January 10, 2018
In the half century since its independence from Malaysia, Singapore has grown into one of the most competitive economies in Southeast Asia. With booming finance, shipping, commerce, and travel sectors, the city-state boasts one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world, and is a favorite market for multinational corporations due to notoriously friendly business conditions. However, this economic success has also been accompanied by a relatively controlled political climate not always favorable to LGBT issues: though rarely enforced, consensual sex amongst men is still formally illegal, and there is no legislation that specifically protects LGBT people in the workplace. While both domestic and multinational companies have often supported local efforts to secure more inclusive policies, in 2016 the country’s government warned multinational companies to stay out of Singaporean “domestic issues,” and later passed legislation making it difficult for foreign entities to sponsor LGBT-focused events. Join Out & Equal for our first Global Webinar of 2018, where our panel of Singaporean professionals will discuss their organizations’ leading-edge initiatives to engage and support LGBT and ally employees. Leow Yangfa will share his experience working at Oogachaga, an out and queer Singaporean non-profit that partners with different companies in the local context, while Sophie Guerin will share insights, tips, and best practices from Dell on how companies can adopt an inclusive approach to LGBT inclusion in Singapore.
If your company in based or has operations in Singapore, this webinar is for you!
Presenters:
- Leow Yangfa, Executive Director, Oogachaga
Leow Yangfa is the executive director of Oogachaga, Singapore’s only community-based, non-profit counselling, support & personal development organissation working with LGBTQ+ individuals, couples and families. Yangfa is a registered social worker, with an organisational role in fundraising and corporate engagement.
- Sophie Guerin, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Asia-Pacific, Greater China and Japan, Dell Inc.
Sophie Guerin is the Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Asia-Pacific, Greater China and Japan at Dell Inc responsible for setting and driving Dell’s diversity & inclusion strategy, serving team members in 18 countries. In APJC she focuses on delivering on Dell’s promise to create an environment for team members to do their best work. This includes the Asia roll out of the Catalyst Men Advocating Real Change initiative and introducing LGBTI inclusion to the region via the APJC launch of Pride LGBTI and Allies ERG. Located in Singapore, she is a recognized expert on diversity & inclusion in Asia and speaks frequently at industry forums. Previously, she served as the Head of Diversity & Inclusion for Community Business and the Greater China Deputy Director for WEConnect International. She is fluent in Mandarin and English.