Out & Equal

Kate Clinton hosts The Outies

Out & Equal annually holds an annual event called the Out & Equal Workplace Summit in rotating locations around the United States. The Workplace Summit hosts thousands of LGBT employees, human resource professionals and organizational representatives each year for a few days of training and networking. It is the world's largest conference on LGBTQ issues with more than 6,000 attendees in 2019. The Workplace Summit includes an award ceremony aimed at recognizing leaders in LGBT workplace equality called The Outies.[6]

Out & Equal's Workplace Summit is considered to be appropriate for federal training in compliance with 5 U.S.C. Chapter 41. As proclaimed by Human Resources Director John Berry on August 6, 2010, the Out & Equal Workplace Summit is open to all federal employees.[7]

In 2012, Out & Equal held their first international Summit in London. This dynamic event brought together people from around the world to consider ways to build greater equality in the workplace for LGBT people and allies. Attendees came together to share best practices, engage with colleagues from around the world, and strengthen the diversity of global workplaces. Tennis champion Martina Navratilova, IBM Europe Chairman Harry van Dorenmalen, and organizational consultant John Amaechi were among the speakers at the Global LGBT Workplace Summit. The conference featured 24 workshops covering a broad range of topics focused on LGBT workplace issues around the world.

Out & Equal in Dallas, TX

Out & Equal also hosts events in Brazil, India, and China.[8]

The Executive Forum is an annual meeting of executive leaders in a multi-day conference to "learn from one another and share best practices." The first Executive Forum was held in 2008 in San Francisco but have been held in countries all over the US.[9]

The Momentum Gala is Out & Equal's annual celebration and gala dinner held in San Francisco which honors prominent activists in the LGBT movement, organizations dedicated to diversity and inclusion in their workplace, and features LGBT entertainers and inspirational speakers.

Out & Equal offers diversity training, educational resources and consulting services to senior management, human resource professionals, employee resource groups and individual employees to promote LGBT workplace equality. Out & Equal training programs include "Train the Trainer", "Building Bridges", "LGBT Diversity Training", and "Transgender Intensive".

The Out & Equal Town Call speaker series feature of monthly telephone conference calls with guest speakers discussing LGBT workplace topics. Each call includes a presentation followed by a question and answer session in a one-hour time frame. Town Calls are free for the public and are built to fit into a regular workday.

Out & Equal mobilized hundreds of businesses to join an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of the proposition that businesses should not be allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.[10]

As a workplace equality advocacy organization, Out & Equal has publicly supported the passage of Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Out & Equal has issued public statements urging constituents to contact their United States House Representatives to proceed with the passage of ENDA. During San Francisco Pride Parades, Out & Equal has provided signage to parade participants displaying support for ENDA.

Considering the military a workplace, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates took an early stance against Don't Ask, Don't Tell policies. In February 2008, Selisse Berry wrote an open letter to Congress and Nancy Pelosi stating, "We believe that in these times of international crisis (and at all times), the military has a duty to recruit and retain the most qualified people, foster genuine teamwork, and set an example that ALL American citizens matter. We believe that Congress has a moral obligation to repeal policies that have prevented the military from achieving these goals."

Leading up the 2015 SCOTUS ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates was one of 379 employer organizations that signed on to an amicus curiae brief[11] which urged the High Court to consider the burdens imposed on both employers and employees by a fractured legal landscape with no uniform rule on same-sex marriage.

Out & Equal's "Business Case for Marriage Equality" was penned in 2010 and remains a critical tenant of the organization's overall work.

In light of national outcry for immigration reform, Out & Equal joined a coalition of LGBT organizations around the United States in a public statement to support the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) which protects the rights of same-sex couples during the immigration process into the United States. In a partnership with organizations including The Council for Global Equality and Human Rights Watch, Out & Equal publicly stated that, "An estimated 17,000 young children are being raised by LGBT parents in binational families and those children face the very real possibility of losing a parent, or leaving the only country they have ever called home."

In response to public backlash to Target Corporation's large political donation to anti-gay Republican politician Tom Emmer, Target Corporation publicly called upon the Corporation's continued financial sponsorship of Out & Equal's Workplace Summit. Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel emphasized Target's relationship with Out & Equal in order to demonstrate the company's commitment to LGBT Workplace equality.

Out & Equal at Workplace Summit.

Stanford University lists Out & Equal as the leading organization for LGBT graduates to turn to for job placement advice.

In 2010, Out & Equal launched a series of editorials called "Communities in Common"[12] written by diverse members of the LGBT community in order to recognize and celebrate the roles of other communities within the struggle for equality.