Claiming our Past
Celebrating our Present
Creating our Future
LGBT History Month bulletin 63
Welcome to the 63rd LGBT History Month Bulletin. There are 6 sections:
LGBT History Month 2010: Latest news
News: A selection of LGBT related news articles from the past month
Birthdays: a list of LGBT people’s birthdays. Both dead and alive
Events: a calendar of shows, conferences and meetings
Community: appeals, requests and community based ideas
Quotes: who said what, where and when
Norwich Castle Flies the Rainbow Flag
Proud to Be at Pride
The Rainbow flag flew over Norwich Castle and the sun shone on us all at Norwich’s
first ever Pride on Saturday, July 25th. Kieran and Wendy’s Norwich Our Story had a
stall and very kindly gave us some space to promote our work. Loads of people were
there and the parade was far bigger than anticipated. Among the speakers were Linda
Bellos, Norwich’s latest resident, who said she was suing a barber under goods and
services for refusing her a haircut for being a woman. Keep up the Good Work!
Kieran Yates and Tony Fenwick at the Norwich Pride / LGBT History Month Stall in the Forum at Norwich
A Day in Hand
The Day in Hand relay on
Saturday 25th of July went
down brilliantly. Hundreds
turned up to hold hands and
batons and the campaign
continues to grow and grow.
To find out the latest on A
Day in Hand and see the
latest pictures, go to
www.adayinhand.co.uk and
get ready to join in the fun.
Our Pre-Launch will be on
November the 19th at The
British Museum.
Badges. Our new designer
badges for 2010 are going fast
at Pride. £2.50 for triangles and
£2 for rectangles. Go to out
website to buy yours now!
Did you see us at
Northern Pride,
Norwich Pride
and at
Brighton? Look
out for us at
Suffolk Pride,
Ipswich on
September 13th.
Sorry we missed
you at Thanet.
We’ll be there
next year.
Our Northern
Pre-Launch
will be at The
People’s
Museum in
Manchester
on December
3rd.

The National Pre-Launch of
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month
2010
British Museum on the 19th November
2009.
This year’s LGBT History Month pre-Launch is timed to be part of Anti-Bullying
Week, as we believe that promoting positive images of LGBT people, their
communities and their achievements is an essential part of eliminating
homophobic and transphobic bullying. LGBT History Month themes continue to
focus on engaging young people, teachers and youth workers, as well as other
stakeholders, in the work of keeping young people safe and healthy.
To find out more and to request an invite, go to info@lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
News
The Equality Act: Are We Being Left Out?
A Government Consultation document on the single Equality Bill seems to let employers off the
hook on LGBT rights.
The Equality Bill is designed to bring all the equalities strands – now to be known as “protected
characteristics”- together in one act that gives equality to all. However, the Government
Equalities Office consultation document on how to implement the Bill states that monitoring and
reporting in the workplace will not be equal. Moreover, for sexual orientation and gender
reassignment this part of the duty will be voluntary. This is also the case for age and religion and
belief.
The document, entitled Equality Bill: Making it work: Policy proposals for specific
duties: A consultation, says in Section 5.13: “We do not…require public bodies to set equality
objectives relating to each protected characteristic.”
In Section 5.20 it adds: “We do not think the time is right to require public bodies to report
employment rates for all characteristics protected under the Equality Duty, although some may
decide to do so voluntarily as a matter of good practice.”
So, having met their duties with three of the protected characteristics (gender / pay, race and
disability) employers are free to decide whether or not to deal with the others?
More specifically, in Section 6 we find that under reporting requirements, public authorities that
employ 150+ people will have to show pay gap figures together with BME and disabled
employment figures, but no monitoring or reporting is required for LGBT people or the other
groups.
Reporting Requirements
Proposed duty:
Public authorities with more than 150 employees should publish their
gender pay gap figures and their black and minority ethnic employment
rates and their disabled people employment rates.
Impact on age, sexual orientation, religion or belief and gender
reassignment
19. The duty will have a positive impact as it will encourage public
authorities to consult and involve people of different ages, religions or
beliefs, sexual orientations and people going through gender
reassignment, all of whom are not covered by the existing equality
duties.
