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2021 Workshops & Sessions

Scroll below to view the live 2021 Workplace Summit workshop sessions. This schedule is subject to change. The up-to-date live schedule, along with all pre-recorded sessions, will be available on our conference platform at the end of September. All schedule blocks are in Eastern time.

Out & Equal is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. 

Many of our live workshops are eligible for PDCs—contact learning@outandequal.org for more information.

Wednesday, October 6th 12:30-1:30 ET


Ace In the Workplace

Asexuality is often referred to as the invisible orientation, and its one that most people don’t realize exists. Join our panel to learn what Asexuality is and what it means to identify as Asexual! Our panelists will be sharing life stories and confronting some of the myths and misconceptions that they have faced in accepting and embracing their asexuality.

Increasing LGBTQ Inclusion through Affirming Healthcare Access & Benefits

Discussion on the impact and value case for increased attention on LGBTQ-inclusive and gender-affirming health care. Why should companies care about helping employees get access to and navigate inclusive health benefits?
What makes benefits more inclusive? Overview of key trends in inclusive and equitable benefits, i.e.
Mental Health, LGBTQ Youth & Families, Family Building & Fertility, Gender-affirming care, Reimbursements.

‘Letting Others In’ at Work: Tools of Storytelling and Self-Disclosure

‘Letting Others In’ is a practical DEI tool devised by the ERGs at the Facebook Austin office that empowers underrepresented voices and privileges storytelling as a primary means for building inclusion, allyship and lasting change in the workplace. Come hear from members of the Facebook ERGs who expanded this program throughout the company and learn how you can adopt this dynamic program within your own ERGs.

Office of LGBT+ Affairs – Driving the agenda from the top

JPMorgan Chase is one of the few companies in the world to have formally appointed a Managing Director to the position of Global Head of LGBT+ Affairs, with a dedicated full-time team, to execute on our global LGBT+ agenda. The result of this dedicated appointment is a firmwide, global strategy that ensures our PRIDE ERG, LGBT+ Executive Forum and various Business aligned LGBT+ networks are focused on the same goals and objectives to drive the agenda. Come and learn how they have implemented this new team and how they are building their global strategy.

Harnessing Your Personal Brand and Respecting Yourself

For LGBTQ+ individuals it can be difficult to represent yourself in a way that is aligned to your core values. In this session you will explore the importance of your own brand and identify ways to connect and influence others in your organization. By the end of this session you will be able to: (1) Identify your Personal Brand, (2) Identify the importance of a brand, (3) Create a brand statement using a simple four-step process, and (4) Identify ways to harness your brand to enable you to be your personal best and advance your career aspirations.

Reimagined CSR beyond borders – Case Study: LatAm

World 2.0 is here and it demands more attention of organizations to become geared towards amplification of technology while helping to promote LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in society. In this workshop, we will analyze the case study created by our Pride ERG Community Impact leaders in Latin America, to explore opportunities you have to strengthen a reimagined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, incorporate to your regional hubs beyond North America and impact global non-profit organizations using our talent and skills as a power source.

Public Intercompany LGBTQ+ Panels: Building Lasting Impacts from Current Conversations

Accenture and CVS Health LGBTQ+ ERGs created the LGBTQ+ Health Equity Speaker Series, an episodic set of panel discussions focusing on current health equity and access issues in the LGBTQ+ community. These unique learning assets provide real, relevant, and actionable insights for topics of concern.  The first episode explored the COVID-19 pandemic impact, vaccination, and restoration of healthcare system trust in the LGBTQ+ community.  Moderated by the CVS Caremark Chief Marketing Officer, this session featured expert panelists from Accenture, CVS Health, HRC, and SAGE.  The intercompany team leading this programming continues to gain momentum, breakthrough corporate and community barriers, and build lasting content that serves LGBTQ+ and healthcare professional communities. This session will review the evolution of this intercompany series and partnership.  Attendees will learn about intercompany ERG collaboration experiences, best practices and lessons, and the positive impacts that happen when ERGs from different companies pursue deep, public LGBTQ-centric conversations.

Wednesday, October 6th 2:00-3:00 ET


Accelerating Innovation through Diversity: Amplifying Return on Equity by Investing in the LGBTQ+ Community

This 60-minute executive panelist setting will explore how inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community improves a company’s Return on Equity. This event will contain questions that address the paramount importance why company’s invest in Pride, HRC, etc., address the unique challenges of advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusion, identify personal challenges with investing in the LGBTQ+ community, and touch on current media content that can affect a company’s strategy with pursuing investments in the LGBTQ+ community. Questions from the audience will be welcome for the last portion of the event.


Engaging Leaders Using Executive Briefings to drive LGBTQ+ Inclusion: Insights, Answers and Action

Join us for this case study highlighting Bank of America’s journey to launch a 30-minute LGBTQ+ Briefing and leader resources designed to cascade LGBTQ+ inclusion learning and cultural competency deeper within business units. We will share how the briefing idea came forth, what it took to execute, how we brought the content to life with thought leaders (hint, hint: Erin Uritus makes a guest appearance) and employee spotlights and what we are continuing to do to create audiences for maximum impact.


The Relevance of Workplace Benefits Inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ Workforce

The session will focus on LGBTQ workplace equality by discussing why Chevron decided to review and evaluate their United States medical benefits.


Implementing LGBTQ+ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce

The Federal Government is the largest employer in the U.S., and the Biden-Harris administration is taking major steps to improve both representation and workplace experience for under-served and under-represented communities, including LGBTQ+ federal employees. This will be an interactive workshop focused on implementation of the June 25, 2021 Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal Workforce. Representatives from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s DEIA office will provide a brief overview of the LGBTQ+ components of the Executive Order and then facilitate a discussion focused on implementation, including equitable healthcare coverage and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and dependents, inclusive policies and practices for transgender and nonbinary feds, and self-identification. This session is open to federal employees and non-feds alike; all are welcome. Please come prepared to share your ideas for successful, enduring LGBTQ+ workforce inclusion, from whatever sector or organization you represent!


Activating Volunteers: From Communities to Corporations

All volunteer-based organizations, regardless if they are community non-profits or corporate resource groups, suffer from the common problem of volunteer fatigue. Do you find the same few people doing all the heavy lifting? Do you have trouble keeping volunteers active and engaged? Are you struggling to build a robust leadership pipeline? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this workshop is for you. Join PFLAG and Dow as they cover key strategies for understanding and engaging your volunteer population to develop empowered teams built on trust, transparency, and accountability who are ready to tackle your organization initiatives and feed your leadership pipeline. Throughout this presentation, you will learn how to recognize the needs and barriers of your volunteer population, how to create inclusive volunteering opportunities that will attract, develop and reward your volunteers, as well as how to augment your organizational structure to feed your talent pipeline and leverage the strengths of your volunteer pool. Without a supported volunteer network, many organizations eventually collapse; don’t let that happen to yours by attending this inspirational and interactive presentation on activating volunteers.

Improving the Experience for Transgender and Nonbinary Customers

Verizon is committed to focusing outward on the customer, ensuring that we are creating a welcoming and inclusive experience for ALL customers. This includes our Transgender and Nonbinary customers. When customers feel valued by and connected to a company, the company distinguishes itself as a leader for diversity and inclusion. Verizon is dedicated to building policies and training that not only protect our valued Transgender and Nonbinary customers, but also celebrate their authenticity. In this roundtable discussion, Verizon Prism will discuss ongoing efforts to launch a training program, designed for frontline employees, to recognize and better serve our Transgender and Nonbinary customers.

