Workplace Pride’s comprehensive new white paper challenges internationally-active businesses to have a greater impact in non-LGBT+ friendly locations where they operate.
For years businesses have been coming to terms with the fact that their presence and activities around the world have an increasingly visible impact in the communities where they work. This comes with a responsibility to their own employees, as well as to the local legislative and cultural environment. This includes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and other sexual minorities (LGBT+). In the wake of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, not to mention the global pandemic, employers realize that the workplace narrative has changed. Attracting and retaining talent from all backgrounds, creating safe workplaces for all, and being a good corporate citizen toward communities and clients, means that being silent is no longer an option.
Workplace Pride, with support from IBM, has created this white paper to address this challenge. This ‘call-to-action’ looks in detail at basic questions of how to initiate, develop and implement successful LGBT+ corporate advocacy. The paper was created from extensive research and interviews with actual practitioners from business, diplomatic, and civil society communities. It takes a very practical approach by addressing organisational challenges and how to engage with the LGBT+ community itself while also including real-life examples of corporate advocacy initiatives around the world.
“It is our hope that, by using this paper as a ‘go-to-guide for LGBT+ international corporate advocacy’, all types of employers will be better prepared to create workplaces in which our community can feel safe, make valuable contributions and truly be themselves,” said David Pollard Executive Director of Workplace Pride.
To explore the background and practical applications of the White Paper in more detail, Workplace Pride is hosting a webinar with the author, Dr. Felicity Daly on March 11th, 2022 at 13:00. The webinar will be open to the public.
Interested participants should write to [email protected], and mention “Workplace Pride Corporate Advocacy for LGBT+ Rights Webinar Registration” in the subject field. A link to the webinar will be sent to you closer to the date of the event.
Editor’s Note: For more information regarding Workplace Pride contact: Workplace Pride Executive, Director David Pollard: e-mail: [email protected]
The Workplace Pride Foundation is the international platform dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTIQ+ people in workplaces around the globe. Initiated in 2006, its more than 90 members employ millions of people in almost every country in the world.
We are pleased to announce that the 8th edition of our Global Benchmark Survey is officially open for registrations from February 1st until April 22nd.
Are you looking for a way to measure, manage and report on your LGBTIQ+ policies and practices?
Created in 2014, the Workplace Pride Global Benchmark was designed to measure the LGBTIQ+ inclusion practices of internationally active employers. It also addresses the needs of organisations faced with implementing global D&I and LGBTIQ+ policies in countries where obstacles, such as legal frameworks or cultural norms make it hard to do so.
So what does the Global Benchmark actually do?
Gives participants a custom-made overview of their organisations’ LGBTIQ+ policies and practices
Suggests practical improvements to policies and practices
It highlights how organisations rank among their peers through an online and print publication.
Awards a “Workplace Pride Global Benchmark Endorsement” for top-scoring organisations
Is the go-to measurement tool of LGBTIQ+ policies and practices for internationally-active employers
To view a Sample Global Benchmark Result report click below:
Registration is free of charge to all Workplace Pride members. If your organisation is a member of Workplace Pride, you will receive the link to the Global Benchmark and a personalized code when you register at the link below.
Non-members participants pay an administrative fee of €1000 and will receive further instructions upon registration. This fee includes a detailed report of your LGBTIQ+ policies and practices in relation to your peers, along with suggestions for improvements. It also includes assistance in filling out the Global Benchmark if required.
First of all, let me wish you all a great start to the new year.
2021 was a huge challenge for most of us with uncertainty surrounding the pandemic impacting every element of our lives and work. Despite this, Workplace Pride was able to make significant progress that has benefited our members and the LGBTIQ+ community. Milestones for the Foundation have included:
David Pollard, Executive Director
Our conference in Hungary brought together business, diplomatic, and local civil society organisations on the difficult topic of how to create inclusive workplaces for LGBTIQ+ people in a hostile political environment.
