Highlights of 2015 International Leadership Awards Gala
November 9, 2015
FollowHistoric Announcements at 2015 International Conference
June 29, 2015
The Workplace Pride 2015 International Conference was definitely an event to be remembered!
This year’s event was already a first for the Foundation as it was held in a specially-built pavilion on Gustav Mahlerplein in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. Nearly 240 participants took part in the conference which had the theme “The Value of Being Connected”. And connect they did! Eight sessions, held in four locations around the pavilion covered topics as varied as “The Impact of a Mobile Global Workforce” and “Unconscious Bias: Connecting Perceptions to Reality“.
Morning Keynote speaker Randy Berry, U.S. State Department for LGBT Human Rights spoke about the increasing inter-connection of LGBT topics around the world and the ability/responsibility of international employers to play a role here.
In the closing session, Dutch Television Anchorman, Rik van de Westelaken shared his own experience of being out in the media world and how, even there, it is sometimes a challenge to demonstrate that there are LGBT people in every walk of life.
But the conference took on a new, historic meaning with the announcement of KPN as a major funder of the new Workplace Pride Chair at Leiden University initiative, as well as the decision of the US Supreme Court to legalize Same-Sex marriages across the United States, which happened during the conference.
All in all, it was another amazing event for Workplace Pride; energizing everyone for another year of striving for greater LGBT Inclusion in the Workplace.
Click here to view a gallery of Conference images
Rik van de Westelaken to Speak at Workplace Pride 2015 International Conference
June 16, 2015
Dutch reporter and anchorman Rik van de Westelaken
will be the closing speaker for the Workplace Pride 2015 International Conference.
Mr. van de Westelaken is a well-known figure on the Dutch national television program NOS. In his active career he has covered stories such as the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, the Death of Nelson Mandela, the visit of Barak Obama, and the national day of mourning after the NH 17 Disaster. He presented 18 hours of non-stop programming for the ‘Stop Ebola’ campaign and recently, was the winner of the program ‘Wie is de Mol?’.
In addition to his journalistic career, Mr. van de Westelaken has become a visible LGBT figure in the Netherlands. He recently was interviewed for the Gay Magazine WINQ and officiated at the COC’s 2015 True Colors event.
At the Workplace Pride Conference closing session, Mr. Westelaken will relate his own story about being LGBT at work, thus inspiring both employees and employers to create more LGBT-friendly workplaces.
Click here to register for the Workplace Pride 2015 International Conference
Workplace Pride Shares Experience in Berlin Debate
June 11, 2015
Workplace Pride Foundation is honored to have been asked by the Dutch Embassy in Berlin to take part in a debate on LGBT inclusion in the workplace.
Foundation Director, David Pollard, will join other panelist at the Dutch Embassy on 23 June to explore the ins and outs of LGBT inclusion in the workplace in Germany by drawing examples from the experience of their own organizations.
The debate in open to the public, but registration is required.
As the march towards full inclusion of LGBT people in the workplace continues, we encourage all of our members with activities in Germany to take part in the event. The invitation and email for registration are attached below.
Click here for the full article (in German) about the event
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Die Niederländische Botschaft in Berlin lädt Sie herzlich zu einer Debatte zum Thema
Akzeptanz von Lesben, Schwulen, Bisexuellen, Transgendern und Intersexuellen (LGBTI) am Arbeitsplatz
am 23. Juni in das Botschaftsgebäude ein.
- Wie können wir die Atmosphäre am Arbeitsplatz für LGBTI-Mitarbeiter verbessern? Inwiefern beeinflusst sexuelle Identität die Karriere?
- Welche Rolle spielen Interessensverbände? Welche nächsten Schritte werden von der Politik erwartet?
In einer Debatte, moderiert von der Journalistin Andrea Thilo, geht es um den Stand der Dinge betreffs der Akzeptanz am Arbeitsplatz.
Auf dem Podium wird aus den Niederlanden David Pollard erwartet, Vorsitzender der Organisation Work Place Pride, einer internationalen Plattform für LGBTI-Akzeptanz am Arbeitsplatz.
Die deutsche Stiftung PROUT AT WORK mit dem Ziel, Offenheit am Arbeitsplatz für alle Menschen geltend zu machen, wird vom Vorsitzenden Albert Kehrer vertreten.
Außerdem nehmen Alexander Vogt (Bundesvorsitzender der Lesben und Schwulen in der Union),
Nadia Gaudian (Ansprechpartnerin Rainbow innerhalb des Auswärtigen Amtes) und Susanne Hillens (Vorstand der Stiftung Wirtschaftsweiber) an der Debatte teil.