Creating and sustaining a Grade AAA LGBT+ Network

There are several keys to creating and maintaining a successful LGBT+ BRG/ERG. This discussion seek to open the floor to new / existing BRG leaders who are in need of advise on how they engage and sustain their networks during these times. 

Wednesday, October 6th 3:30-5:00 ET


Covering SCOTUS and LGBTQ Issues in America

MSNBC Anchor Kendis Gibson leads a discussion on how NBC News covers LGBTQ issues in America through the lens of the law and the Supreme Court and the changing culture of acceptance in the United States.

Wednesday, October 6th 4:30-5:30 ET


Partners in Pride – Building Cultural Competency through LGBTQ+ Marketing

Are you tired of explaining the challenges the LGBTQ+ community faces to senior leadership?  Is your LGBTQ+ competency training impersonal and stale, rather than using real, lived experiences?  Do you desire a space to give senior leadership this type of insight?  What if your organization could accomplish this while simultaneously giving LGBTQ+ employees a valuable relationship-building experience with leadership? In this session, members of Pride@CNA will share our journey in creating and implementing a successful LGBTQ+ reverse mentorship program.  Attendees will hear from both mentors (LGBTQ+ ERG members) and mentees (ally senior leaders) about their experience in the program, and how they’re applying what they learned to implement enterprise cultural change.  Participants will walk away with an understanding of how to implement their own LGBTQ+ reverse mentoring program and demonstrate its ROI to senior leadership.


Bringing Authenticity through Intersectionality

Intersectionality is an important topic for everyone to understand.  It’s a framework for understanding the complex way that the many aspects of people’s identities overlap, including their race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and more. Intersectionality holds that a person’s various identities do not live in separate vacuums; rather, people exist at the intersections of their identities. Without understanding intersectionality, we can inadvertently or intentionally leave out the most marginalized groups of people. Lockheed Martin will host an intersectionality panel to discuss the intersections between various backgrounds and the LBGTQIA+ community and panelists’ stories of bring authentic selves to work.  You will learn about their personal stories, how multidimensional identities impact inclusive environments, and gaps and opportunities to support inclusion in the workplace.


Reality Check – Am I an “aging” LBGTQ Person? | Workshop

Over 50 years old and navigating changes your career? Is the younger talent in your industry nipping at your heels? How to stay current and relevant by leveraging your diversity, in today’s challenging market.


Transforming Your Transition

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 ones gender and ethnicity. Have you woken up to your bias?


Skills to Succeed: Supporting trans community

Share the success and lessons learned from pilot workshops to develop job seeking skills for over 50 people in LGBTQI+ community with special focus on the Trans community. It was a joint initiative between the Pride ERG/I&D and Corporate Citizenship in Argentina, with the support of 40+ Accenture volunteers. The workshop had a mix of online classes, offline resume/LinkedIn reviews from volunteers, 1:1 role play exercises and access to English and digital literacy platforms. Positive ripple effect from volunteering on awareness and commitment with the LGBTQI+ community


Taking Back Control: Tools for Effectively Navigating LGBTQ+ and Religious Identities

The intersection of religion with sexual orientation and gender identity/expression is too often a place of conflict and hurt for many LGBTQ+ people and their allies. The assumption that the confluence of the identities will always end up in conflict often drives interactions and assumptions, in spite of the fact that evidence shows significant growth in acceptance from many people of faith. In this session, we’ll briefly look at experience vs. change trends to understand where opportunity for connection lies, discuss effective strategies for workplace efforts focused on building connections to people of faith, and share powerful skills for navigating conflict when it happens. Participants will then apply these skills to real-world scenarios to develop and sharpen their ability to connect, transform, and build acceptance at work.


Creating an Intersex-Inclusive 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!

LGBT+ ERG membership drive in LATAM

Share best practices to increase membership of LGBT+ ERG in LATAM. Structure the ERG Committee in multiple countries and how you may leverage each other to organize event and training in local languages (Spanish and Portuguese). How to involve local communities and get support from governmental organizations.

Wednesday, October 6th 6:00-7:00 ET


Breakthrough conversations: How creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people enables business success

Humans share the need to be heard, understood, valued, and respected. Meaningful conversations that connect on these needs can be emotional, especially on topics that are sensitive or about which people have different perspectives. Yet, they are essential to business growth just as they are in nurturing interpersonal relationships. How does creating a psychologically safe business environment enable productive breakthrough conversations that help unleash innovation? Join this lively panel discussion between business leaders from UL, Saab Inc, and IBM who will share examples of how their company’s commitment to LGBTQ+ workplace diversity and protections has enabled them to have breakthrough conversations that repaired or deepened relationships with team members – and ultimately set the foundation for successful innovation.

We Are Everywhere … and We Are Nowhere: Capturing the Data of LGBTQ+ Women’s Real Lives

What an incredible moment in history to be an LGBTQ+ woman. We are everywhere – writing, teaching, organizing, creating, building fantastic businesses. And leading major initiatives – whether in the corporate or political arena, social justice movements, the arts, tech, academia, medicine or law.

And yet there is very little data on our lived experiences – on the lives of women who partner with other women. Our community thrives against odds at the challenging intersections of sexism, racism, ableism, homo-, bi-, queer- and transphobias, and yet the relative invisibility and continuing erasure of our true stories continue to haunt even our own LGBTQ+ movement spaces (where racism, ableism, ageism and economic injustice press against us).

LGBTQ+ women who partner with women are at a crossroads. We need to be able to access and share data with potential allies and decision-makers. We must equip advocates and allies with concrete information about who we are and how we live, so that workplace design and public policy can “count” us accurately — and in a way that demonstrates deeper commitment and cultural competency.

This makes the newly-launched National LGBTQ+ Women’s Community Survey big news. Interviewed by Jennifer Brown, best-selling author on workplace inclusion and LGBTQ+ advocate, the creators of the survey, Urvashi Vaid (she, her), President of The Vaid Group and Executive Director of Justice Work, Jaime M. Grant (she, dyke), Research Director of The National LGBTQ+ Women*s Community Survey, and Clark Brinson is a doctoral candidate in sociology at Emory University, will be giving a presentation and fireside chat that addresses the significant gap in knowledge, policy analysis, organizing, and advocacy pertaining to the life experiences, needs, priorities and challenges faced by LGBTQ+ women, our partners, and families. This is a rare opportunity to learn more about ourselves, our loved ones, our co-workers, and if we are not directly a part of this community, to activate our allyship and center this new knowledge in our efforts to create a more inclusive world.

Does Structuring Inclusion and Diversity Make BRGs Effective?

Bayer’s Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) strategy is designed around four pillars: Culture, Talent, Business and Brand, naturally connecting I&D to the overall business and people strategies as we work to embed I&D in all of the company’s processes and programs. Integrating I&D into all that we do empowers and engages employees to work towards achieving our inclusive and bold vision of Health for All, Hunger for None. During this panel discussion, live polling will be used to engage the audience in the topic of whether an LGBT+ Business Resource Group (BRG) can be effective at creating a great place to work while leveraging a company’s I&D framework, using examples from Bayer’s BRG BLEND.

