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2023 Summit Pre-Conference Leadership Day

Each year, thousands of LGBTQ+ and Ally Employee Resource Group (ERG) leaders and members, Human Resources (HR) and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) practitioners, and executives convene at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit—the largest LGBTQ+ workplace equality-focused event in the world.   

In advance of the three-day conference, Out & Equal is pleased to offer a unique full day of learning and networking that complements the workshop format of the conference with “deep dive” long form sessions for those interested in strengthening their roles as internal change agents. With more time for learning and case study practice with new subject matter expertise and skills, participants leave ready to enhance their impact as workplace leaders.   

Pre-Con Leadership Day offers a range of immersive, small-scale experiences in which participants can hone their leadership skills, gain an understanding of cutting-edge LGBTQ+ inclusion practices, and expand their professional networks.   

Learning Skills and Outcomes  

Skills

Participants will gain the skillsets and collaborative networks necessary to create meaningful impact. Across all offerings, participants will develop leadership skills related to:   

  • Adaptability;  
  • Empathy;  
  • Change management;  
  • Self-reflection;  
  • Communication and advocacy;  
  • Critical thinking;  
  • Motivating and influencing; and  
  • Storytelling for change.   

Outcomes

While each program may arrive at their learning outcomes through different conversations and lessons, all Pre-Con Leadership Day participants can expect to:   

  • Articulate and refine your leadership capacity and values.   
  • Identify opportunities to increase visibility and impact at work.  
  • Grow your professional network by building and maintaining relationships with other LGBTQ+ and allied professionals.   

Which program best suits you?   

The Pre-Conference Leadership Day is organized into a series of programs, each with a different focus and schedule. Participants are encouraged to select the program that most closely aligns with their role/function, professional interests, and organizational level. Out & Equal staff are happy to confer with you if you are unsure of the best selection for yourself or your team.  

Diverse Leaders Fellowship Program

Program for underrepresented LGBTQ+ leaders, early-mid-career

Transgender/
Nonbinary Executive Leadership Circle

Program for senior leaders who identify as transgender/nonbinary

DEIB Practitioner Lab  

Program for DEIB program managers, resource group leaders, and stakeholders

Employee Resource Group Reboot

Program for resource group leaders and members and DEIB managers

Cracking the LGBTQ+ Gen Z Talent Acquisition Code

Program for talent Acquisition professionals, campus recruiters, and others hiring decisions-makers

Cultivating Your Impact as an LGBTQ+ and Ally Change Agent

Program for LGBTQ+ and Ally leaders interested


Diverse Leaders Fellowship Program

Application Required – Apply by Friday, August 11 with rolling notifications

The number of visible, openly LGBTQ+ senior leaders across the private sector and government is at an all-time high. However, this cohort tends to not represent the full diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, especially with respect to racial, ethnic, gender diversity, and ability, among other characteristics. In 2021, Out & Equal launched the Diverse Leaders Fellowship (DLF), powered by Bank of America, to support underrepresented LGBTQ+ leaders. Part of a broader strategy to enhance opportunities and build cultures of inclusion, the fellowship is intended to increase the pipeline of out early- and mid-career underrepresented LGBTQ+ talent in Fortune 500 companies.  Beginning in July, the 2023 cohort of Diverse Leaders Fellows, alongside the 2021 and 2022 cohorts, will be invited to virtual leadership development programs. 2023 Fellows will also convene in-person for pre-conference programming before participating in the three-day Workplace Summit.   

Who should apply?  

We invite high-potential LGBTQ+ leaders who identify as transgender and/ or nonbinary, women, people of color, and/or people with disabilities, to apply to participate in the third cohort of the fellowship. Applicants must identify as an LGBTQ+ member of one or more of these underrepresented groups. They should also be in the early-to-mid career stage, with no more than 15 years of work experience.  

Apply to this program if you’re interested in:   

  • Identifying your leadership style
  • Engaging in career trajectory planning
  • Maximizing your leadership presence
  • Expanding your network of fellow LGBTQ+ professionals.  

