Spring 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

Second-annual awards dinner to honor corporate marriage equality advocates

Registration is now open for the best Out & Equal Workplace Summit

Out & Equal publishes book about LGBT allies by David M. Hall

Join our unique career development, job search and social networking site

Out & Equal Executive Forum draws high-ranking LGBT executives

Atlanta Affiliate sponsors speed networking event

Out Takes: Briefs & Events

Sponsors for 2009
Out & Equal Workplace Summit

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates would like to thank its early sponsors. They make important events, such as the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, possible.

Titanium
Deloitte
Disney
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Gold
Citi
Dell
Ernst & Young
Genentech

Champion
Goldman, Sachs & Co
Northrop Grumman

Advocate
American Express
ARAMARK
The Bank of New York    Mellon
Boeing
Chevron
Chubb
Dow Chemical
GMAC
SmartEdge
HSBC North American    Holdings
Johnson & Johnson
JCPenney
JPMorgan Chase
Kimberly Clark
Merck
MetLife
PepsiCo
Raytheon
United Technologies

Out & Equal Board
of Directors

President
Kayla Shell, Dell

Treasurer
Steve Sears, WGBH

Secretary
Marcelo Roman, IBM

Directors
Tara Bunch, HP

Thomas Johnson, Clorox

Rita Lane, Apple Inc.

Eleanor Mercado, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP

Amanda Simpson, Raytheon

Christine Smith, Deloitte

Kyle Spainhour, Motorola Inc.

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates Staff

Selisse Berry
Executive Director, Founder

Kevin Jones
Deputy Director

Kevin Lee Shytle
Managing Director

Beatriz Rincón
Director of Finance & Operations

Sherrie Holmes
Director of Development

Pat Baillie
Training & Professional Development Manager

Anthony Bannon
Associate Director of Summit & Events

Julie Beach
Career Development Manager

Pamela Berkowitz
Operations Manager

Dave Bueché
Senior Office Services Manager

George Cabral
Executive Assistant

Stanley Ellicott
Assistant to Managing and Depty Directors

Stephen Gould
Associate Director of NETWORKS!

Morgan Falkenrath Green
Program Associate

Christine Holcomb
Training & Professional Development Intern

Erik Olvera
Communications Projects Manager

Dani Siragusa
Development Associate

Luis Vera
Development Associate

Welcome to our new e-newsletter, Inside Out

I would like to introduce you to Out & Equal Workplace Advocate’s new quarterly e-newsletter—Inside Out—which will keep you up-to-date on our news and upcoming events.

The first quarter was one of our most inspiring yet, with the success of our second-annual Executive Forum, which brought together 30 top executives from the United States, Canada and Europe.

Over the course of the three-day event in San Francisco, we addressed the opportunities that come from being LGBT executives and committed ourselves to taking the skills we gained back into our own companies.

We’ll bring that success into this quarter, by publishing the book, Allies at Work: Creating a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Inclusive Work Environment.

In this issue, we introduce you to David M. Hall, the author of Allies at Work, which details the need for LGBT allies to help shape workplace climates and the business case for developing strong ally programs. The book is extremely inspiring, providing anyone who reads it with the tools they need to take into their workplaces to develop programs that will foster diversity and equality.

Our second-annual dinner and awards celebration is set for June 11 in San Francisco, recognizing the businesses and corporations that took the lead in supporting marriage equality by opposing Proposition 8. We’ll unveil our new Signs of Courage Advocacy Awards—“The Addies”—that will be presented during an amazing event that you will want to attend.

Online registration is now open for the 2009 Out & Equal Workplace Summit, the premier LGBT workplace equality conference that is set for October 6-9 in Florida. You don’t want to miss special registration rates that are now available for the Summit, which focuses on educational and networking opportunities for nearly 2,500 LGBT participants and the allies who support them.

It’s an exciting time, especially as we look at the signs of progress recently made in Iowa and Vermont, as well as the reintroduction of a federal hate crimes bill that, if passed and signed by President Obama, would be the first federal law offering protections that specifically include transgender people.

Equality for all is close. And we must embrace every opportunity that will help us achieve it together.

