Posts tagged LGBTQ
Equal Rights: It’s Now or Never

Issue 201 — June 5, 2022

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” said founding father John Adams. Yet in a classic demonstration of unearned privilege, he mocked his wife Abigail’s plea to “remember the ladies” when framing the Constitution. John averred that men would never put up with that “tyranny of the petticoat.” As if one person’s freedom reduces the other person’s freedom, when the exact opposite is actually true.

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Live Your Bucket List: Founder, CEO, LGBTQ+ Advocate Does The Work and Wins  

At her first job after graduating college in 1990 at Walden Books, Monica Smith, CEO and founder of Marketsmith, would walk into one of their stores filled with books and magazines and feel overwhelmed.

“It would become my best tool,” says Smith, who was severely dyslexic since childhood and was not able to read effectively until she was 18.

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Pride or Rainbow-Washing? Why Leaders Need To Be True LGBTQ+ Inclusive Allies

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month and while the rainbows seem to be everywhere—even in the new 346-piece “Everyone Is Awesome,” rainbow-colored Lego set—the workplace is not often a safe, welcome and fair place for LGBTQ+ employees.

It’s called “rainbow-washing.”

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True Believer: CEO, Founder on Guiding Leaders Through A DEI Reckoning

From the age of five, Jennifer Brown was performing. On stage, she was singing and dancing as a child growing up in Southern California in a musical family, then as an adult pursuing a singing career.

“I love the adrenaline, I love being under pressure,” says Brown, the CEO and founder of Jennifer Brown Consulting, a global strategic leadership and diversity consulting firm that coaches business leaders on critical issues of talent and workplace strategy. “Which is good because I have three 90-minute keynotes online today,” Brown says.

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Best Of States, Worst of States: Equality, Opportunity Differ

Where you live and who you are unfortunately makes a big difference on how you live and work in this country.

Take The Lead took a look at several new studies— on racial equality by state, opportunities for LGBTQIA persons by state, remote work access by state, post-COVID-19 jobs and women in tech opportunities—to clarify the geographic framing of equity and opportunity in America.

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Be Proud: Maintaining LGBTQIA Inclusive Workplaces

J.K. Rowling offended trans individuals and groups on Twitter with an offensive definition of women. Pride parades were cancelled across the country due to COVID-19 safety concerns. New research shows workplace discrimination against LGBTQIA employees is prevalent.

Listen to Take The Lead’s podcast on “Pride in The Workplace”

To be truly inclusive, diverse, equitable and fair to all persons, company and organization leaders have work to do.

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Preferred Pronouns At Work: Are You Current and Inclusive?

At business meetings, conferences and through email introductions, it is becoming more common to include pronouns of choice, identifying yourself as she/her, he/him or they/them. Misusing pronouns in speaking about a colleague or business associate has recently become a concern for some, sparking backlash for those unfamiliar with the necessity to be empathic about pronoun preference and choice.

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