Out Leadership is excited to announce the 2022 OutNEXT global LGBTQ+ Leadership Development Summit, hosted by Citi and sponsored by RBC, Capital Markets, IBM, and Capital One. OutNEXT cultivates the next generation of leaders to innovate and transform industries from finance to fashion. Promising LGBTQ+ talent from Out Leadership member companies around the world will come together with icons from the LGBTQ+ rights movement to focus on leadership development, brand improvement inclusivity, and goal-driven impact. Some of this year’s notable participants will include:
- Tammy Baldwin, United States senator from Wisconsin
- James Dale, the activist who made headlines as the plaintiff in the landmark US Supreme Court case, Dale v. Boy Scouts of America
- Javier Gomez, Florida student, and activist who challenged the state of Florida as the plaintiff in the "Don't say gay" case
- Mila Jam, celebrated pop artist, trans activist, and Out Leadership’s Senior Advisor for Global Transgender Initiatives.
- Victor Jeffreys, artist and activist
- Gus Kenworthy, Olympic medalist, former freestyle skier, and actor
- Florent Morellet, iconic restaurateur and pioneering AIDS activist
- Rashad Robinson, President, Color of Change
- Evan Wolfson, attorney, advocate, and founder of Freedom to Marry.
The world has changed and young Out Leaders matter now more than ever. OutNEXT is a unique opportunity for emerging LGBTQ+ professionals to learn from and share invaluable insights with mentors. OutNEXT marks Out Leadership’s 49th Global Summit, and third summit post-Covid where members will gather safely and successfully in person. (July 11-12 will take place at Citigroup Inc in NYC. July 13 – 15 will take place virtually, for participants who cannot attend in person.) Since inception, Out Leadership’s Out Next summit has convened 8,000 leaders, as the other summits have convened another 30,000 leaders.
“We are so excited to bring this year’s OutNEXT 2022 Summit to the Big Apple, the town where I began my professional ascent as an out gay man, and where later - from my sofa in Hell’s Kitchen – I founded Out Leadership,” says Todd Sears, Founder, and CEO of Out Leadership. “Mentorship and guidance was something that I had to seek out on my own back then. I continue to credit my mentors for my personal and professional success today. These men and women who helped steward my development are also responsible for my deep and abiding commitment to identifying, developing, and supporting the talent of emerging LGBTQ+ professionals. We call this summit a ‘talent accelerator’ because the talent of these incredible young leaders has already landed them in the race. We’re just here to give them the tools to hit the ground running. I am incredibly grateful to our OutNEXT 2022 Summit sponsors, RBC Capital Markets, IBM, and Capital One; and to our host Citi, for making this event possible.”
“We invest in our colleagues from all backgrounds because diverse perspectives help us succeed together,” says Erika Irish Brown, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Talent, Citi.
Out Leadership is the world’s first and only LGBTQ+ corporation whose sole product is Equality. Out Leadership harnesses the power of business to drive equality by connecting LGBTQ+ leaders across the globe, advocating for inclusion at every level, from employee to executive to CEO. With 94 member companies (including Amazon, American Express, Bloomberg, Citi, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, IBM, Microsoft, Nike, and Walmart), Out Leadership partners with 56 non-profits (GLAAD, Freedom for All Americans, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, to name a few) and donates over 20% of its net profit every year to global LGBTQ+ nonprofits.
Inclusion Tennessee
Inclusion Tennessee launched in June after nearly two years of development. Its mission is to connect people, resources, and opportunities that enrich and enhance the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. Nashville Pride completed a Community Needs Assessment in 2019 which is much of what Inclusion Tennessee will be focusing on in the coming year. This is what you can expect to see:
Inclusion Tennessee Focus for the First Year
- Embracing the LGBTQ+ mission focused, mission adjacent, and community partners in collaborative spaces focused on creating models of collective impact.
- Co-locating wraparound services, resources, and programming for LGBTQ+ 18-24 year-olds with affirming agencies in the mid-state. This includes affordable housing, health care, respite care, mutual aid resources, and career training.
- Co-locating services, resources, and programming for LGBTQIA+ older adults in the mid-state. This includes safe social opportunities, healthcare, affordable housing, respite care, mutual aid, support groups, and end-of-life planning.
- Partnering with healthcare organizations and providers to establish a digital-first healthcare navigation solution that delivers LGBTQIA+ community members with information about affirming healthcare providers, specialists, health services, and safe places in Tennessee.
- Building a Nashville LGBTQIA+ Community Center for all ages with satellite services throughout the region. The center will be community-designed and may include a co-working space, a theater, meeting rooms, a cafe, a library, maker spaces, retail spaces, and physicians' offices, and more.
Taking leadership of Inclusion Tennessee is founder Phil Cobucci, Dr. Quinton Walker, and Meredith Fortney. The remaining board members include thirteen professionals and industry leaders in healthcare, education, branding, marketing, government, and nonprofit organizations.
Inclusion Tennessee is being incubated by The Center for Contemplative Justice, an organization founded by the Rev. Becca Stevens which fosters unique justice startups. Acting as an umbrella organization for those holding vision and allowing an organization to birth the idea, nurturing and growing it into its own independent nonprofit organization. When approached with the idea and mission of Inclusion Tennessee, Becca Stevens said, "Inclusion Tennessee offers a mission of love, and the minute Phil Cobucci shared it with me, I knew I wanted to do something to support his beautiful vision. I am honored that The Center for Contemplative Justice could play a role in helping them get off the ground. My hope is that they will be a blueprint for new opportunities and structures within and for the LGBTQIA+ community in Tennessee.”
Initial organizational funding has been secured through The HCA Foundation, The Center for Contemplative Justice, Nashville Pride, and private donors. Visit Inclusion Tennessee for more information.
Board Members
Founding Board Members
Phil Cobucci
Founder and Board President
Marketing and Branding Consultant
Dr. Quinton Walker
Board Secretary
High School Headmaster at University School of Nashville
Meredith Fortney
Board Treasurer
Senior Manager Employee Branding at HelloFresh
Hal Cato
CEO of Thistle Farms
(Former CEO of Oasis Center; Founder of Hands on Nashville)
Del Ray Zimmerman
Director of LGBTQI Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Joseph Woodson
Founder + Principal, Woodson Results, Inc.
(Former LGBTQ Liaison to Mayors Barry and Briley)
Dr. Christopher Ott
Chief Medical Officer, Physicians Services Group at HCA Healthcare
(Past President of the Board at Nashville Cares)
Matthew Gann
Associate Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Digital Strategy, & Public Relations at Tennessee Board of Regents
Pamela Kelner
Executive Director at Jewish Family Service; part of the Jewish Federation of Middle Tennessee
Marcia Masulla
CEO at Roar Nashville;
Founder of Nashville Fashion Week; Nashville Fashion Forward Fund; and Tiny But Mighty
Dawn Cornelius
CEO at MyHuman; Principal Consultant at The Cornelius Group
Jordan Constantine
Senior Policy Analyst at The Center for Innovation in Public Health, University of Kentucky
Co-Founder at affinità consulting
Olivia Blake
Salesforce Implementation Specialist, Idlewild
Amiee M. Sadler
Research and Education Manager, people3, inc.
Jon Paul Yarbrough
Board Member, Yarbrough Family Foundation
Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits offers diversity, equity and inclusion training sessions
The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits continues its series of expert speakers focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.
These events are free to Alliance members and will take place online. Nonmembers and others can pay to access these sessions. The DEI trainings and speaker schedules is as follows:
· Wednesday, Nov. 3, 11 a.m. — Diverse Recruitment, Strategy, and Hiring Processes with Viva Asmelash
This session focuses on auditing and revamping your nonprofit's recruitment and hiring strategies Participants will leave with an understanding of key components of a recruitment and hiring process audit through the lens of diversity and inclusion; A case study about a local non-profit’s recent hiring audit and revamping journey; Concrete tactics for implementing in their own organizations and resources to leverage as next steps. Register here.