Sincerely,

Selisse Berry
Executive Director

Second-annual awards dinner to honor corporate marriage equality advocates

• The Out & Equal National Celebration of Workplace Equality Dinner & Awards is set for June 11 at the San Francisco Marriott
• The event will celebrate the businesses that took the lead in supporting marriage equality, courageously choosing to take positions against Proposition 8.
• Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and awards program at 7 p.m.
• Check out our website for tickets and sponsorship.

By J. Erik Olvera, Inside Out Staff

Out & Equal will honor businesses that supported marriage equality by opposing California’s Proposition 8 at its second annual National Celebration of Workplace Equality Dinner & Awards.

The event—set for June 11 at the San Francisco Marriott—will celebrate the businesses that took the lead in supporting marriage equality, courageously choosing to take vocal public positions against the proposition.

The nonprofit organization will present the Signs of Courage Advocacy Awards—“The Addies”—to Levi Strauss & Co., AT&T, Pacific Gas & Electric and the PG&E Pride Network for trailblazing the fight among the business community for equal rights.

Levi Strauss & Co. was among the first to take the lead, filing an amicus brief with Out & Equal in support of marriage equality in 2007, playing a role in the California Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.

Levi, PG&E and their Pride Network continued the fight last summer, creating a business council designed to further the marriage equality movement by rallying other businesses and leaders to unite in the “No on 8” campaign. AT&T also joined in the effort.

Out & Equal Executive Director Selisse Berry says they were chosen because “they stood as role models through their leadership, prompting other businesses, corporations and individuals to join in the campaign for equal rights for everyone—becoming inspirations.”

Out & Equal will also honor several other businesses and workplace organizations for their active participation in marriage equality and by becoming examples of stewardship. The honorees are: Google, the California Teachers Association, the California State Services Employees International Union, H5, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and Valley Industry and Commerce Association of San Fernando Valley.

J. Erik Olvera is Out & Equal’s Communications Manager.

Registration is now open for the best Out & Equal Workplace Summit

• 2009 Out & Equal Workplace Summit
• Registration is now open for the 2009 Out & Equal Workplace Summit, set for Oct. 6-9 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL.
• Register before July 31 and lock in special rates.

Participants of the 2008 Out & Equal Workplace Summit listen to speaker Keith Boykin, editor of The Daily Voice newspaper, a television host and a best-selling author, during the event held in Austin, Texas.

By J. Erik Olvera, Inside Out Staff

Registration is now open for the 2009 Out & Equal Workplace Summit, set for Oct. 6-9 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL.

The world’s premier conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workplace equality, the Summit focuses on educational and networking opportunities for nearly 2,500 LGBT employees and the allies who support them.

Annual surveys show that the experience for Summit participants—those attending for the first time and who are veterans—is overwhelmingly affirming and energizing, with positive survey ratings continually above 90 percent.

This year’s event will include plenary sessions showcasing well-known, highly respected speakers, expert panels discussing emerging issues and trends, and over 80 workshops designed to challenge and empower employee resource group leaders, human resources and diversity professionals, and senior executives.

The Summit will offer interest-specific receptions and luncheons, full and half day training seminars, and the presentation of the Out & Equal Workplace Awards—the “Outies”—during the Thursday evening Gala.

Out & Equal Executive Director Selisse Berry describes the annual Summit as a powerful event that enhances the quality of the work experience for LGBT employees, and encourages senior organizational leaders to actively support LGBT workplace equality.

The Summit is “a rich series of opportunities for companies and their employees to strengthen relationships, reinforce organizational values, and demonstrate that their workplaces are where employees and the people that support them can be fully productive and appreciated for the talent they bring, all in an environment of serious learning,” Berry says.

She notes that the Summit provides a unique chance for LGBT executives to discuss their stories with peers while serving as role models to thousands of LGBT employees.

Berry stated that just like LGBT employees, allies, human resource professionals, diversity specialists and their companies must “come out” continuously in “support of full workplace equality by taking visibly clear actions in support of all employees.”

Out & Equal has historically priced the Summit below most work-related conferences. But given the state of the economy, Out & Equal is keeping costs at its 2008 rate through July 31.