Tackling the Global Anti Gender Movement

The anti-gender movement has seen a surge in funding, and is frequently interrupting progress on LGBTQ+ equality, specifically trans equality. Sometimes referred to ‘gender ideology’, anti-gender theorists contest the notion of self-identified gender and have attempted to cause divides between the LGB and trans communities.
Global employers are now faced with responding to the rapidly growing voice of anti-gender theorists, and confront the challenges that this poses for making progress on trans equality in the workplace. This session intends to support employers with the knowledge and practical steps, to ensure that trans people continue to be fully welcomed and included in your workplaces. We hear the perspectives of Stonewall and FELGTB as well as the voices of global business who come together to explore shared solutions.

Being counted: Successes and Challenges with Self Identification Data

Wells Fargo is in the middle of a journey to improve how we collect and use self-identification data in demonstrating: how we are meeting (or not) diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, how we are reflecting our changing customer/client base, and more generally how we talk about DE&I at our company. This session will cover where we’ve been, where we hope to go, and what’s worked/what’s been challenging along the way. 

Making Pride Byte-Sized: Advocating at the Intersection of Technology, Business and People

Peer to peer connection around issues pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community remains a challenge in the modern workplace. During this session, Ericsson employees introduce Pride Bytes, a new peer-driven framework for sharing and exploring lived experiences to educate and interrogate contemporary issues both within and outside of the LGBTQ community. Ericsson organizes the Pride Bytes framework around 3 foundational principles: Experiential Understanding, Story-Driven Learning, and Safe Space Audience Participation and Feedback. Attendees should expect actionable takeaways empowering them to facilitate similar programs at their own workplace.

Nonbinary Roundtable

An open forum for nonbinary individuals to speak about the hardships they face in the workplace, how organizations can be more inclusive for nonbinary individuals, and any other topic related to being nonbinary. This session is open to all folks regardless of how you identify because some discussion may be valuable for allies.


Being an LGBTQ Global Citizen

One benefit of being part of a global organization is the opportunity to work in other countries and regions. Navigating the political and cultural differences can be challenging for anyone, and as LGBTQ professionals, we face a particular set of challenges and opportunities. Is it safe for us to be out? How do we navigate bringing our partners and families? What cultural norms will impact our experiences? How do we find community? Come hear stories from LGBTQ professionals who have spent time working around the globe in a diverse set of cultures. 

What’s Bi+ Got To Do With It?

Bi+ people are the largest subgroup within the3 LGBTQ+ community, and also the one most ignored. Why does this happen and what can we do to drive awareness, urgency, and resources to this segment of the community?

Thursday, October 7th 9:00-10:00 ET


Oracle4All – ERG, HR, and D&I Collaboration in Italy and Brazil

As the Oracle Pride Employee Network (OPEN), the LGBTQ+ ERG, expanded beyond the U.S., they quickly recognized that launching and being successful in each country would take a different path. Some Oracle employees work in countries in which being a homosexual is banned or culturally unaccepted. OPEN found that collaborating with allies from the local HR and D&I teams improved their ability to be successful in countries such as Italy and Brazil. This session explores the relationships we’ve built with HR and D&I teams and the types of programming that have been a result of their support of the LGBTQ+ community and OPEN’s mission to build a safe workplace, recruit and retain top talent, and partner with customers and non-profits.

Serving in Silence

Authentic Story telling from three individuals of the challenges and difficulties of where we started and were we are in our challenges for equality for LGBTQ in the Military. 3 LGBTQ experiences before, during, and post, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell from three branches of the military; Army, Navy, Air Force.

Vulnerable Leadership: Stories of Failure in Corporate LGBTIQ+ Inclusion

It is necessary to embrace our own vulnerability and fears to truly empathize with others and thus create a more equitable society. In the corporate sector, the burden of sensitizing a company to the needs of the LGBTIQ+ community often falls to individual LGBTIQ+ employees displaying their personal struggles for the benefit of their colleagues. However, effective leadership–particularly in diversity, equity, and inclusion–likewise demands the same vulnerability. For this reason, I have invited three corporate leaders from the three most important companies in my country (Peru) to speak from the most uncomfortable place: their failures and bad decisions when implementing inclusion and diversity policies for the LGBTIQ+ community. These three corporate leaders will not only show us this more vulnerable side, but they will leave us life lessons. Above all, we will learn to exercise honest leadership, leadership that inspires.

Call for equality: the importance of intersectionality for the LGBTQIAP+ people

This panel proposes to discuss the importance of intersectionality to achieve LGBTQIAP+ equality in the workplace, focusing in organizational culture’s change. It defends the idea that to effectively include LGBTQIAP+ professionals in the workplace, it is essential to consider the multiple dimensions of discrimination related to gender, sexual-orientation, race, disability and class. The use of intersectional lenses in the workplace can certainly make companies’ organizational culture more diverse and inclusive.

Wake Up Sisters 2.0 – More diverse than ever!

Women must have the opportunity to play a full role in shaping society. There is no textual definition of what a “diverse woman” is because there shouldn’t be. What this expression indicates is that there are women who have multiple identities and can express themselves as best they feel in a society free of prejudices. We must break down the deep-seated historic, cultural, and socio-economic barriers that prevent us from taking our rightful seat at the decision-making table.

In this panel, you will have a group of diverse Latin women from Panama, that will share their insights on black, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and heterosexual life experiences, that you can relate to, connect and apply to any regional or international environment with similar cultural, political, economic, and legislative challenges.

Corporate Advocacy for LGBTIQ+ Inclusion globally

Two new reports from IBM with Lee Bagett and Felicity Daly provide guidelines and approaches on what companies can do to drive LGBTIQ+ Inclusion and advocate for inclusive and equal legislations in countries where they operate. 


Allyship and Leading in the New Normal

Over the past year, our society has simultaneously experienced a pandemic, civil unrest, natural disasters and a new social consciousness. These factors have had a major impact on today’s workplace as outside influencers have a significant effect on employees’ emotional and physical wellbeing.  How a leader responds can affect employee engagement as well as the efficacy of teams.  Leaders of all levels have been challenged to demonstrate social awareness, develop emotional intelligence, evolve, and “up skill” quickly to address the needs of employees within their organizations.  

Striving for Authenticity: The Global LGBT+ Jam

In June 2021 IBM partnered with Out and Equal and Workplace Pride to launch the global LGBT+ report: Striving for authenticity. The report has been a greta success and been featured in publications such as USA Today, Them and Industry Week. But. what are the key takeaways of the report? And how can businesses take action and apply these findings to their own workforce. Join this session to find out. 

“Get Connected” for ERG and D&I Leaders

“Get Connected’ for ERG and D&I Leaders: Get Connected is a fun and interactive 60-minute Zoom learning and networking session designed to create connections and inspire participants to focus on specific topics. Learn how to experience this program, and then how you can take this experience back to your ERGs, teams, councils, and more. Let’s find ways to expand inclusion, create belonging, and celebrate allyship and intersectionality. During this session, ERG and D&I Leaders will: 1. Get to know colleagues and peers in a fun way that means cutting through the surface dialogue and robotic pleasantries. 2. Get beyond trivial interactions into real, conversational exchanges, focused on ERG and questions that foster inclusion and belonging. 3. Get the opportunity to connect and share with colleagues’ ideas in ways that supports allyship, advocates, and intersectionality.

Thursday, October 7th 12:30-1:30 ET


Intersex: Supporting Employees/Families in Moments that Matter (Hearts Parts)

Intersex employees can face unique challenges to inclusion in the workplace and in the world. All too often, the dialogue starts or stalls at “parts” when inclusion is much more about “hearts”. Bank of America is launching new training to expand workplace understanding of moments that matter for intersex employees and those with intersex family members. We will include firsthand employee experiences and identiversity to share their extensive intersex resources and content. We welcome dialogue and sharing from attendees about workplace best practices and gaps that hopefully, we can work together to tackle.

Meaningful Reverse Mentorship: Fostering Power to Empower

Sparked from a white, cisgender, male who volunteered (albeit very nervously) to be the leadership representation of P&G’s North America LBGT+ affinity group, a mentorship was formed based on brutal honesty and openness that resulted in a shift o how to create meaningful change P&G’s systems today. The foundation of this partnership is being reapplied to top leadership across the company to be paired with young LGBT+ talent. The objective is to 1) create eye-opening conversations with leadership so they can deeply and uniquely understand being LGBT+ in a corporate setting and 2) ensure new talent feels open and safe/protected to bring their fullest self to continue to move our company forward.

Inclusive Product Design, Marketing and Allyship for the Transgender and Nonbinary Community

What’s in a name? For some transgender and non-binary people, everything. That’s why, in October 2020, Citi partnered with Mastercard to become the first major bank to launch the True Name feature across the U.S., providing transgender and non-binary customers with the ability to use their self-identified chosen first name on Branded credit cards (an option traditionally only available to those who underwent a legal name change) and across customer service channels, including phone, online and mobile access points. During this session, hear best practices from the Citi initiative leads including Product and Marketing colleagues who ignited teams across the organization, and Creative agency partners who helped to bring this feature to life.

Navigating a complex world; frameworks for understanding LGBTQ+ legislation and policy

Changing laws and policies can make it challenging for global employers to feel confident that their LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives are safe, appropriate and impactful. In this session, Stonewall, Europe’s largest global LGBTQ+ organisation, shares their law and policy framework for navigating the  complex legislative global landscape on LGBTQ+ rights.  It provides a foundation to assess the relationship between law and lived experience and guides employers on how to recognise this in the workplace.

Lessons from an Anti-Racism Book Club

This 60 Minutes roundtable discussion will cover lessons learned from a book club started and run by Boeing employees interested in doing anti-racism work. The book club started by reading White Fragility and then moved on to Caste: The Origins of our Discontent. The book club is open to all employees and focuses on discussing the books in a meaningful way and providing a safe space for everyone to examine the ways in which they have been shaped by the racist and oppressive culture that is dominant in American (and other) societies.

Asexual and Aromantic Community Roundtable

An open forum for members of the asexual and aromantic communities to speak about the hardships they face in the workplace, how organizations can be more inclusive to the ace community, and any other topic related to being asexual or aromantic. Due to the sensitivity of this community, this roundtable is limited only to members of the asexual and/or aromantic community.

Designing Solutions Against Hate and Bigotry: Roundtable for Intersectional Leaders

While we continue our battle against a terrible global pandemic, there is a parallel rising tide of bias, assault and violence against many marginalized Americans. Too often, these episodes reveal patterns of hate towards individuals because of their gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as ethnicity, race and color, faith and disability. For corporate leaders and every workforce, this unacceptable climate infects all of us, and it begs unity and resolution. These issues also mirror an intersection of many diverse identities that touch all companies and all communities.This special and timely roundtable engages several of the nation’s most articulate and respected thought leaders to share examples, messages, milestones, setbacks, success stories and strategies, to address this disturbing and sometimes paralyzing climate.

Thursday, October 7th 3:00-4:00 ET


1+1 Equals 4: Leveraging intersectionality for ERGs at satellite locations

BRGs are the “secret weapon” to creating safe space and driving inclusion through allyship and Intersectionality.  When creating and growing ERGs outside the walls of headquarters, many obstacles inhibit our progress.  Usually, our biggest hurdle is simply the number of participants.  At any site, you have the same select people engaging in all the diversity work.  But which cause takes priority?  The loudest voice?  The most publicized current news story?  How do we bring more people and diverse perspectives to the table and make intersectionality a focal point?
When we use an intersectional strategy in developing ERGs outside of headquarters, we compound our exposure, impact, and influence. A siloed approach leaves us out of the many conversations where we can have a voice.  Additionally, we must not only preach but practice allyship to make lasting change.  An intersectional approach demands that we step up and show up for other ERGs as well.

Transmen and Transmasculine: Lets hear your voices!

For years members of the Transmen / Transmasculine community have lived an almost invisible existence in workplace sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity. Our mentors were often those we followed in social media or in the entertainment world, rarely did we find them in our workplaces. Now thanks to inclusive workplaces, supportive employee networks and Out & Equal each year more of our voices are being heard .We are now choosing to become the people we needed when we were young.

Battling Imposter Syndrome

No matter how successful we are many of us batte that inner, negative voice (Imposter Syndrome). It’s the voice that tells us we’re not smart enough, not experienced enough, and no one will listen to us.  Imposter syndrome can stop us from taking risks, speaking up, and growing in our careers. It’s especially important to talk about in the LGBTQ+ community where many have and do hide who they are every day. In this session you will: Better understand what imposter syndrom is, it’s prevalence, and how it holds us back (including relation to trauma), discover where it shows up for you in your work and career (so as to better be prepared when it does), techniques to manage that negative voice (Imposter Syndrome) to better thrive in your career.

Harness the power of ERGs to influence public policy and corporate political giving

The last year has been very challenging, with the rise in systemic racism, anti-AAPI hate and anti-LGBT legislation.  What can we as ERG leaders do to hold our employers accountable for their conduct?  How can we make corporate support for the LGBTQ+ community about more than selling products with rainbow logos and drive tangible change in the way they do business? We’ll talk about how ERG leaders can find their voice on public policy issues, get a seat at the table, and influence senior leadership decision making.  We’ll share a model that balances global impact goals and the need to be “”in the room”” with policy makers while being true to your corporate culture.  We’ll also introduce a consultative framework on Political Action Committee giving, where ERG leaders partner with Government Relations to evaluate funding recipients based on their positions, voting record, and alignment with company core values.

Spotlight Partners: Help your non-profit partners shine in a virtual world

Do you love volunteering, but have felt disconnected from your nonprofit partners due to the pandemic? Are you looking for ways to educate your internal teams on how they can help support community while staying safe at home? To work within these challenges, Target’s Pride+ ERG launched a monthly Spotlight Series — a virtual event that provides a platform for community partners to share their work, spark discussion, and promote ways to get involved. Each month our ERG has partnered with other Target ERGs to plan and promote the event around a theme such as mental health awareness or Black History Month. Joining forces with internal partners allows the LGBTQIA+ community within Target to expand reach and awareness of the work our non-profit partners do in the community every day. Learn from our successes and challenges to build a successful virtual event that keeps your organization connected to community work. 