Schools OUT co-chair Tony Fenwick said: “Since 2007 we’ve been telling public sector bodies that
they are going to have to get their houses in order and monitor their LGBT employees and their
needs. We’ve based this on the presumption that the Equality Act would make this compulsory.
Now it seems that they can leave us on the back-burner. If this replaces previous equalities
legislation, it’ll actually leave us worse off than we are now.
“How can you measure success if you don’t know who your audience is? And why bother if the
Government tells you that you don’t need to? We urge all stakeholders in the consultation to tell
the Equalities Office that monitoring and reporting of LGBT employees is essential.”
End of EIAs?
The document also removes the duty to make Equality Impact Assessments, focussing on
“outcomes” rather than process in establishing the effectiveness of policy. Commenting on this,
Tony said: “The document refers to ‘consultation fatigue’ and this is rather telling. It seems that
employers in the public sector have complained about the stringency on the duties and that the
Government Equalities Office has bowed to pressure. If the obligation to carry out equality
Impact Assessments is removed from the duties, employers will be less accountable than they
are now. We urge stakeholders to register their objections.”
Gay Archive finds permanent home in Woking
Great things happen in smaller places. Surrey History Centre in Woking is delighted to announce
that the charity Gay Surrey have deposited their archives with them. The Centre, in Goldsworth
Road, holds 5 million archives dating back to the C12th and the charity's records are the first of
their kind to be deposited here. As Di Stiff, Collections Development Archivist explains, "As the
official custodians of Surrey's history we feel it is important to preserve all areas of the county's
written heritage and the records of Gay Surrey are a vital part of this. We want our archive
collections to develop in a way that reflects Surrey’s diversity and encourage the public to explore
wider aspects of the county’s rich heritage."
Gay Surrey was set up in 2005 and is now county-wide. Chairman and founder member of the
charity is Gino Meriano, co-author of 'Civil Partnership: A Guide to the Perfect Day'. Gino's tireless
campaigning and voluntary work for the charity was officially recognised last year in Surrey
County Council's Awards for Volunteering. He said, "It has been a fantastic four years already but
we, as a charity, have so much more to do. Our partners are key to the success of our work
which is ongoing and will continue for a long time to come.”
Surrey History Centre opens at 9.30 Tuesday to Saturday and usually closes at 5pm. For full
details go to
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Surrey+
History+Centre+opening+hours?opendocument
Quakers, Tatchell, Marriage and Cornwall
What have they got in common? Well, last week the Quakers agreed to perform same-sex
marriages. This creates a dilemma for the Government, which will have to decide whether or not
they will be legally recognisable. Seizing the opportunity, Peter Tatchell is off to Cornwall Pride in
Truro this Saturday to promote self-rule for Cornwall and to promote same sex marriages within
the devolved state-to-be. According to Tatchell: "Both the campaigns for gay rights and Cornish
rights involve challenging injustice. They are different, but they share the same commitment to
extending democratic freedoms and human rights."
Homophobia: Every Little Helps
Tesco has found itself in the LGBT press for all the wrong reasons after a couple in its Milton
Keynes store were subjected to homophobic abuse – both direct and indirect – on two separate
occasions.
First, civil partners Andie and Amanda went to the store and bought some champagne for a
celebration. The young man on the till asked Andie if “the boy” she was with was over 18. When
they didn’t respond he asked again. Amanda is in her thirties. They claim that they challenged
the boy but he laughed and made no apology. After their complaint was dealt with at assistant
manager level they received £20 in vouchers. On Monday July 3rd, Andie returned to the shop
and the woman on the till gained the attention of another member of staff by shouting “Oi, Gay
Boy!” across the shop floor. A second complaint brought a personal apology from Chief Executive
Terry Leahy. Tesco should have known who they were messing with: Andie is Head of Human
Resources at her B&Q branch and Amanda is a B&Q store manager! Tesco is currently not in the
top 100 employers in the Stonewall Equality Index.