The Academic conference organised by Workplace Pride’s special professor for LGBT inclusion at Leiden University, Dr. Jojanneke van der Toorn, was held in May of last year. This seminal event brought together scholars from around the world on the topics of LGBT workplace inclusion and was the culmination of the first 5 years of the Chair, which I am happy to say will be extended for another 5 years.
Summer saw our first truly Hybrid International Conference held in June which pushed the boundaries of what is possible with the difficult backdrop of the pandemic. The event brought together many prominent speakers such as Jim Flittering, CEO of our member DOW Chemicals, and Lisa van Ginneken, the first transgender member of the Netherlands Parliament.
In August the Foundation was invited by the organizers of Copenhagen World Pride to coordinate their Workplace Inclusion Day which created a forum for businesses and other LGBTIQ+ civil society organisations from across Europe and the world to take a deep dive into workplace issues from many new perspectives.
And last but certainly not least, was our memorable Leadership Awards Gala which brought many of our stakeholders together to highlight their contribution to our movement. It was truly an unforgettable evening!
All of this was done within the context of a significant increase of more than 25% in the number of Foundation members and everything that this entails from an organizational standpoint.
For 2022 we will certainly continue to push the boundaries for LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion around the world.
In the first quarter of the year, we will be launching our white paper on LGBT corporate advocacy, we will be organising a conference for our members in Dubai and will plan webinars on various topics that support more inclusive workplaces.
The foundation’s “jewel in the crown”, the 2022 Global Benchmark survey, opens for submissions on February 1st. and we will be making this valuable tool even easier to access for those employers wishing to make progress on LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion.
We will also continue our work on the important Free to be me project, which is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and which supports progress for our community in 14 countries in the global south.
Looking further ahead, our international conference is planned for June of this year while a groundbreaking conference in Japan tackling the issues of LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion and beyond in a unique environment is planned for the 2nd half of 2022
Workplace Pride’s special programs for women, Young people, technically focused LGBTIQ+ people and Academia will be ‘re-imagined’ as “Workplace Pride Communities” with the goal of providing them more structure and, realise greater impact for the specific groups that they represent.
And of course, our major focus of working together with our members via dedicated relationship managers and through our supportive Learning and Development program will continue and even be expanded in the coming year…. always taking into account the priorities of the LGBTIQ+ community and the many stakeholders that we work with.
In closing, I’d like to add that, while the pandemic is far from over, a new workplace reality is on the horizon. And while LGBTIQ+ communities and individuals continue to be threatened around the world, we also continue to make tangible progress and we should not forget that.
The Workplace Pride Staff, Board, and member organisations will continue to work hard in 2022 to improve LGBTIQ+ inclusion, transforming workplaces worldwide and we invite you to join us on this very important journey.
We wish you a Happy New Year from Workplace Pride!”
Workplace Pride began 2021 by expanding our LGBTI acronym to LGBTIQ+ to embolden inclusion.
To explore this and especially dig deeper around the “Q+” part, Workplace Pride held a webinar with Ali Buck of the Young@Workplace Pride program, Fred Benedosso from ASML, and Joel Bedos of IDAHOT and the SOGI campaign. From three very different perspectives, they discussed aspects of the various definitions of the term “Queer” both in the past and present day.
On February 1st, one of the key components of Workplace Pride, the Global Benchmark survey for 2021 opened.
This yearly benchmark is an online tool designed primarily to measure the LGBTIQ+ policies and practices for internationally active employers. Participants receive a detailed report of their current situation broken down into actionable sections, which include concrete suggestions for improvement.
Click here for the 2021 Global Benchmark Results and Analysis report.
Hot on the heels of the Global Benchmark, on the 10th of February, Workplace Pride held a fascinating webinar entitled “Rainbow Families” with Moderator Jelle Martens (Board member of Workplace Pride).
Guests, Sara Coster of Meer Dan Gewenst, Karin Geerts from ING and Bianca Busser from HEMA. They discussed employment conditions for parents in “Modern” families, personal stories of starting a family as two women and Bianca gave a great presentation about HEMA being for “everyone”.