OREO Brand Pride and Inclusive Marketing with a Purpose at Mondelēz International

We want to move the conversation forward on LGBTQIA+ acceptance by sharing our inclusive OREO marketing campaign in partnership with PFLAG. OREO Brand is Proud to partner up with PFLAG for the second consecutive year to be visible, speak up in support of and stand behind LGBTQ+ youth and their families (biological or chosen), elevating Queer voices while creating playful moments of acceptance through education and a bonus giveaway of limited edition OREOiD for PFLAG boxes on oreo.com/pride #ProudParent #ProudWords

Leveraging our Queerness for Leadership – A Roundtable Discussion

This facilitated round table discussion, led by Catherine Kohler (she/her) and Craig Souza (he/him) explores our experience as LGBTQI+ people, our “different-ness”, even our “weirdness” as priceless gifts that we offer to the world.  For allies and those in positions of power we’ll explore creating environments in which the unique gifts of each and every person can be fully expressed.We’ll explore the premise that our different-ness is our superpower, enabling us to see the world in a unique way, bring fresh perspectives, and, by showing up fully giving others the courage to do the same.

Thursday, October 7th 4:30-5:30 ET


Building a Family and Parenting from an LGBTQ+ Perspective

If you’re an LGBTQ+ parent, or you are considering becoming a parent via adoption, fostering or IUI, then please join us for a panel discussion on Building a Family and Parenting. You’ll hear insights and stories from several LGBTQ+ individuals who have had direct experience with these topics, including how to locate and navigate workplace policies.  Information on benefits and possible updates in the future will also be included.  There will be ample time for questions during the event. 

The Power of Executive Sponsors in Driving ERG Success

Executive Sponsors play a critical role in ERG performance, but many ERG leaders aren’t sure how to engage their Executive Sponsors to drive success. And many Executive Sponsors aren’t sure how to best add value.
Join HP’s Global Pride Executive Sponsor and Out & Equal Board Member, Annette Friskopp, and Global ERG Program Manager, Beth Miller, in this interactive workshop to learn how Executive Sponsors can help drive ERG growth and success. The workshop will include a panel discussion with Executive Sponsors who will share their wisdom and experience on how they provide sponsorship that helps their ERGs grow and succeed.
Leadership and sponsorship of ERGs is more important than ever. 

Citi SpeakOUT: Intersection, Representation and Networking across Geographies

At Citi, we strive to create a place where everyone can be their true self at work and believe that LGBTQ+ representation in the workplace is key to equality and inclusion. Because of this, we have launched the Citi SpeakOUT project: a collaboration from multiple Citi Pride networks across Americas after attending 2020 Out & Equal which provides monthly LGBTQ+ story-sharing sessions: showcasing and providing visibility to all of the facets of our community, with an emphasis on the intersectionality of underrepresented groups, such as those who identify as non-binary, transgender, veterans, people of color, and individuals with disabilities. During this session you will learn more about how the Citi Pride network teams worked together to design and implement these sessions and key insights into how to make the most out of cross-network collaboration to leverage in your own company.

The Next Generation Workforce – Reverse Mentoring Transgender and Nonbinary Youth

Reverse mentoring has been around for about a decade. It is a great way for established executives, managers, or employees to keep in touch with new concepts, ideas, and language from the next generation workforce. When we focus on LGBTQ+ youth and more specifically, transgender and non-binary young people, we can use the reverse mentoring model to overcome many known barriers to visibility, acceptance, diversity, inclusion, and talent acquisition. This session will take you through the process of setting up a reverse mentorship model at your company specifically focused on transgender and non-binary young people. Presented by the GenderCool Project founders Gearah Goldstein and John Grosshandler and GenderCool Champion Daniel, who successfully completed a reverse mentorship with Intuit. Join us to learn how reverse mentorships will make a profound and measurable impact at your company.

A New LGBTQ+ Workforce Has Arrived – Inclusive Cultures Must Follow

In June 2020, BCG partnered with NYC’s LGBT Community Center (“The Center”) to publish a groundbreaking study on the state of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the US workforce. The report findings were featured in media nationwide and include tangible steps companies can take to foster inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. Over the past year, The Center has leveraged this research to build a robust corporate inclusion training program, attracting national Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and public organizations. Join BCG and The Center for an interactive discussion about how companies can take the next big step forward on workforce inclusion and the role you can play as a leader within your company.

LGBTQ+ Representation on Corporate Boards

LGBTQ+ inclusive board diversity has finally entered the conversation on corporate diversity and governance policy debates. Yet, despite finally receiving attention from business leaders, the media, politicians, and activists, LGBTQ+ board directors (and other minorities) still remain overwhelmingly underrepresented in the boardroom. LGBTQ+ leaders represent a range of other dimensions of demographic diversity, and thus Quorum (Out Leadership’s LGBTQ+ Board Diversity Initiative) and all of our efforts are intersectional by design. As the only global LGBTQ+ certified B Corporation, Out Leadership views its role as the convener of organizations across the LGBTQ+ and diverse communities.

What older LGBTQ people need when the country begins to recover from the pandemic

It is no surprise to many that the impact of Covid-19 on older LGBTQ adults has been detrimental, not just physically, but mentally, socially, and economically. Pre-Covid 19 data shows that LGBTQ older adults experienced discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity. When the LGBTQ individual was African American or Black, experiences of discrimination were higher and often occurred in the workplace. AARP research also illustrates many African American/Black LGBTQ people are proud of their identity, but they often encounter discrimination, and many feel they cannot be themselves in settings typically central to people’s daily leaves. As the pandemic swept through the United States, many LGBTQ people and LGBTQ people of color suffered economic devastation through job loss, loss of businesses, or income reductions. While vaccine hesitancy remains, the country is currently in recovery mode, but for LGBTQ people and other more vulnerable communities’ sustainable strategies and tactics are needed to ensure that opportunities for economic recovery to the pre-Covid-19 era (or better than pre-Covid 19) are readily available. To be gainfully employed and not harassed because of identity should be a right that all Americans benefit from, and any form of discrimination in the workplace should not be tolerated.

Thursday, October 7th 6:00-7:00 ET


CURED: How LGBTQ Activists Fought the Mental Illness Label and Changed History

Until 1973, every gay man and lesbian — no matter how well-adjusted — was automatically classified as mentally ill. The award-winning new documentary CURED takes viewers inside the David-versus-Goliath struggle that led the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its manual of mental disorders. Following a screening of clips from this “riveting” (Queer Review) and “fascinating” (Hollywood Reporter) film about LGBTQ trailblazers, panelists will examine how the APA’s 1973 decision transformed the relationship of LGBTQ+ people to workplaces and medical institutions. Presenters will also discuss how CURED is being used in corporations, law firms, and non-profit organizations to spark conversations aimed at fostering more diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environments by illuminating the elements of effective leadership; the importance of allies and coalitions; the process of bringing about systemic social change; and the value of staying true to one’s authentic self. Visit www.cureddocumentary.com to watch a trailer.

