Keeping the Rainbow flag flying

18 May 2020

Christiaan Rebergen and Mark van Enckevort raise the flag and the Ministry of Finance in The Hague 

On Friday the 15th of May, the rainbow flag was raised at government locations nationwide (as well as all Dutch Embassies around the world) to commemorate Sunday, May 17th, as International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). 

Workplace Pride was at The Ministry of Finance in The Hague to attend the ceremony conducted by Christiaan Rebergen (Treasurer General of the Ministry of Finance) and Mark Van Enckevort (the new chair of Dutch Government Pride and chair of B/proud).

IDAHOT was declared on May 17th, 1990, when homosexuality was officially removed as a listed disease by the World Health Organization. The international IDAHOT committee has given IDAHOT 2020 the motto “Breaking the silence”. The Dutch IDAHOT platform has translated that into “Speak out”. Speaking up for solidarity with each other and opposing transphobia and homophobia.

“For the national government, this means that we consider an open working atmosphere and an inclusive, LGBTI + friendly working climate very important. We want everyone to be able and willing to be themselves in the workplace. This is an important condition for achieving results at work together in a relaxed manner. On this day we would like to emphasize that hatred and violence against LGBTI + people is unacceptable. Raising the rainbow flag symbolizes this.”

Christiaan Rebergen and Mark van Enckevort spoke with us about the importance and significance of IDAHOT for the Netherlands and beyond.

See an interview with Christiaan Rebergen and Mark van Enckevort

14 May 2020

Workplace Pride Foundation congratulates our member, the City of Amsterdam for scoring the highest in the Open for Business 2020 report on the world’s most competitive and inclusive LGBT+ cities. 

Open For Business, a coalition of global companies promoting LGBT+ inclusive societies, released their report today that contains a clear message for cities around the world: LGBT+ inclusion is a key ingredient in urban economic resilience and competitiveness.

New data in the report shows the connections between economic performance and LGBT+ inclusion in cities around the world, and indicates that LGBT+ inclusive cities may be more economically resilient. 

Data highlights the direct relationship between LGBT+ inclusion and a city’s GDP per capita, innovation potential, ability to attract talent, and quality of life. There are 16 top-tier AAA cities, or “Global Beacons”. Amsterdam received the highest score in the ratings and is celebrated as the world’s most inclusive and competitive city.

Of course this comes as no surprise to us here at Workplace Pride as we have worked closely with the city for more than 10 years to help promote LGBT inclusion in the workplace. 

“We are so proud of our hometown! It has created such a fertile environment for cooperation between employers of all types, civil society, and the LGBT community.  Together, we have all helped to make this a beacon for many in the world! ”  

David Pollard, Exec. Director Workplace Pride. 

Links:

Click below to view and download the press release:

Private File - Access Forbidden

Click below to view and download the full report:

Private File - Access Forbidden

For more information, write to [email protected] 

3 April 2020

Welcome to the new and improved Workplace Pride Foundation website. In our ongoing efforts to be more effective for our members and stakeholders, the Foundation website has been made more user-friendly with simpler navigation and clearer terminology. Here you will find the most important information you need to know about Workplace Pride’s activities around the world. 

With future developments firmly in mind, this update includes a more intuitive search function, an expanded media category, and an easy to use activities calendar. Our products and services are grouped under the menu item, ’Solutions’ while an overview of our current members and information about joining the Foundation can be found under ‘Members’.

We are also very excited about our new password protected section on the website dedicated exclusively to our members. This section is still in development, but is expected to be launched within two weeks. It will include:

• A wealth of resources on LGBTI workplace inclusion proceed and gathered by the Foundation over the years
• The Workplace Pride Toolkit for the UN Standards on LGBTI Business Conduct
• Members’ forums dedicated to specific topics
• Exclusive information about the Global Benchmark and Employee Survey, and
• The possibility to be part of the Workplace Pride contact directory

The Members Section will be updated on a regular basis and will be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for timely communications with our members. 

In these challenging times, it is more important than ever to be clear and concise about the priorities for the LGBTI community in the workplace and with all of our supporters and allies around the world. This website takes us all a step in that direction!

Best regards,

David Pollard

Executive director

Workplace Pride Foundation

March 31st, 2020  

Dear Workplace Pride Members and Friends,  

As the world slowly begins to adjust to the new reality of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Workplace Pride has also been busy preparing our own response to the crisis.

The pandemic has led to the re-design of our annual International Conference which was planned for June 19th in Rotterdam. The physical conference will no longer take place on June 19th, but, instead, will be replaced with other initiatives using three important elements to guide us:

1. Cutting edge information about LGBTI workplace inclusion: Workplace Pride will create a number of online events leading up to June 19th that deal with this topic. These  “Keeping Members Connected” events will:

• Address specific, pressing issues for our members and the LGBTI community, particularly in light of recent events worldwide.
• Be online and available to our members via podcasts and live-streams.
• Draw upon the experiences of our members and stakeholders.
• Encourage our members to host conversations from their own virtual platforms on specific topics.

2. Exchanges of Good Practices: Workplace Pride will host an “LGBTI Workplace Online Symposium” on June 19th that brings our members together for 2-3 hours in a virtual, conference-like setting. The symposium will include speakers on specific topics, virtual breakout sessions, and interactive chats.

3. Networking amongst our stakeholders: As there is no real substitute for networking face to face, Workplace Pride intends to hold a “Conference Lite” on the 9th of October, provided that conditions have improved.

This event will take some of the conclusions from the previous Keeping Members Connected, and LGBTI Workplace Online Symposium elements and share them in a plenary session with attendees. The Conference Lite will start mid-afternoon and end in the early evening with a buffet dinner. The event will include “Speakers Corners” that are less formal than workshops and with more emphasis on networking.

Collectively, these three elements will be known as the “Workplace Pride 2020 Outreach Platform” to keep it in line with this year’s unique situation. 

Despite the change in format, the theme of the platform will remain the same as the conference namely:

“Great Expectations: Envisioning a new decade of LGBTI workplace inclusion”

We will be reaching out to all of our stakeholders in the coming weeks and months to inform and include you in our re-designed 2020 platform. For now though, stay safe and help us all keep the fighting spirit of LGBTI inclusion at work alive and kicking!  

Warm regards,  

David Pollard

Executive Director

Workplace Pride Foundation  

The Workplace Pride Annual Member’s meeting is the moment in the year when we give an update on the many activities of the Foundation over the past 12 months and take a peek into the planning for the new year.

This year, Workplace Pride member Accenture hosted the event in their office in the Ito building on the Amsterdam Zuidas. With a dramatic nighttime view over the skyline, 16 floors up, as the backdrop for the gathering, host Javier Leonor kicked off the presentations with an insight on how his company take an in-depth look at LGBTI inclusion. His very down-to-earth and practical take on LGBGTI inclusion gave participants plenty of food for thought on how they look at the efforts in their own organisation. Key phrases included “Silence is not a strategy” and “Its what you do, not what you say”. 

Workplace Pride Chair, Mark Emdin, followed up by putting the overall topic of LGBTI inclusion in perspective and how the Foundation continually strives to improve its offering to our members and to be of greater service to the LGBTI community around the world. 

Executive Director, David Pollard continued with the main body of the presentation by outlining the: 

• Current legal and cultural landscape for LGBTI inclusion around the world and here in the Netherlands, 
• 35% growth of Foundation membership in 2019
• Highlights of the Foundation’s many activities and initiatives this year
• Challenges that these have presented as well as the opportunities
• Planning for 2020 

The Annual Members Meeting presentation can be downloaded here:

Annual Members Meeting 2019-web

Thanks again to Accenture for hosting the event and to the many members who were able to attend. 

For more information please contact: [email protected]