Also in February Workplace Pride collaborated with the Central European University and launch its Executive MBA International Fellowship.
The Central European University’s Executive MBA distinguishes itself as the EMBA for the Open World – a rigorous, research-based mid-career managerial degree program that confidently integrates progressive Open-Society values into its curriculum, in view of their pivotal importance as to success factors for entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders in the post-industrial economy.
In March, our Academia@Workplace Pride program held an extensive webinar around expectations international LGBTIQ+ students have when they come to study in the Netherlands. Is there enough social safety to be yourself, and what do universities and colleges do to create a solid safety net?
What challenges and obstacles do students face, and if and how it affects internships. The role of companies in organising safe internships was also discussed.
To continue advancing inclusion and belonging for the full spectrum of the LGBTIQ+ community at work, home, and society at large, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) collaborated with Workplace Pride and Out & Equal to host a Global LGBTIQ+ Innovation Jam on the 13th and 14th of April.
On the 29th of April, Workplace Pride in collaboration with Catalyst held a fascinating webinar on Intersectionality. It explored the many ways people identify themselves and the impact it has had on their workplace experiences.
In May, Workplace Pride launched its very own app on iOS and Android platforms giving members access to our website and more in the palm of their hands! In addition, our physical publication “New Horizons” transitioned to an online-only format.
Only available via the app, the “New Horizons Online” lets members share articles whilst new members gave strong testimonials to their commitment to LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion.
A major milestone for the year was our International Symposium in Hungary. This was hosted by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Hungary and took place on IDAHOT day (May 17th, 2021), addressed a broad range of issues when it comes to LGBTI inclusion in the workplace.
The Symposium was opened by René van Hell, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Hungary. He emphasised the significance of IDAHOT and how united the European Union is in achieving the goal of raising awareness of human rights violations against the LGBTI community. The Ambassador also noted that Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union today had published a declaration on behalf of all EU member states to support this goal.
In the wake of a tumultuous 2020 where countless social norms were deeply affected by the global pandemic, Workplace Pride made the difficult decision to hold a truly hybrid conference at the Amsterdam Theatre on the 25th of June.
With a global online audience of over 400 and a live in-house audience of close to 100 Workplace Pride members, the conference opened with a powerful montage of the struggles and solidarity of the LGBTIQ+ communities around the world where there is still so much work to be done. David Pollard, Exec. Director of Workplace Pride opened the conference by touching on the breadth of seismic societal changes that have occurred in recent times. The changes range from the Hungarian government banning any portrayal of homosexuality in education or on television to Poland creating “LGBT-free” zones where LGBTIQ+ people have no protection against hate crimes. In Brazil, legal attempts are even being made to remove “gender” and any talk of homosexuality or transgenderism from school curricula!
Workplace Inclusion Day at World Pride Copenhagen August 18th was kicked off with an empowering speech by the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium,Petra de Sutter, herself a member of the LGBTIQ+ community. With a keynote entitled “LGBTIQ Workplace Inclusion from the State level”, it really was a passionate call to action.
2021 saw a pandemic-weary world slowly re-open and it was clear that things had changed.
Last year saw cultures and societies straining under the pressure. Yet, despite all the obstacles, people soldiered on while leading the way for broader inclusion for LGBTIQ+ people in the workplace. In spite of adversity, our community and their employers made the stark realisation that we have to work together, even more, to push LGBTIQ+ progression in such tumultuous times as these.
With no opportunity to have a Leadership Awards Gala last year, this year’s Gala had record-breaking attendance and was held at Het Scheepvaart Museum (The Dutch National Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Post-Gala feedback from members and new members alike has been overwhelmingly positive for this major event. Worthy award winners and top scorers in the Global Benchmark 2021 had the chance to celebrate! We truly wish you all a wonderful holiday and cannot wait to dive into the new year to meet the challenges ahead!