Die Veranstaltung wird mit einem Vortrag eingeleitet, in dem Lisette Kuyper (Niederländisches Sozial- und Kulturplanungsamt) eine Studie
zur Erfahrung von LGBTI- und heterosexuellen Angestellten vorstellt.
Eine Anmeldung für die Debatte ist erforderlich
unter 030 20 95 64 10 oder per E-Mail: bln-pa@minbuza.nl.
Dienstag, 23. Juni 2015, 19.30 Uhr (Einlass ab 19.00 Uhr)
Niederländische Botschaft, Klosterstraße 50, 10179 Berlin
University of Tokyo visits Workplace Pride in Amsterdam
March 6, 2015
Workplace Pride hosted a two-day program this week for University of Tokyo undergraduate students studying sexual minorities and social participation. The program was part of a week-long study visit arranged together with Dr. Kai Jonas from the University of Amsterdam.
The first day of the two-day program which was held in the Amsterdam Public Library, consisted of an overview of Workplace Pride, which bridges the gap between employers and the LGBT community (by David Pollard) plus the practical experiences of two of our members; Shell (Mark Emdin) and IBM (Marijn Pijnenburg). Lonneke van den Honnard, Director of IHLIA, who kindly hosted the venue at the Library, explained the importance of recording LGBT history and concluded with a tour of the IHLIA facilities.
Day two brought in LGBT community members COC and Amsterdam Gay Pride and was kindly hosted by the strong LGBT community supporter; Lloyd Hotel. Susanne te Braak gave a compelling account of COC’s role in ensuring the lasting and accurate inclusion of LGBT topics in schools, while Irene Hemelar explained the societal role of the Amsterdam Gay Pride and the Canal Parade.
Ms. Kikue Sakaguchi, Project Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo was instrumental in reaching out to Workplace Pride for this program and coordinating its activities.
For questions regarding the University of Tokyo visit, please write to info@archives-workplacepride.org.
Highlights Workplace Pride New Year’s Reception
January 23, 2015
Leiden University’s campus in the Hague was the venue for the 2015 Workplace Pride New year’s Reception yesterday evening 22 January.
Despite delays with trains and frigid weather, the room was filled with representatives of Workplace Pride’s members, Leiden University’s faculty, staff and students, plus a number of external guest coming from throughout the country.
Leiden University Vice Rector and host of the Event, Simone Buitendijk spoke of the ongoing challenges in the academic world for diversity in general and LGBT inclusion specifically. She applauded the progress that has been made though and called for even greater cooperation among institutions and organizations to keep LGBT inclusion in the workplace on the agenda. As a good sign of what the University is undertaking on this topic, have a look at their own version of the famous, ‘it gets better’ videos created by LUC Diversity: Click here to see video
Workplace Pride Executive Director, David Pollard outlined the plans for the Foundation in the coming year highlighting:
- Opening of the Global Benchmark 2015 Survey on 15 May
- 2015 Conference opening reception at Clifford Chance on 25 June
- 2015 International Conference on Gustav Mahlerplein in Amsterdam on 26 June
- Amsterdam Pride activities in the week before and on 1 August
- Awards dinner at the end of October: Leadership Awards/National Coming Out Day contest winner/Highest scorer on the 2015 Global Benchmark
And closed with the announcement of 3 new members to the Foundation: Nauta Dutilh, The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Randstad
Speaking on behalf of the Leiden University Pride, Madelaine van Mackelenbergh gave an inspiring account of the work of the university’s LGBT network and in particular, how they will be helping to change policies regarding diversity. They will also be advising other communities on how to improve their inclusivity for LGBT people.
One of the highlights of the evening was the both fascinating and entertaining presentation of Kees van Waaldijk, Professor of Sexual Orientation Law at Leiden University. Through a series of moving ‘bubbles’ on a graph, Professor Waaldijk demonstrated his research dealing with the correlation of LGBT rights legislation around the world and various factors including GDP and geographical location. This fascinating presentation struck a cord with many Workplace Pride members for possible application within their own organizations. For more information regarding the presentation, please contact Professor Waaldijk directly at: c.waaldijk@law.leidenuniv.nl
The evening closed with a toast to the promising, yet challenging year ahead for LGBT inclusion in the workplace.
Highlights of the 2015 Workplace Pride Reception:
