused on mental health, suicide awareness, disability, LGBTQ+ inclusion and family support, racial justice, and intersectionality. Programming at the bank highlights intersectionality with events like “The intersection of Black and LGBTQ+ identities” during Black History Month or Pride Month collaborations that included networks for Women, Asian, Latino, disabled, Black, and inter-generational employees.
The company’s efforts extend out to the community. Bank of America has made a $1.25 billion commitment over five years designed to drive progress towards racial equality and economic opportunity for people and communities of color, prioritizing health, jobs, small businesses, and affordable housing. They also made additional investments in the Asian community targeted to combatting hate. Bank of America partners with outside organizations that help fulfill their vision of equity. Notable examples include the Tory Burch Foundation that helps women entrepreneurs access capital.
In their own words: “Across the public and private sectors, it is clear that we must do more – to take action, help others convene, and serve as a catalyst for a broad-based, collective response to the critical issues affecting our nation.”
Honorees
Capital One
Capital One is spearheading innovative initiatives focused on intersectionality, inclusion, and equity that create cultures of belonging for underrepresented employees and communities. These efforts show up in the data. The number of women and people of color employed by Capital One grew by 33% and 85% respectively over the past decade. 55% of their board of directors is made up of women and people of color.
Notably, Capital One’s breakthrough programming, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB), focuses on storytelling, education, and open-dialogue across all levels of the company. Capital One provides space for storytelling and dialogue through the Stories of Us company-wide program that creates forums for associates to share their stories, amplifies stories from underrepresented communities, and provides rich opportunities for learning from one another. In addition, through matching-fund and other campaigns the organization has mobilized resources for causes including addressing anti-Asian hate and supporting COVID19 efforts in India.
In their own words: “It is our responsibility to continuously advocate for an equitable and inclusive society, where everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression feels empowered to be themselves and have an equal opportunity to thrive.”
Dell Technologies
Dell’s efforts to drive belonging and equity include trainings, investments in ERGs, public policy advocacy, and visible leadership from the C-Suite. Their focus on intersectionality is evident in ERG initiatives like Pride’s People of Color focus and the multi-year partnership between Pride and the Black Network Alliance in commemorating Juneteenth. Dell is at the leading edge on recruitment. Spearheaded by a dedicated Diversity Talent Acquisition team, their recruitment efforts include a neurodiversity program that helps to hire people with autism, recruiting nontraditional candidates with transferrable skills, and bringing in individuals who have taken time away from the workforce.
In their own words: “When you are on the journey of inclusivity in the workplace for the LGBTQ+ community and others, you are not going to have all the answers. We have built partnerships with multiple non-profit and expert organizations that helps us connect with other companies to gain best practices and trainings on how we can evolve our ERG.”
Philippine Financial & Inter-Industry Pride
The Philippine Financial & Inter-Industry Pride is a community of practice composed of representatives from LGBT+ ERGs or Human Resources/Diversity teams from the financial services industry. PFIP hosts an annual Leadership Forum – a one-of-the-kind event in the Philippines – that attracts global and local leaders discussing LGBTQ+ inclusion, building more paths towards business resiliency in the Philippines and promoting LGBTQ+ visibility in leadership and management spaces. During Pride month this year, PFIP launched a workplace inclusion survey to highlight industry practices policies and programs for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Philippine workplaces. It became the most comprehensive and exhaustive survey on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the country. Their joint programming with champions for women and people with disabilities has helped to reframing the conversation from simply valuing diversity to the development of equity targets that can bring about systemic, structural, and institutional change.
In their own words: “By promoting a leadership framework that is anchored in both LGBTQ+ excellence and a shared vision for workplace inclusion, PFIP is molding the next generation of self-identifying LGBTQ+ leaders to not only take up their rightful place, but more importantly, hold space for others.”