Creating workplaces where everyone can be themselves is a priority for modern businesses around the world. People that feel included and have a sense of belonging at their places of work are more productive, better team players, and make a greater contribution.
Dubai is in the very unique position of being at the crossroads of the modern world, both geographically and economically. Nothing exemplifies this better than Expo 2020 Dubai which offers a rare opportunity to highlight the Emirate’s role as an agent of change. This is also true when it comes to introducing more diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the Middle East and the global hub that Dubai has become.
The “DUBAI: A New Vision for Diversity and Workplace Inclusion” conference will address the barriers as well as the opportunities facing businesses in regards to their diverse workforces, their clients/customers, and their suppliers. It will explore the various themes of D&I, how they can each be catalysts for making progress, and how they tie into corporations’ global goals and policies. Finally, it will explore how international investors look increasingly at the breadth of a businesses’ engagement when it comes to equitable workplaces and the impact this will have on decision-making.
Date/Time: 3 February 2022 15:00 – 19:00 Location: The Capital Club, Dubai
Participants: Major private and public sector employers, international HR & D&I specialists, representatives of diverse and diplomatic communities.
Participation in the conference is by invitation only.
If you are interested in participating or would like to be kept up to date about the event, please write to [email protected]
Every year, the Tech@WorkplacePride programme organises an event from a different city in the Netherlands. This year’s Tech@Workplace Pride online (formerly hybrid) event was streamed from Brainport Eindhoven, on the campus of the Eindhoven University of Technology on the 18th of November.
The guiding theme of this 2021 edition was sustainability and energy transition, and the importance of diversity for this mission. We had talks by leading scientists and industry staff about developments on sustainability and energy, suited for a lay audience, mixed with stories/reflections on diversity. There were both LGBTIQ+ and non-LGBTIQ+ speakers.
To ensure a sustainable energy transition in the coming years, it is necessary for organisations to be more innovative, build better strategies, and make courageous choices. Having employees representing diverse communities helps to better understand the environmental impact of the company’s operations, building more trust among the public, increasing cultural intelligence, and developing better strategies. Diverse companies are more innovative and more likely to outperform homogenous teams.
Leon Ouwerkerk, the LGBTIQ+ coordinator for the Dutch Research Council (NWO in Dutch) opened the event with Bianca Nijhof, Co-Chair of Workplace Pride giving an opening welcome speech.
The first presenter of the day was Richard van de Sanden, group leader and former director of DIFFER (Dutch Institute For Fundamental Energy Research). Richard’s presentation went into the details behind fusion energy and renewable energy-driven chemical conversion.
To change up the pace, the next presentation was by given Ari Sibiescu and Ave Ottens, two students from Eindhoven University. Their presentation dug into LGBTIQ+ diversity and how it’s unfolded in recent times and how different generations share values that differ as times change around language for example.
Next, Alfred Nijenhuis, a senior consultant at Arcadis gave an informative presentation on the need for the world and the Netherlands in particular to diversify energy systems that sustain our modern lifestyle and technological needs.
The next presentation came from Annelies Boerman, a lecturer/researcher at Saxion University of Applied Sciences whose presentation delved into Systems Integration.
Camille Burrer, Organizational Change Manager and Chair of Green ASML gave a presentation from ASML’s perspective on environmental sustainability and the impact individual employees can here therein.
Jeff Welser, Vice President, Exploratory Science and University Partnerships for IBM gave a presentation about five ways technology will change our lives within five years.
Finally, to close out a fascinating set of presentations, Margot Weijnen, Member of the Executive Board of the NWO (Dutch Research Council) gave an inspiring speech about the importance of diversity and the NWO’s commitment to LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion by signing the Declaration of Amsterdam with Bianca Nijhof co-signing.
To see the videos of the presentations, please subscribe to our Youtube channel to be notified when they’re online.
KLM signed Workplace Pride’s Declaration of Amsterdam on Friday, 12 November. With the signing of this document, KLM commits to developing a working environment where openness and equality are fundamental and where there is an explicit awareness of diversity, inclusion and the LGBTIQ+ community.
The Declaration of Amsterdam was signed on Friday by KLM’s President & CEO, Pieter Elbers, and executive vice president of Human Resources & Industrial Relations, Miriam Kartman. The ceremony took place in the simulator facility at Schiphol-Oost, where cockpit and cabin crew do evacuation training. The signing also coincided with the 10th anniversary of KLM Over the Rainbow, a networking organisation promoting diversity and inclusion at KLM. The signing of the Declaration of Amsterdam marks a new and important step towards consolidating LGBTIQ+ inclusion at KLM.
The signing was also attended by Marjan van Loon, President & CEO of Shell Nederland, and Resi Becker, director of Mail Nederland at PostNL. KLM actively shares best practices with these companies. One important aim of signing the Declaration of Amsterdam is to join hands with Workplace Pride and its partners to promote diversity and inclusion not only in the company but also beyond the bounds of the organisation.
KLM is the 36th major (inter)national organisation to sign the Declaration of Amsterdam Together with Shell, Post NL, ABN AMRO, KPN, and other companies, KLM wants to permanently contribute to such issues as an inclusive corporate culture, safeguarding the interests of LGBTIQ+ colleagues on the work floor and active cooperation between colleagues with different personal backgrounds.
“KLM operates in an international environment, which means we employ people from diverse cultures and with many different backgrounds. As one of the nation’s biggest employers, our workforce also reflects the broader population of the Netherlands. We feel it is important that everyone is able to add value to our company in their own way; that everyone, regardless of their background, culture, religion, or orientation, feels heard, acknowledged, and supported by management, but more importantly by their closest colleagues. For me personally and for KLM as a whole, I believe that the combined strength of the different cultures contributes to the strength of our company and is of great significance to our customers, who are equally diverse.” Pieter Elbers – President & CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
“We’re proud that KLM’s board has signed the Declaration of Amsterdam, thereby reaffirming its commitment and actively acknowledging the value of diversity and inclusion at KLM. Together with Workplace Price and the KLM board, we can continue to build up awareness, research, and training to achieve a more inclusive working environment. We see this undersigning as a vote of support and as an encouragement to keep up the hard work we have been doing for the past ten years and to be an example of diversity and inclusion in our own industry and beyond.” Diederik Oelrich Winkelaar – Chair of KLM Over the Rainbow
Joining hands towards an inclusive work floor One of the key objectives of KLM and Over the Rainbow is to make diversity and inclusion an integral part of people’s working lives. Over the past year, KLM and Over the Rainbow pursued a highly effective policy, which focused on “inclusive allies”. These are people who aren’t personally members of the LGBTIQ+ community, but who are actively and visibly committed to diversity and the acceptance of LGBTIQ+ colleagues. During the recent Workplace Pride Leadership Awards Gala, KLM Captain Lars den Hartigh won the Most Effective Ally Award. This is an acknowledgment of the approach adopted by KLM and Over the Rainbow and reaffirms their shared objective to be trailblazers in the field of diversity and inclusion on the work floor. This approach also confirms that a truly inclusive work floor can only be achieved through close cooperation.
KLM and KLM Over The Rainbow have spent years making diversity and inclusion part of working life at KLM. Employees can request personal support from KLM Over the Rainbow and the KLM management if they need help, for instance when coming out or if they face expatriation to countries where LGBTIQ+ rights are not upheld. Moreover, KLM’s “people strategy” stipulates that employees should experience KLM as a diverse and inclusive company. KLM also has a D&I Circle, which includes a number of KLM executives, who meet every quarter to discuss developments and progress with regard to D&I.