Leadership Lessons from Drag Performers

Drag performers exemplify what is means to be a leader. As prominent figures in the LGBTQ community, we possess skills and means to influence people, which is the definition of leadership. Leadership in this context is a process within a group that influences the greater population. The goal here is to lead drag into the mainstream as being more accepted. Years ago, drag was not nearly as openly accepted as it is now. Currently there are many shows and volumes of media regarding drag in the mainstream. Drag was frowned upon and significant discrimination against our community occurred. Celebrities like RuPaul had a huge influence in the mainstreaming of modern day drag through his drive and leadership. He possesses a vision of a more accepting world for his community, had talent of speech and built up a trusted following over the years. He also made personalized leadership statements with such catch phrases as, “”If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”” Transformational leaders can show followers the importance of their goals, and to go beyond to fulfill those goals. RuPaul’s Drag Race is an example that helped many drag performers gain mainstream popularity. In this way, Ru also shows himself as a collaborator leader. He shows there is room for shared success. There are ten characteristics of collaborative leaders, including empathy, awareness, persuasion, partnering, influencing, trusting, enabling, inspiring, developing and creating. Collaborative leaders pave the way for their colleagues, and eliminate hurdles to make success easier. All performers will be in drag.

Emotional Intelligence for Queer Leaders

Every time you open LinkedIn, there are 107 new posts about emotional intelligence (EQ). You get the sense that it’s important…but what even IS it? Chances are, you already know quite a bit about EQ. Queer, trans, non-binary, and all marginalized people use EQ skills all of the time – we show up with an abundance of emotional self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to control our impulses, to name a few. Join us for a conversation about these and other EQ skills, why this skill set is important for leaders, teams, and organizations, and a must-have for your Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work. We’ll share a ton of information, tools, and resources to kickstart your EQ journey.

Get Connected: Build Connections and Belonging through Networking

Hate networking?  We have eliminated the fear and anxiety of networking and created a session that has participants wanting more.  Really!!! Introverted or Extroverted, our 60-min fun and interactive networking session will have you connecting with a new and diverse group of LGBTQIA colleagues and leaders by sharing stories in ways that create belonging and uncover your dimensions of diversity. Aside from the connections you make, you can bring this program to your organization for new hire onboarding, ERGs, cross-functional networking, team building, leadership meetings, and more. Our promise… you will leave this session not only talking about your experience but excited to continue your conversations with new friends and colleagues throughout the Summit.

Redefining “Family”

This session discusses how a small update in Dow’s definition of family delivered huge impact in inclusion. 
In 2021, Dow’s Asia Pacific region broadened its definition of “family” in alignment with local regulations, and enabled employees without a marriage certificate, including LGBTQ+ couples, to access family-related benefits.  A year in the making, the people policy update was initiated by Dow’s employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies, GLAD, and a strong partnership with the region’s HR total rewards team.
This presentation will share the genesis of this ground-breaking development, including learnings and insights that are potentially transferable to other organizations seeking to drive a similar change.

Coping with Stress & Anxiety During Uncertainty and Avoiding Burnout

For the past 18 months, many of us have been working from home all while grappling with increased amounts of uncertainty related to COVID-19, political upheaval, and civil unrest. This has led to an increase in levels of anxiety, stress, and burnout. During uncertainty, we are often flooded with uncomfortable emotions and negative thoughts, which we are not quite sure how to manage. In this session, Zander Keig, LCSW will be discussing strategies and techniques for recognizing signs of stress, challenging negative thoughts, regulating emotions, and setting boundaries. Keig, NASW 2020 National Social Worker of the Year, has been an LGBT advocate since 1987, first as a lesbian and now as a trans man.

Open Trans Roundtable – Using Your Stories to Drive Change

This roundtable is in its 4th consecutive year and continues to be a must attend for those who want to use their voice for change and acceptance or simply want an opportunity to tell their story in a safe environment. This roundtable discussion led by a mother and transgender daughter duo will engage the audience in creating and sharing their stories. The session 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 while opening hearts and minds to the trans community.  Attendees will hear from Samanthat Brank (aka Samantha Lux) about how she has used social media to influence the transgender narrative and envoke 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.

Bi Bi Baby- Parenting while Bi… Part 2

Whether you have kids or want kids, parenting while being not straight and not lesbian or gay can offer some unique challenges. Back by popular demand, this year’s Roundtable discussion is a great place to talk about it. At last year’s Summit we gathered and together developed some resources. This year we will share what was created and build on from there. This roundtable discussion will have a focus on both sharing and working together to identify options to some of the challenges that are unique to Parenting while Bi+

Friday, October 8th 9:00-10:00 ET


Inclusive el Lenguaje: Entre el Lenguaje y el Síntoma

A session in Spanish for Spanish speakers, we attempt to highlight the oppressive structural base by which language depicts, names, and deprecate vulnerable populations particularly regarding gender and sexual orientation. For this, we present and discuss our personal experiences and hardship with language and the culture reflected in it with from the academic perspective. In the current social climate and in relation to the increased visibility of identities departing from the gender binary, we try to clarify currently known modifications and additions to the way we usually speak and how they bring attention to the place marginalized groups have in the subconscious of daily communication.

Beyond Performative Support: Trans & Non-Binary Equity & Inclusion

Come learn about how one company’s ERG successfully expanded their efforts to support transgender and non-binary colleagues in the workplace beyond performative gestures.  In 2021, the AbbVie PRIDE ERG has placed a real emphasis on changing company practices to be more inclusive and affirming of transgender and non-binary employees.  This emphasis was shaped directly by the clear and courageous voices of transgender and non-binary members of the ERG leadership team who pushed the ERG to think beyond buttons and flag raisings.

The Power of Resilience: Building Stronger LGBTQ+ Professionals

LGBTQ+ professionals are a key asset to a diverse and growing workplace. One of the key issues facing LGBTQ+ professionals is stress from fear of discrimination and harassment, as well as masking from leadership and colleagues. In a world that is redefining itself amidst a pandemic, managing stress is needed now more than ever. 
In this 60-minute workshop professionals will leave with the understanding that all stress is not created equal and proven ways to build resilience. Stress left untreated can manifest as burnout, poor health, social disconnection, and low work performance. Participants will learn how to not only survive but thrive in the face of adversity both personally and professionally.

SILENT SCREAM: An Experiential Workshop using Sign Language

Inhabitants of the world of sound frequently fail to notice the multiple silences dividing them from the Deaf LGBTQ+ world.Delve into the world of understanding our Queer Deaf community picking up skills to reach across the divide. Walk away with learning the Basics of Sign Language, Queer Signs and fun through this intriguing session.
Silence has never been more engaging!

Benefits of Transgender Inclusion Training at NSA

Come learn about Transgender Inclusion Training at the National Security Agency as we provide an overview the our training’s history, it’s impact, provide an overview of our current training, and discuss our next steps. Our training covers the importance of creating and inclusive workspace for transgender employees and presents how to accomplish this task through treating transgender and gender non-conforming individuals with respect and dignity.

ELLA, a “glocal” community

This section aims to share the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion to empower queer women and non-binary people locally to create a Global safe powerhouse for the community. Come with us to discover what Nigeria, Brazil and South Africa have in common and how their complex context and unique narratives had a remarkable impact on ELLA Global Community.

Unapologetically Abundant in our skin

In 2019 the “”Cracking the Concrete Ceiling: LGBTQ people of colour”” panel just touched the surface of the many nuanced conversations that we face and that take place in the workplace every day. Two years ago we ended up creating a safe space where LGBTQ+ people of colour could be present, where they could share their truths, show up, seek advice and best practice from each other and where together with our allies we could learn and educate ourself on how to be better to and for each other. Two years on, the need for this space is paramount but it is imperative that all of these conversations are shone through a mental health lens as we know at this time our community is in desperate need of healing and a place to hold space. Join Chloë Davies & her community guests as we create this space together at Summit.