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Understand the relationship between authority, influence, and impact.   
  • Explore how formative moments of bias effect leadership approaches.  
  • Define the intersection of your strengths, passions, and the ever-changing needs of your organization and the marketplace.   
  • Identify personal spheres of influence and learn strategies to inspire passion and drive toward shared goals.   
  • Identify self-limiting beliefs that are holding you back and rewrite the script with new empowering beliefs to guide how you show up each day.  
APPLY FOR DIVERSE LEADERSHIP FELLOW

Transgender/Nonbinary Executive Leadership Circle

Application Required – Apply by Friday, August 11 with rolling notifications

Nearly nine in ten transgender people don’t see leaders who look or seem like them at work, according to a recent McKinsey report. In fact, more than 1 in 3 believe their gender identity will impact their ability to be promoted. While some transgender/nonbinary people receive support, many ultimately hit a ceiling as they climb the corporate ranks. Part of Out & Equal and JP Morgan Chase’s multi-year commitment to transgender and nonbinary leadership development, this inaugural initiative recognizes the unique needs of senior leaders and convenes transgender and nonbinary executives to explore challenges and opportunities related to career mobility, visibility, and representation and receive expert facilitation in storytelling, career advancement, and DEIB advocacy. Participants will convene onsite for pre-conference programming and will re-convene virtually for additional leadership development after the Workplace Summit.   

Who should apply?  

We invite transgender/nonbinary leaders on an executive or ascending executive career path to participate. This program is closed to transgender/nonbinary participants only. Transgender/nonbinary professionals in early-to-mid career stages or non-executive paths should consider the Diverse Leaders Fellowship.

Apply to this program if you’re interested in:   

Cultivating your LGBTQ+ leadership profile; identifying and expanding your sphere of influence; career strategy planning; storytelling to drive change; and expanding your network of transgender/nonbinary leaders. 

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Align your individual purpose with your organization’s purpose.   
  • Identify personal spheres of influence and learn strategies to inspire passion and drive toward shared goals.   
  • Learn well-being strategies to thrive as a purpose-driven leader.   
  • Explore how personal storytelling is a powerful tool for furthering inclusion in the workplace.   
  • Learn effective strategies to share your story and create meaningful workplace change.   
APPLY FOR THE LeadershiP CIRCLE

DEIB Practitioner Lab  

Intended as a concentrated day of professional development and modeled after the Out & Equal Executive Forum, this program convenes DEIB program managers, resource group leaders, and other DEIB stakeholders to foster concentrated problem-solving and relationship-building. Participants in this year’s program can expect to unpack common DEIB challenges and collaboratively work to develop best practices in response, including exploring strategies to “glocalize” (global and local harmonized) programming to work effectively with stakeholders around the globe.   

Who should apply?  

DEIB managers and resource group leaders charged with operationalizing budgets, plans, and metrics

Apply to this program if you’re interested in:   

Identifying your spheres of influence and control to increase your impact; enhancing individual strategies of resilience as practitioners in these challenging times; optimizing employee engagement in resource group leadership roles; and collaborating with peers on new strategies for success and impact.

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Explore common fears around engaging DEIB work and learn strategies to overcome these.  
  • Identify activities and techniques to combat burnout.   
  • Apply employee experience methodologies to the Resource Group Leader lifecycle.   
  • Understand the role that glocalization plays in today’s market and how leveraging “glocal” strategies maximizes impact, partnership, and engagement.  
  • Build and adapt “glocalized” DEIB policies and programs that meet local employee and business needs that remain in alignment with broader enterprise goals. 

Employee Resource Group Reboot: Leveling Up Your Impact   

Resource groups – whether known internally as “Business Resource Groups” (BRGs) or “Employee Resource Groups” (ERGs) or sometimes affinity groups – are often the beating heart of LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives and innovation. In short, if there are challenges facing the community at-large, if there are victories or opportunities for employer leadership, the ERG is more often than not, the first and loudest voice to declare so.  At the same time, LGBTQ+ resource groups can take for granted their own successes or ways of working. More than at any other time in the two-and-a-half decades since LGBTQ+ resource groups began emerging, the landscape they are facing requires them to reboot for impact. Within the United States alone, over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced across the states. Globally, the rise of anti-transgender rhetoric and legislation has left ERGs on the front lines of necessary education and cultural dialogue. Intersectionality must be understood and built into the ERG’s mentality and infrastructure – from budget to cross-ERG programming. Leadership needs to be nimble and persuasive with internal stakeholders to move policy and practice goals. All to say that we are collectively lightyears away from ERG time being simply “volunteer time.” This program is an immersive and necessary experience that will leave ERG leaders and members energized and re-invigorated for their next level of impact.  

