MINNEAPOLIS — The fifteenth anniversary Out & Equal Workplace Summit will be in Minneapolis Oct. 28 – 31. It is expected to draw more than 2,000 attendees from 27 countries to share best practices to create LGBT workplace equality. The Workplace Summit comes with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) heading for a vote in the US House of Representatives.
“It’s still legal for LGBT workers to be fired simply for who they are in 29 US states. In 76 countries, it is illegal simply to be LGBT. The Workplace Summit is the global gathering of the movement dedicated to a world free of discrimination where we can all bring our full authentic selves to work,” said Selisse Berry, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. Berry founded the organization in 1996 and since 1999, the Out & Equal Workplace Summit has grown from 200 pioneers to a global network of over 2,000 attendees.
The event is sponsored by approximately 100 corporations, including presenting sponsors IBM, Thomson Reuters, and The Walt Disney Company.
The Out & Equal Workplace Summit attracts business leaders from around the world and high-profile speakers including: Kathy Najimy – Actress, Performer, Activist; Tabatha Coffey – Television personality; Janet Mock – Writer, Activist, Founder of #GirlsLikeUs Project; Robert Hanson – CEO of American Eagle Outfitters; Steve Grand – Songwriter, Recording Artist, YouTube hit: All American Boy;Thelma Houston – R&B Artist; Caleb Flood-Goldstick – Songwriter, Recording Artist; Robbie Kaplan– Attorney for DOMA Plaintiff, Edie Windsor; Elaine Kaplan – Director, US Office of Personnel Management and recently confirmed Judge of the US Court of Federal Claims; Selisse Berry – Founder and CEO, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.