International
Israel Learns to Deal with ‘Worst Hate
Crime’
Members of the LGBT community in Israel are facing a reality check after an
indiscriminate shooting in an LGBT Youth Centre in Tel Aviv last Saturday. A march in
the city the following day demonstrated anger against some Orthodox groups such as
the Shas Party, whose leader, Eli Yishai, has referred to homosexuals as “sick people.”
Some demonstrators have reasoned that the tragedy has awakened support for the
LGBT community because it has shocked the nation.
It is not illegal to be lesbian or gay in Israel and this includes the armed forces.
However there are no partnership rights and there is widespread prejudice against the
LGBT community. Many Orthodox Judaist groups are strongly opposed to
homosexuality. Tel Aviv is the most LGBT friendly city in Israel and is widely seen as its
San Francisco or Brighton. For more, go to
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/04/1007031/gay-israelis-reeling-after-shootingattack
Dallas Police Celebrate Stonewall with a
Raid
Police in Dallas have come under fire for an “investigation” into the city’s Rainbow Bar
on June 28th – the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The investigation was –
according to locals – more of a raid, with customers being handcuffed and treated
brutally. One patron, 26-year-old Chad Gibson, was hospitalised with brain injuries
after an attack by an officer. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has apologised
for the “investigation”, but Mayor Mike Moncrieff and Police Chief Jeff Halstead remain
resolute that it was right. Halstead had particularly raised hackles by claiming officers
reacted the way they did as a result of being hit upon by some customers.
Coming to Terms Teenage Literature in
the US
US based School Library Journal has promoted a range of adolescent literature that
deals with teenagers discovering their sexual orientation and learning how to deal with
it. Novels like David Inside Out and My Tiki Girl look at how young people come to
terms with being lesbian or gay through a young person’s eyes. To find out more go to
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6667941.html
Lesbian Birthdays
August 3rd Skin (aka Deborah Ann Dyer) (Born 1967) – British singer
August 12th Tanita Tikaram (Born 1969) –British singer
August 27th Jeanette Winterson (Born 1959) – British author
Gay Birthdays
August 1st – Lionel Bart – (Born 1930, died 1999) – British composer, lyricist and playwright
August 10th – Andrew Sullivan – (Born 1963) – British author
August 25th – Nichi (Nicola) Vendola (Born 1958) – Italian Politician (Communist Party) and
activist in Arcigay. Founder of Rifondazione per la Sinistra
Trans birthdays
August 31st – Caroline "Tula" Cossey (Born 1954) – British model and actor
Events Calendar
Bicon 2009
The 27th UK National Bisexual
Convention
London Artists Projects is a leading independent producer. Our artist-clients are those who pursue new directions and
open up previously unexplored territory to satisfy audiences who hunger for the live and authentic moments of joy,
beauty and meaning that crystallise, reflect and add to their understanding and knowledge of today's world.
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
World Premiere
18–30 August
0131 228 1404
traverse.co.uk
Koninklijke Schouwburg,
The Hague
2–6 September
0900 3456789 (10cpm)
ks.nl
Soho Theatre, London
21–27 September
0207 478 0100
sohotheatre.com
With honesty, humour and occasional anger, performer Bette Bourne tells the playwright Mark Ravenhill about his life. The story moves from a postwar childhood, to the Gay Liberation Front, life in a drag commune and on to the creation of the ground breaking Bloolips company and beyond.
The piece, in three parts, marks a different series of events in Bette’s life to reveal a portrait of an amazing individual and celebration of the
momentous struggles and achievements of gay liberation. Each part can be enjoyed as self contained stories or seen together for a fuller picture.
The performance is a reading of edited transcripts of a series of long, private conversations, a recreation on stage of two friends reminiscing about
one of their lives. ‘Bette’ and ‘Mark’ will be played by the real individuals – but at some performances guest artists will recreate the original
conversations, finding their own path through the extraordinary life of Bette Bourne.
Produced by London Artists Projects in association with Koninklijke Schouwburg / Het Paradijs, The Hague (NL) Photo: David Gwinnutt
This email is sent to a selected list of individuals in arts and business.