Who should apply?  

Resource group leaders and members, DEIB managers charged with overseeing resource groups  

Join to this program if you’re interested in:   

Learning how to leverage your story for strategic impact; exploring how the national and global legal landscape impacts LGBTQ+ employees; setting tangible goals and developing tools to reboot your resource group. 

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Learn effective storytelling techniques and how to facilitate strategic storytelling for your membership and executive champions.   
  • Understand the national and global landscape of laws that affect LGBTQ+ employees and your resource group.  
  • Set tangible goals to enhance your business value in the eyes of the C-Suite.  
  • Develop tangible tools for making the “business case” for new partnerships, policy changes, and public positions.   
  • Create action plans for elevating intersectional lived experiences. 
  • Establish a network of fellow resource group leaders and DEIB practitioners

Cracking the LGBTQ+ Gen Z Talent Acquisition Code: A Deep Dive for TA Professionals   

Did you know that one in five Gen Zers identifies as LGBTQ+? They not only expect you to know every letter of the acronym, they want you to offer your pronouns and ask them theirs, and to showcase your inclusive culture, all while not boring them with documents and instead making this short and punchy. This generation is at the ready to spur innovation and work hard at your business. But it’s going to require some retooling of your current talent acquisition strategies to ensure you hire the best. For the last two years, Bank of America has powered Out & Equal’s Next Gen Initiative including scholarships for underrepresented talent, unique programming for Gen Z professionals, original research on their needs and insights, and acquisition toolkit development. This daylong session shares our learnings and is designed for busy Talent Acquisition professionals interested in learning about the next generation of LGBTQ+ talent, harnessing their insights for change and inclusion, and adopting best practices to maximize goals.   

Who should apply?  

Talent Acquisition professionals, campus recruiters, and others charged with hiring decisions. 

Apply to this program if you’re interested in:   

Better understanding the motivations and employment needs of LGBTQ+ Gen Z jobseekers and exploring best practices to recruit LGBTQ+ jobseekers. 

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Understand the latest research on LGBTQ+ young professionals and adapt to your business strategy.  
  • Receive an exclusive release of Out & Equal’s new Toolkit for Success for Recruiting and Retaining Top LGBTQ+ Talent.  
  • Role play challenges and opportunities in the talent acquisition process with this population.   
  • Deepen your professional network of DEIB practitioners and Talent Acquisition professionals.  

Cultivating Your Impact as an LGBTQ+ and Ally Change Agent

Have you thought you could be doing more in your workplace to effect change? Have you ever told your “LGBTQ+” story” at work? Is there a part of it–whether as an ally or an LGBTQ+ person–that you have not yet felt comfortable sharing but wanted to? What about navigating your employer’s tiers or decision-making terrain? Does it feel like a forest without a map?  In this daylong retreat for leaders of all career stages and levels, participants begin with a facilitated session on unpacking their own “LGBTQ+ origin story” and its impact on their careers, cultivating one’s own narrative for impact within the workplace, and an interactive “spheres of influence” mapping exercise for change agents.    

Who should apply?  

LGBTQ+ and Ally leaders interested in exploring their leadership story and identifying ways to effect change at work.

Apply to this program if you’re interested in:   

Locating your “confidence compass;” unpacking your limiting narratives, distinguishing between strategic vulnerability and self-protection in storytelling, and learn effective storytelling strategies. 

Learning Outcomes:  

  • Understand the relationship between authority, influence, and impact.   
  • Define the intersection of your strengths, passions, and the ever-changing needs of your organization and the marketplace.   
  • Identify personal spheres of influence and learn strategies to inspire passion and drive toward shared goals.   
  • Explore how personal storytelling is a powerful tool for furthering inclusion in the workplace.   
  • Learn effective strategies to share your story and create meaningful workplace change.   

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.