Friday, October 8th 12:30-1:30 ET


Elevation Through Networking: How the OandE Buddy program accelerated changes at Boeing/Deloitte

Chance Encounters led to great relationships and meaningful impact! Join us for a panel discussion with Erin Uritus (O&E), Aro Royston (Boeing), and Mallory Schneider (Deloitte) moderated by Rae Stuart (Boeing).  During this session you will learn how two BRGs for fortune 500 companies accelerated change for LGBTQ+ inclusion through collaboration and networking derived from participating in the O&E buddy program.

Voices from the MENA Region – Partner with Local LGBTQI Advocates

At 10 years from the Arab Spring, LGBTQI people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have moved demands of their rights from the margins to the mainstream despite hostility from the government and society. Unique to this moment is the backdrop of an unprecedented global pandemic and economic crisis that is magnifying stark inequalities and has had a profound impact on the lives of LGBTQI people around the world. This session will amplify the voices of LGBTQI advocates from the MENA region; and will explore how companies can leverage their ERGs to build effective corporate community partnerships with civil society organizations to promote culturally sensitive diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, improve employment rights, access to jobs, and economic development. Join us for an engaging discussion with LGBTQI advocates from Lebanon, Egypt, and Tunisia!

Identity at Work: Gender Expansive Leaders Building Community

Learn how J.P. Morgan Chase leverages gender expansive talent to engage with employees across the firm in this live interactive panel, featuring the Global Gender Identity and Expression Council (GGIEC). Now incorporated into J.P. Morgan Chase’s new Office of LGBT+ Affairs, the GGIEC (formerly known as the Global Transgender Working Group) has rebranded and expanded to include added focus on internal and external advocacy, building gender expansive communities, and delivering employee education. Join the discussion as we explore the value of engaging with employees who are family members, caregivers, and friends of gender expansive loved ones and developing educational resources that allow cisgender employees to better understand gender expansive experiences in the workplace.

Embrace Our Discomfort: The +++ Spectrum of Identities Beyond LGBTQ

There appears to still be significant discomfort and lack of awareness around the “+++” identities in LGBTQ+, especially in the workplace. Let’s explore and embrace these “non-traditional” identities; We’ll discuss current research, corporate trends, and best practices for how companies can help these individuals feel safe and supported.

Sustaining LGBTQIA+ Success with Optimism, Resilience, and Grit

This interactive workshop focuses on people strong through optimism, resilience, and grit. Through group and partner discussions, we will explore ways to strengthen or teach others about LGBTQ+ optimism, resilience, and grit. You will learn how to strengthen and develop Optimism. We will also explore ways to build Resilience as a competency to overcome change and challenges. The workshop will end with ways to strengthen LGBTQ+ GRIT as a competency that differentiates exceptional performers from good performers, which impacts business results.

Teaching LGBTQ+ History in the Workplace to Engage Allies

Every history lesson is told from the perspective and lens of the educator. And we all know that how histories are told, whose stories are included, and what stories are left out matters. Join PFLAG National and Straight for Equality to not only learn more about LGBTQ+ history but also to better understand how and why they have chosen to tell these vibrant, diverse, and determined stories in the way that they do. Participants in this interactive workshop (it’s not a quiz – promise!) will also learn how they can use LGBTQ+ history, including LGBTQ+ BIPOC histories that are often left out, to create ongoing conversations about diversity and inclusion, engage new allies, and navigate conflict in the workplace.

Playing in the sandbox together! Or…can I help you with that?

Almost everyone wants to engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, but often those activities exist in silos and are unaligned—leading to conflicting activities, loss of effectiveness, and possible clashes with organizational strategies. This roundtable discussion will offer an opportunity to share best practices, potential pitfalls, and generate creative ideas for how different groups such as ERGs, DEI councils, and line of business DEI efforts, can work together to maximize the impact of DEI initiatives. By exploring how to unify and align strategies, this discussion aims to uncover how DEI teams can deliver greater value to their companies, employees, and customers.

Friday, October 8th 2:00-3:00 ET


HSBC presents: Families with Pride

Join HSBC for an open panel discussion taking a LGBTQ+ lens on family creation, family dynamics, HR benefits best practices, and community resources available. Your panelists will include stories from two parents of transgendered kids, a lesbian journey through fertility benefits, donor registries, and half-siblings, and a gay man’s journey in adoption. Looking at HR benefits with a LGBTQ+ lens is important in these conversations, and best practices can be shared around the room. Let’s celebrate together the unique LGBTQ+ journeys and notions of family in our community. 

Partnering with Purpose. Through Supplier Diversity in the LGBTQ+ Community

At Bristol Myers Squibb, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion.  Last year, we announced a commitment to spend $1 billion dollars globally by 2025 on diverse-owned businesses to help create jobs and generate positive economic impact in diverse communities. Join us as we talk about BMS’ Supplier Diversity Program on how we are Partnering with Purpose, building relationships that are rooted in trust. Through this session, learn how you can champion economic empowerment through wealth and job creation and promote health equity and intersectionality in the LGBTQ+ community, while fostering inclusive innovation and a supply chain that reflects our values, patients we serve, and our world. Supplier Diversity is about people. Together, we are building trust and supplying change.

Stories Worth Sharing

Stories Worth Sharing is one of the initiatives State Farm has undertaken to create opportunities for employees to engage in ongoing dialogue and meaningful discussion. Stories Worth Sharing refers to employee videos in which different employee groups share their lived experiences and can help us understand experiences different from ours and look at the world through a new lens. Multiple video series have been created so far featuring Black/African American employees, employees living with a disability, and employees who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. In this session, we will share some of these videos, hear from the participants and video producers involved in the process, engage in open, honest and empathetic conversation in order to better understand the experience of others, and demonstrate the positive impact this type of storytelling can have on employees’ feelings of inclusion and belonging.

Leave it Better Than You Found It – Building Better Benefits

Learn how a traditionally conservative Midwestern company expanded their benefits to be more inclusive of all family types and situations. This interactive workshop will walk through two employee led business cases: changing maternity leave of 6-8 weeks and paternity leave of 2 weeks to 6 months paid leave for the birthing parent and 4 months paid leave for the non-birthing parent and adding domestic partner benefits. Attendees will be encouraged to think through issues at their companies as we share our process to build better benefits for all.

Inspire change: Create a Workplace LGBTQ+ summit that drives impact

Do you want to increase your sense of belonging and inclusion with your company? Do you want your LGBTQ+ experiences to be validated? Everyone has a story to tell, but doesnt always have the platform. Learn how Intuit’s annual Trans Summit drove empathy, understanding and inclusion of our LGBTQ+ employees by hosting a companywide event. This session will provide you the experiences (good and challenging), tips, and considerations to build a successful LGBTQ+ “”Summit”” for your company to ensure you are able to share your stories in meaningful ways that can change hearts and minds, increase allyship, and improve LGBTQ+ lives within your workplace.

Spilling the T (and NB) – Trans and Nonbinary Stories and Sharing

This workshop will be a two-pronged session –
The first part is a live, in-group only, facilitated forum/discussion and will present an opportunity for transgender and nonbinary folx to connect, network, and talk about their personal and professional experiences as members of those communities in 2021. The second part is an opportunity for all O&E attendees, not just folx in the in-groups of trans and nonbinary identities, to watch the replay to get a better understanding of the unvarnished experiences of transgender and nonbinary folx and learn how to be better allies to these specific communities.

COVID-19: No Puede Detenernos Ahora! (en español)

Join Oracle Pride Employee Network (OPEN) ERG Members & Allies from three continents as they discuss how different regions have coped and stayed connected throughout the pandemic.  These global colleagues will talk about their expectations, the reality, and their observations about how work life balance has changed during lockdown. This workshop will be held in Spanish.

Centering LGBTIQ+ people for a human centered approach for the Future of Work

The future of work has focused much-needed attention on how best to prepare for the changing nature of the workforce and the workplace. This conversation has taken on added importance with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to rising unemployment globally and has disproportionately affected vulnerable and marginalised groups and communities. This panel discussion will explore what actions governments, employers, and workers must take to center LGBTQ+ people in the future of work as we build back better from COVID-19. Panellists will explore what challenges the future of work, will bring for LGBTQ+ people and workers, and how they can be addressed.

Friday, October 8th 4:00-5:00 ET


What is queer enough?

Panel of 3 queer woman with different intersectionalities in the bi+ community sharing their stories with erasure, stigma and over sexualization of identies in personal and work life. Panelists share their thoughts on best practices for support in life and work and the need to challenge the current societal family norms. Attendees will be allowed to ask questions.

Lesbians in Tech, a Brazilian Narrative for the World!

In this panel, you will have the opportunity to network and learn with empowered and successful female technology experts from Dell Technologies, Salesforce, Ella Global Community, and The Creative Disruption Network, to strengthen your understanding of how to create impactful actions within organizations, promoting an environment of equity and equal opportunities, through the international perspective of lesbians leaders in Brazil.

Workplace Belonging & Support for Parents of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Children

Parent support groups often exist for general audiences. As the world shifts and children are transitioning at younger ages, parents of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming children are often finding themselves feeling out of place in the workplace, without a place to turn to. Providing support to your parents in the workplace is just as essential to the journey to belonging as implementing a Transgender Inclusion Council at your company (which is also an essential step). Learn more about how Lockheed Martin’s Rotary & Mission Systems (RMS) team has set up this resource for their employees and the impact it’s making, and how you can create such group in your organization. Hear from Parents who are navigating their way through the workplace and how you, as a parent, can help create a space for others within your team.

Power of Partnerships in Pride: Creating bridges through collaboration

Join the Partners in Pride group from SweetRush Inc. – a learning experience design leader – as we share what we’re doing to transform corporate culture and make “”Good Things”” happen. We’ll share examples and insights from internal initiatives and volunteer projects and how we consult on learning design – all of which have had a meaningful impact and moved the DEI needle in a positive direction.
You’ll learn how we: Supported an LGBTQ+ Youth foster home in Costa Rica, collaborated in a safe and stealth way reach out to LGBTQ+ learners in countries where being LGBTQ+ is against the law, built community and empathy during Pride month with word prompts to encourage sharing stories on internal social media, created “Beyond the Binary,” a job aid for inclusive language, raised internal cultural competency with a “Timeline of LGBTQ+ history.

That’s a great story: How to use Storytelling to foster inclusion

Understand how Storytelling tools have improved the experience of learners and facilitators in Diversity & Inclusion trainings from Pride@SAP, achieving high satisfaction rates and rapport of allies with DEI topic.

Finding your “S” in ESG.

ESG = Environmental, Social & Governance. The commitment to finding your “S” is essential for success. Diversity, equity and inclusion extend to every operational market. We believe long-term commitment to increase diversity more broadly has four primary pillars at its core:
Recruitment
Development
Retention
Accountability
How can a company manage its relationships with its workforce, the societies in which it operates, and the political environment? Are you prepared to find your “S”?

Impact of Collaboration: Grassroots Initiatives to Push for Advancement of Transgender Benefits

How can a small group make a big difference? During this session you will learn how LGBTQ+ advancement within an organization can be brought about by a small group of passionate individuals.  

Friday, October 8th 5:30-6:30 ET


Harnessing the Conference Afterglow

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 jobs. Next comes the ERG “”after-conference blues,”” where things fall off the radar and initiatives and projects 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.

Creating a talent strategy for your resource group that promotes DEI

Pride@Liberty identified an opportunity to better attract, retain and develop a more well-rounded and diverse talent pipeline. Using our organization’s strategic priorities and values as our north star, we created a comprehensive talent management strategy to attract new and diverse talent and transform our current ERG managers into leaders. In this session, Participants will learn how to translate their organization’s goals into an executable talent management strategy that focuses on the holistic employee life cycle. Participants will have the opportunity to apply their learnings from the session to a live case study.

Signs of a Great Interview Workshop

Learn how to tell a story that speaks for itself during job interviews using !@#$%, the Signs of a Great Interview. Fortune 100 recruiter and best-selling author Scott Vedder shares best way to answer any interview question: tell a story about why you’re a great fit for the job.  Participants learn to showcase their best skills and achievements for job interviews at any stage of their career in any field.  Scott gives expert insight from the other side of the interview desk including how to prepare for every interview, the best answers to the most common questions, the ONLY question you have to ask at the end of a job interview and how to redirect any interview question into a relevant answer.

Raising Proud Parents

Through discussions with parent allies and with LGBTQ people in their own parenting journeys, Prism has captured the importance and intersectionality of the parenting community and being LGBTQ in a way that encourages authenticity and belonging. Verizon Prism will be sharing best practices around capturing this inclusion and culture by providing insight and guidance on the planning process and execution of this program.  

Using Your Voice – Impacting Inclusive Leadership Through Colleague Written eGuides

The Pride ERG at Sage wrote a toolkit consisting of 7 educational eGuides on different aspects of LGBTQ+ diversity and experience. Each eGuide focuses on a particular LGBTQ+ topic at a global level. Our aim in creating this toolkit was to support our leaders as part of their development as intentionally inclusive leaders, specifically so they can better support belonging at work for LGBTQ+ candidates and colleagues. Attend this session to learn about the process we followed, the best practices we identified, and a peak at the finished product.

Revving Up on Transgender Inclusion – Creative Programming for Visibility and Connection

As transgender, non-binary and gender-creative identities continue to claim their rightful place in society, workplaces should adapt and foster inclusion.  The Oracle Pride Employee Network LGBTQ+ and Allies ERG (OPEN) had a banner year with new events and collaborations offering many ways for the community to connect internally, as well as to encourage allyship.  Examples are a Worldwide Trans and Allies Coffee Hour, a “Say their Names” Vigil in collaboration with the Oracle Alliance of Black Leadership Excellence ERG, several Allies workshops, launching a Parent Support Group, and creating a Pronouns Education workshop now available to Lines of Business across the company. This session will be a Roundtable including OPEN Board Co-Chair Kate Fisher, OPEN Project Leads Shane Landrum and Kristine Lessard, and their Oracle Diversity and Inclusion Consultant Angelica Erazo as they describe the motivations, events, and outcomes of their transgender inclusion and belonging work since last year’s Summit.

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.