Berry says that as a practical matter, the 2009 Out & Equal Workplace Summit will be the most cost effective opportunity for employee participation for the foreseeable future.

J. Erik Olvera is Out & Equal’s Communications Manager.

Out & Equal publishes book about LGBT allies by David M. Hall

• Out & Equal Workplace Advocates has partnered with author David M. Hall on the book, which details the importance of straight LGBT allies in shaping workplace climates and the business case for developing strong ally programs.
• The book is $28.95 and can be ordered online.
• Preorder it now for $23.95, saving more than 17 percent off the cover price.

By J. Erik Olvera, Inside Out Staff

By all accounts, David M. Hall was a typical teenager growing up in a Philadelphia suburb.

But at 15 years old—a junior in high school—he was struck with the urgency to become a straight ally after learning in his human sexuality class about the historical treatment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

He would soon immerse himself into fighting for LGBT rights, a devotion that prompted him to write his latest book, Allies at Work: Creating a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Inclusive Work Environment.

“I had an obligation to become an ally based on social injustices,” says Hall, now a high school teacher and workplace productivity consultant. “This issue was important to me before I was close to anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. I believe that this is the civil rights issue of our time.”

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates has partnered with Hall on the book, which details the importance of LGBT allies in shaping workplace climates, the business case for developing a strong ally program at work, and the cultural competencies required to understand the impact of living in the closet.

Allies at Work, which is the first full-length book that Out & Equal has published, also provides the framework for teaching what Hall calls “cultural competency,” which is the removal of all assumption and enforcement of heterosexuality in the workplace.

Out & Equal Executive Director Selisse Berry says Allies at Work serves an important mission by establishing an open dialogue to engage new and existing allies to support equitable workplaces, contributing and reinforcing equality for everyone.

Berry also says the book is a valuable resource not only for allies, but for the LGBT workforce, encouraging all members to become actively involved in their companies’ Employee Resource Groups and by joining or starting Out & Equal affiliates.

Hall, who has started several LGBT organizations, says “a productive workplace does not need adversaries, but allies. Organizational effectiveness is significantly enhanced when we replace adversarial situations with ones founded on alliances and mutual respect.”

He believes that respecting differences is important, but even more rewarding is respecting common interests. He says the book examines various ways to implement a diversity program and it is for anyone who cares about diversity in the workplace.

“Fairness is extremely important,” he says. “In the scope of my life, I hope to see the most change toward equality for everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

J. Erik Olvera is Out & Equal’s Communications Manager.

Join our unique career development, job search and social networking site

• LGBTCareerLink
• Job Search and professional development website—www.LGBTCareerLink.com—offers enhanced social networking features
• Thousands of users can work with one another to advance their job search and professional development
• More than 13,000 new jobs
• It’s free to users

By J. Erik Olvera, Inside Out Staff

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates continues to introduce new features to its unique career development and social networking job search website, further helping users find jobs and improve their professional skills.

The nonprofit organization recently unveiled the latest improvements to www.LGBTcareerlink.com, which now allows users to post job advertisements and resources they believe others will find useful.

“As businesses close and the number of available jobs decrease across the country, it is becoming crucial for job searchers to turn to their professional networks—former colleagues, friends, family members—to find job leads,” says Out & Equal Executive Director Selisse Berry.

Berry adds that “one of the great features about LGBTCareerLink is that it allows users to expand their existing professional networks by connecting with people who are also searching for jobs, posting leads for others to use and interacting directly with recruiters.”

The site launched this past winter, blending concepts behind popular professional networking and social networking sites into one location, where the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, along with its allies, can help one another in their careers.

LGBTCareerlink also allows users to engage human resource professionals, who are combing through user profiles to find people to recruit, posting jobs for their companies and who are looking for qualified diverse candidates to fill positions.

The site currently offers more than 13,000 active jobs ads—from entry- to executive-level positions—across the country, with hundreds of new postings each day.

“The nation’s increasing unemployment rate—more than 10 percent in California and nearly 12 percent in Michigan—cannot be overlooked,” says Berry.

J. Erik Olvera is Out & Equal’s Communications Manager.

Out & Equal Executive Forum draws high-ranking LGBT executives

Out & Equal Executive Forum participants pose for a group photo during the event held March 18-20 in San Francisco.

By Steve Sears, Inside Out Correspondent

The second annual Out & Equal Executive Forum took place March 18–20 in San Francisco, and was another success.

This year’s group was the ideal combination of alumni from last year’s inaugural event and a “freshman” class of executives.

At the risk of leaving anyone out, I won’t try to highlight the “Who’s Who” of attendees, but let me tell you that there are some damn impressive LGBT executives in American—and international —business today, and I’ve been lucky for two years now to spend these few days with them.

Highlights of this year’s Forum included several fascinating panel discussions, including:

• The role of corporate and nonprofit philanthropies in the LGBT community
• An analysis of how two companies—Levi Strauss and PG&E—publicly joined the fight to defeat Proposition 8
• A discussion of Gen X & Y cultural norms and how their expectations of corporate Employee Resource Groups varies from the traditional model.

These and other guest speakers and team exercises made for a thought-provoking and engaging two days.

Of course, the most valuable aspect of an event as special as this is the personal bonding with other attendees.

The Forum was created to give LGBT executives the rare chance to get acquainted with one another, share our personal stories, and benchmark our companies’ policies and cultures with one another in hopes of universally raising the bar.

These discussions inevitably lead us to self-examine our own personal leadership impact and inspire us in new and creative ways. Speaking of leadership, Out & Equal deserves huge kudos for conceiving and organizing these great events.

Thanks to the internal and external contributors that made it so worthwhile. With more LGBT executives climbing the corporate ladder every day, I trust this new Out & Equal tradition will continue for many years to come.

Steve Sears is Out & Equal’s Board of Directors Treasurer.

Atlanta Affiliate sponsors speed networking event

By Chuck Obina, Inside Out Correspondent

When someone mentions Atlanta, you probably immediately think of Coca-Cola, Peaches, Delta Airlines, 1996 Summer Olympics or Martin Luther King. Now, you can add speed networking to that list.

Taking a page from the popularity of speed dating, Out & Equal-Atlanta, along with the Atlanta Executive Network, hosted an event on March 19 called, Corporate & Social Networking, to provide participants with the networking tools they need to succeed.

More than 250 people—from all sectors of the workplace—took part, learning the best ways to network that helped them pitch not only themselves, but learned the best tricks to be remembered.

Everyone who participated told their personal stories to one another in one-on-one meetings that lasted no more than 60 seconds. This allowed everyone to meet one another, network and trade business cards before the night was over.

Some tips?

• Identify your personal brand—What do you want your brand to be and how will you project this brand to others?
• Create a social networking strategy—You don’t need to be friends with everyone, either in person or online. So develop a solid plan to best get your brand out.
• Promote “You” in the best possible light—Always remember that zero self-promotion is shameful and shameless self-promotion is a big zero.
• Never break the primary social networking rule—It is less about you and more about the other person. Ask questions to discover more about the person with whom you are speaking.
• Know your objectives—Career advancement or career change, reaching consensus on decisions, or getting buy-in on your initiatives.
• Learn to navigate the system—Who are the key players, how do things get done, understanding the culture?
• Make an effort to engage with key players—Volunteer for special projects, meet with heads of their departments, participate in organizations that they are members of, or industry associations.
• Create the long-term network both internally within your current company, as well as externally.
• LinkedIn is one resource for networking.
• QAlias is a great utility for giving you top billing on the Internet if someone is looking for you—have them Google you. You control some of what they will find out about you.

Stay tuned for our next event on May 18: “LGBT State of our Economy,” featuring Out & Equal Executive Director Selisse Berry and Wes Combs, of Witeck-Combs Communications. He will discuss Out & Equal’s annual workplace culture survey and the latest insights on the LGBT marketing landscape.

Join Out & Equal-Atlanta at https://oeatlanta.collectivex.com.

Chuck Obina is with the Out & Equal Atlanta Affiliate.

OUT TAKES: Briefs & Events