The effort made by KLM and KLM Over The Rainbow has, in the past four years, resulting in a 48-percentage-point increase on the Workplace Pride Global Benchmark. This is an annual survey, run by KLM Over the Rainbow in conjunction with D&I stakeholders and the HR department, to assess the state of LGBTIQ+ inclusion at KLM. KLM’s score of 68.3% on this Global Benchmark is high compared to other major organisations in the airline industry.
Inspiration through solid leadership and acknowledging true LGBTIQ+ leaders
2021 has seen a pandemic-weary world slowly re-open and it’s clear that things have changed.
Last year saw cultures and societies straining under the pressure. Yet, despite all the obstacles, people soldiered on while leading the way for broader inclusion for LGBTIQ+ people in the workplace. In spite of adversity, our community and their employers made the stark realisation that we have to work together, even more, to push LGBTIQ+ progression in such tumultuous times as these.
With no opportunity to have a Leadership Awards Gala last year, this year’s Gala had record-breaking attendance and was held at Het Scheepvaart Museum (The Dutch National Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The Winners and Categoriesare:
Award for Outstanding Role Model : Winner Floris Dorgelo – Adyen
“Floris has driven the initiative the create and organise the first educational global Pride week at Adyen. He collaborated with the company’s regional Pride Champions from North America, Latin America, EU/UK/ME, and APAC to organise a week-filled program of education, inspiration, and fun including an LGBTQ+ oriented exhibition in four regional headquarters around the world. As if that wasn’t enough, Floris created a children’s book with two of his Adyen design colleagues about LGBTQ+ in the animal kingdom, which was shipped to all two thousand Adyen colleagues in 19 different countries around the world. The message was that this book given by Adyen was there to read and then give to others to educate people outside the company, starting with the youngest generation.”
Award for Best Media Representation: Winner Maersk
Maersk’s rainbow containers have served as a symbol of inclusion and diversity, boldly sharing with the world, the company’s stand on creating a culture where all employees, partners, and customers feel welcomed and can be themselves without judgment.”
Award for Most Active Volunteer: Bianca Hermansen – ISS
Bianca has done tremendous work to advance D&I at ISS and to support the LGBTQ+ community internally and externally. Bianca is Co-chair in ISS’ global Pride ERG, has developed the global pride program in 2021, engaging all regions, including high-risk countries such as China and Poland; Wrote an article on (gender) inclusive design and architecture; Designed and deployed a number of D&I action plans amongst senior leaders and leadership teams across the global accounts, and has created a groundbreaking presentation called “Beyond the Binary.”
Bianca Hermansen – ISS
Award for Most Effective Ally: Captain Lars den Hartigh – KLM
Lars is a captain at KLM. Next to this position, Lars works in working groups to truly push and engage management and staff, especially at the very conservative flight department, on all-inclusivity topics. Lars participates in the Flight Inclusion working group, where he regularly speaks out on behalf of the LGBTIQ+ community, and not mildly. He consistently pushes KLM one step further every time and is a true treasure for the company.
Captain Lars den Hartigh
Award for Most Engaged Network: Proud Heroes – Delivery Hero
“Although they only started in Nov. of 2019, Proud Heroes already have LGBTIQ+ participants from all 70 entities…Activities run or initiated by Proud Heroes include:
• Internally: Virtual Christopher Street Day 2020, LGBT Mentoring program, onboarding/new hires, Diversity, and Inclusion Survey, Rainbow Email signature, Targeted internal articles on Coming out, International Transgender Day of Visibility, encouraging the use of pronouns in email signatures, Pride merchandise, learning nuggets on HIV organised for employees and LGBT allyship.
• Externally: Delivery Hero increased their score from 50% to 67% on the DAX30 LGBT audit and achieved a top score of a ProutVoice on ProutPerformer 2021.
All Job posts in 2021 for Delivery Hero have the LGBT+ Diversity Seal and soon the Workplace Pride Logo as well as holding virtual panels and multiple blog posts for LGBT+ inclusion externally. A long list!”
Workplace Pride Global Benchmark 2021 Ambassadors:
Distinguished achievement scoring (70%-90%) for the 2021 results include:
Results of the 2021 Global Benchmark were celebrated at the Leadership Awards Gala on October 29. Read more about the 2021 top-scoring organizations, score trending, overall highlights and areas of focus in the official report here.
The winners of the 5 categories, as well as the top-scoring organizations in the 2021 Workplace Pride Global Benchmark, will be announced at the Gala taking place at Het Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam on Friday, October 29th.
This year, an unprecedented 30 nominations have been submitted for the awards. In our eyes, all of the nominees are winners for the support they have shown for LGBTIQ+ inclusion at work, but as we do have to choose winners, the finalist are listed below.
Don’t miss this chance to come to show your support for the nominees and everyone who is helping to make progress with LGBTIQ+ Inclusion in the workplace!
Most Engaged Network
This award honors the Workplace Pride member LGBTIQ+ network that has shown the most involvement both internally and externally in the past year.
The Nominees are:
1. Rainbow Network – DSM
2. Proudz – KraftHeinz
3. Proud Heroes – Delivery Hero
Best Media Representation
This award honors the best positive representation of LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion in the media (internal or external) by a Workplace Pride member in the past year.
The Nominees are:
1. ABN AMRO
2. LEGO
3. Maersk
Most Active Volunteer
This award honors an individual volunteer from a Workplace Pride member that best supported LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion in the past year, both within their own organization and externally.
The Nominees are:
1. Robin Misdorp – Unilever
2. Bianca Hermansen – ISS
3. Boudewijn Smit – NautaDutilh
Most Effective Ally:
This award honors the most effective ally of the past year, both within their own organization and externally.
The Nominees are:
1. Captain Lars den Hartigh – KLM
2. Cisco Netherlands Inclusion and Collaboration Community – Cisco
3. Jacob Aarup-Andersen – ISS
New Category: Outstanding Role Model
This award honors individuals who inspire others through their actions to create more LGBTIQ+ inclusive workplaces. While only Workplace Pride members may make submissions, anyone can be nominated.
NCOD was inaugurated in 1988 by Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary. Eichberg, who died in 1995 of complications from AIDS, was a psychologist from New Mexico and the founder of the personal growth workshop “The Experience”. O’Leary was an openly lesbian political leader and long-time activist from New York, and was at the time the head of the National Gay Rights Advocates in Los Angeles.[3] LGBT activists, including Eichberg and O’Leary, did not want to respond defensively to anti-LGBT action because they believed it would be predictable. This led them to establish NCOD in order to maintain positivity and celebrate coming out.[1] The date of October 11 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.[1]
Most people think they don’t know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact, everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes.– Robert Eichberg, in 1993[3]
Initially administered from the West Hollywood offices of the National Gay Rights Advocates, the first NCOD received participation from eighteen states, garnering national media coverage. In its second year, NCOD headquarters moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and participation grew to 21 states. After a media push in 1990 NCOD was observed in all 50 states and seven other countries. Participation continued to grow and in 1990 NCOD merged their efforts with the Human Rights Campaign.[1]
National Coming Out Day is observed annually to celebrate coming out and to raise awareness of the LGBT community and civil rights movement. The first decades of observances were marked by private and public people coming out, often in the media, to raise awareness and let the mainstream know that everyone knows at least one person who is lesbian or gay.[1] In more recent years, because coming out as LGBT is now far less risky in most Western countries, the day is more of a holiday. Participants often wear pride symbols such as pink triangles and rainbow flags.
National Coming Out Day is also observed in Ireland,[4] Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.[5] In the United States, the Human Rights Campaign sponsors NCOD events under the auspices of their National Coming Out Project, offering resources to LGBT individuals, couples, parents, and children, as well as straight friends and relatives, to promote awareness of LGBT families living honest and open lives. Candace Gingrich became the spokesperson for NCOD in April 1995.[1] From 1999 to 2014 the Human Rights Campaign announced a theme to go with each NCOD:[1]”
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