· Thursday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m. — Developing Your Personal DEI Statement with Teniqua Broughton
Teniqua Broughton, M.Ed., CNAP and Founder of VerveSimone Consulting, champions diversity, equity and inclusion within an organization that requires individuals to reflect deeply on their own lived and personal experiences, belief systems and culture. Participants in this workshop will walk away with a process and tools for reflection to draft the first iteration of a personal DEI Statement.
As part of this workshop, participants will: Build a draft of a personal DEI statement; Create a personal inventory of meaningful reflections about your values and goals for DEI; Develop confidence to stand up for the organization’s values shared or need to develop DEI practice, policies, and procedures. Register here.
Additional upcoming workshops:
· Wednesday, Dec, 8, Time TBA: Working with Diverse Teams with Linda Groomes
· Wednesday, Jan. 19, Time TBA: Journey to Being an Ally & Inclusive Leadership with Joe Gerstandt
Non-members of the Alliance can access trainings for $29 each.
About the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits: The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits is a statewide trusted resource and advocate for the nonprofit community. The Alliance’s mission is to unite, strengthen and advance Arizona’s nonprofit sector and is comprised of more than 1,000 members – both nonprofits and those in the community who support them – across the state. Since 2004, the organization has been dedicated to furthering the common interests of Arizona’s nonprofit community and envisions an Arizona where all nonprofits are valued, empowered and thriving, with support from grassroots efforts like Arizona Gives Day. For more information, visit www.arizonanonprofits.org, or email azgives@arizonanonprofits.org.
For more information about the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, visit www.arizonanonprofits.org.
A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds an estimated 46% of LGBT workers have experienced unfair treatment at work at some point in their lives, including being fired, not hired, or harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
An estimated 9% of LGBT employees reported experiences of discrimination in the past year, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which extended employment non-discrimination protections to LGBT people nationwide. Approximately 11% of LGBT employees of color reported being fired or not hired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in the last year.
Using survey data collected in May 2021 from 935 LGBT adults in the workforce, researchers examined lifetime, five-year, and past-year discrimination among LGBT employees.
Results show that over half (57%) of LGBT employees who experienced discrimination or harassment at work reported that the unfair treatment was motivated by religious beliefs, including 64% of LGBT employees of color and 49% of white LGBT employees.
“Employment discrimination and harassment against LGBT people remain persistent and pervasive in 2021," said lead author Brad Sears, Founding Executive Director at the Williams Institute. “Passing the Equality Act would ensure that LGBT people—particularly transgender people and LGBT people of color—are allowed to participate fully in the workplace as well as other public settings."
ADDITIONAL FINDINGS
Discrimination
- 30% of LGBT employees reported experiencing at least one form of employment discrimination (being fired or not hired) because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives.
- 29% of LGBT employees of color reported not being hired compared to 18% of white LGBT employees.
Harassment
- 38% of LGBT employees reported experiencing at least one form of harassment (including verbal, physical, or sexual harassment) at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives.
- LGBT employees of color were significantly more likely to experience verbal harassment than white employees.
- 36% of LGBT employees of color reported experiencing verbal harassment compared to 26% of white LGBT employees.
Religious Motivation
Of employees who experienced discrimination or harassment at some point in their lives, 64% of LGBT employees of color said that religion was a motivating factor compared to 49% of white LGBT employees.
Avoiding Discrimination
Half (50%) of LGBT employees said that they are not open about being LGBT to their current supervisor and one-quarter (26%) are not out to any of their co-workers.
Many LGBT employees reported engaging in “covering" behaviors to avoid harassment or discrimination at work, such as changing their physical appearance and avoiding talking about their families or social lives at work.
For example, 36% of transgender employees said that they changed their physical appearance and 28% said they changed their bathroom use at work to avoid discrimination and harassment.
Read the report here.
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.