To be removed from this list click Remove or to update your details click Update
Contact: London Artists Projects
London Artists Project is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. Company registration no: 04752365
Regulars
Date where
Mon
when
what
Nottingham
Eve
PM Badminton Social(weekly)
http://www.badmintonsocial.co.uk/
Croydon Town Hall
7.30pm
Crocus Meeting.
The Intercom Community Centre in
Exeter
7-9pm
Western Girls This group runs on the first Monday of the month and
is a safe space for all who have had, in the
process of or are considering male to female gender reassignment.
This social get together
for directions or more info
contact westerngirls@hotmail.co.uk
Tues
Cramlington
Eve
LGBT Youth (13-19). Sharon on: 01670 597 865 or Steve at
MESMAC on: 0191 233 1333
Dundee
6-8pm
Allsorts LGBT Group www.info@lgbtyouth.org.uk
Hackney
5.30-9pm
The Green Door LGBTQI Youth Project
07772 565 546
London Charing Cross Road
9-late
Ruby Tuesday. Regular night out for lesbians and
their guests Ku Bar WC2H 7BA
Greenwich MetroCentre, 110 Norman
Rd. Greenwich
6-8pm
The Marlborough Clinic, Royal Free
Hospital Pond St, Hampstead, NW3
2PF
2-4pm
Over 55’s LGBT group (last Tues every month) Jackie 020 8305 5000
8.30-11.30
(monthly:
every last
Tuesday)
Sexual Health MOTs for 50+ gay and bi men 020 7830 2847
Central Station, 37 Wharfdale Rd,
Kings Cross, London N1 9SE
7pm-12
The Castle, Camberwell Church St
7.30pm
Camberwell Gay Book Group. Every third Tuesday
Free
N/A
6pm
(last Tuesday of the month) Out in South London - local LGBT radio
show with Rosie Wilby and guests
Listen online at www.southcityradio.org
Bar Baby Love, Oxford
10pm-3am
Poptarts
The Glass Bar
7.30-9.30
London Lesbian and Bi Women’s Group Social & Discussion
Grand Hall, Battersea Arts Centre
(BAC), Lavender Hill, Battersea, SW11
7pm
Wandsworth Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Forum
Thurs
Jolly Farmers Oxford
evening
Dr Who night. Every other Thursday from May 14th
Fri
Camberwell Leisure Centre,
Camberwell Leisure Centre, Artichoke
Place (off Camberwell Church Street),
SE5 8TS
8:15 9:15pm
Naturist swimming club for gay men every Friday from. Contact
Roger on roger_simp@hotmail.com
The Oak Bar, 79 Green Lanes, N16
9pm-3am
sex with women 020 8305 5000
S London
Wed
Penelope’s Pitstop. Drop in advice and testing for women who have
Bar Wotever
190 Euston Road
NW1 2EF
9BU
The Rye Peckham
Sat
8pm
Leicester Pink Pedallers Cycling Group
Sun and Doves, Coldharbour Lane
Club Wotever
Lesbian / bi-woman Social: Third Friday every month
For more information on this event or on the Pink Pedallers Cycling
Group, contact Elizabeth Barner, CTC Cycling Development Officer
on 0116 229 2582 or email elizabeth.barner@ctc.org.uk.
8pm
Camberwell
Performances from 9pm (every Saturday)
Queer Complex: queer cabaret and music from Club Wotever and
Gay Camberwell.Free
S London
Sun
The Church Of The Assumption &
5pm
LGBT Catholic Mass (1st and 3rd Sundays of the month)
8pm
Gay Night Out in Herts
St Gregory, Warwick Street, Soho
The Candlestick, Essendon
Date
8 Sat
9 Su
10
11
12
13
14 F
15
Sat
16 Su
17
18
19
20
21 F
22
Sat
23 Su
24
25
26
27
28 F
29
Sat
30 Su
London: East Dulwich
3-5pm
South London Lesbian Mums Group triciadurr@hotmail.com for
details. Every third Sunday of the month
The Castle, 65 Camberwell Church
Street
4pm
Free film screening with free popcorn
East Dulwich Community Centre, 4664 Darrell Road SE22 9NL
3-5pm
South London Lesbian Mums Group. A social and support group for
lesbian mums and their children, meeting every third Sunday of the
month from at the. E-mail triciadurr@hotmail.com for more
information.
Where
When
What
Truro, Cornwall
All day
Cornwall Pride
Cheltenham, Gloucester
All day
Gloucester Pride
Stoke on Trent
Wakefield, West Yorks.
All day
All day
Stoke Pride
Wakefield Pride
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
6.30-2am
WOTEVER XTRAVAGANZA! At the moment we have 13 acts
confirmed and there will be more! Head Lining Mega Band The Blow
Waves from Australia on thyeir European Tour. Spoken Word,
Performance Art and Live Music all NIGHT long!!
Part of RVT's Fringe Festival. £7
Regents Park College, Inner Circle,
London.
All day
UK Black Pride www.ukblackpride.org.uk
Swindon
Doncaster
All day
All day
Swindon Pride
Pride: The one the Council leader doesn’t want!
York
All day
Pride in the Park
University of Worcester
All day
BiCon. Residential Bisexual Conference www.bicon2009.org.uk
University of Worcester
All day
BiCon. Residential Bisexual Conference www.bicon2009.org.uk
Manchester
University of Worcester
Till 31st
All day
Pride www.manchesterpride.com
BiCon. Residential Bisexual Conference www.bicon2009.org.uk
University of Worcester
All day
BiCon. Residential Bisexual Conference www.bicon2009.org.uk
Imperial War Museum Manchester
6.30pm
Cultural Pride Event. Presentation of how to celebrate LGBT history.
Fee Entry. www.learningnorth@iwm.org.uk to book
Friends Meeting House, Mount St.
Manchester
6.308pm
Debate: Putting the Politics back into Pride. Speakers include
Stephen Twigg, Sue Sanders and Paul Martin. Held by LGBT Labour.
To attend go to northwest@lgbtlabour.org.uk
Manchester
All day
Manchester
All day
Pride weekend. Tickets £17.50 + booking charge. Disgrace!
www.manchester.com
Pride weekend. Tickets £17.50 + booking charge. Disgrace!
www.manchester.com
Manchester
All day
Pride weekend. Tickets £17.50 + booking charge. Disgrace!
31
Manchester
1
Glasgow
2
Kitchen Garden Café,
Birmingham
All day
Till
November
8th
7 for 8pm
Odham Walk In, Covent
Garden, London
3
4 Fri
5 Sat
Drop-In Medical Centre,
1 Frith St. London W1D
3HZ
Leicester
Suffolk Pride
19-20 September 2009
SuperGay weekender Middlesbrough
7-10 October 2009
Iris Prize - LGBT Film
Festival - Cardiff
8 October - 8 November
2009
Glasgay! - Glasgow
1-30 November 2009
Homotopia Liverpool
www.manchester.com
Pride weekend. Tickets £17.50 + booking charge. Disgrace!
www.manchester.com
Glasgay! Starts in earnest October 8th
Laughing Cows Comedy Night
www.laughingcowscomedy.co.uk
Older Gay Men’s Group
1-4pm
LGBT 50+ Trade Fair. Speaker Claire Summerskill
All day
Pride
All day
Pride
6 Sun
7
8
9
10
11 Fri
12 Sat
13
Sun
14
15
16
17
18 Fri
19 Sat
20
Sun
21
22
23
24
25 Fri
Chelmsford
All day
Essex Pride
Scarborough
All day
Picnic in the Park
The Central School of
Speech and Drama
Embassy Theatre, Eton
Avenue
London. NW3 3HY UK
Ipswich
9am-6pm
Trans Community Conference. Held by Gendered Intelligence.
See Community (below) for details
All day
Suffolk Pride
Barnsley
All day
Pride
Southwark Town Hall
6.308.30pm
6.308.30pm
Southwark LGBT forum www.southwark-lgbt.org.uk
Middlesborough
evening
Super Gay Weekend
Middlesborough
All day
Super Gay Weekend
Middlesborough
All day
Super Gay Weekend
London Lighthouse
111-117 Lancaster Road
London
W11 1QT
2-4pm
(every
Friday)
LGBT 50+ Scottish Music Dancing
Ambassadors
Bloomsbury
12 Upper Woburn Place,
London WC1H 0HX
THE OLYMPICS - the LGBT legacy. A GBA Event
26 Sat
27
Sun
28
29
30
31
1 Fri
2 Sat
3 Sun
Community
chroma queer writing competition
Chroma is an international queer literary and arts journal based in London. The journal was set up in 2004 to publish
and promote the work of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trangendered writers and artists around the world. Chroma is
running a queer writing competition with both a short story and poetry categories. Prizes 1st - £300 / 2nd - £150 /
3rd - £75. The judges are Thomas Glave, Cherry Smyth and Stella Duffy and deadline is 7th September For more
information on this and also the Transfabulous and Velvet Flash Prizes please go to www.chromajournal.co.uk
can you help? support a film about section 28!
A team of talented London-based filmmakers are making a short film called
'Small-Time Revolutionary', and are looking for donations, sponsorship, as
well as in-kind support in areas such as transport, catering, use of a house
as a location, equipment hire, access to post-production facilities.
The film is set in 1988 and 18-year-old Russell is the newest recruit of an
anti-establishment collective, The Kants. As The Kants prepare for an
anti-Section 28 rally, it transpires that Russell still hasn’t come out to
his parents. The others urge him to act on this, and Russell begins to
realise the extent of what is at stake. Combining drama with humour drawn
from everyday human conflict, 'Small-Time Revolutionary' endeavours to be a
fresh, poignant take on this significant turning point in British gay
history.
The Director's first short film 'Firewood' was selected for competition at
the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Crystal
Bear. We are aiming to play 'Small-Time Revolutionary' in major film
festivals around the world. Tim Teeman, Arts and Entertainment Editor at
The Times, is Executive Producing the film and we have already received
donations from a number of gay celebrities. We will be planning a
fundraising event late September, and a PR strategy for when the film plays
in festivals, so we will thank our supporters at every possible opportunity.
Please visit our website www.small-time-revolutionary.com to find out more
about the film and the team. If you are interested, or would like to know
more, please do not hesitate to contact Dan Simmons, Producer, at
dan@small-time-revolutionary.com or 07876 495 067. Thank you.
TRANS COMMUNITY CONFERENCE 2009:
Creative Responses to Education and Equality
Convened by Gendered Intelligence
Hosted by Central School of Speech and Drama
Saturday 12th September
at
The Central School of Speech and Drama
Embassy Theatre, Eton Avenue
London. NW3 3HY UK
9am – 6pm
This will be followed by an optional evening in the Embassy Theatre from 7pm – 9pm
Emb
To For more information of the programme please see the attached file.
To register please complete the attached form and e mail it to:
transcommunityconference@googlemail.com
The Trans Community Conference 2009 is a one-day gathering featuring a series of workshops for members of the
trans community from across the UK, as well as professionals who work with the trans community. The trans
community includes family members, partners and lovers and friends and allies. The conference will celebrate our
diversity of identities and knowledge, as well as the different groups, organisations and projects that our community
offers.
This year’s conference hopes to take a more creative approach to the themes of education, equalities and diversities,
policy and practice, political activism and work carried out in the voluntary and community sector. As our host is
Central School of Speech & Drama, we will be disseminating various projects that have used art, drama, applied
theatre, voice work, and creative writing as practical measures that educate and work towards equality, including
encouraging body positivity for trans people and their loved ones, and finding ways of getting our voices and stories
heard. We will also be hearing from those who use creative tools as a way into the education and discussion around
gender diversity. In addition, we will be exhibiting some art works made by members of the trans community, to
raise awareness and trans visibility.
EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS
Dear Colleagues
The TUC has recently been informed that the Employment Tribunal Service (ETS) is expecting to run a recruitment
exercise for Employment Tribunal Lay Members during August and September 2009. We wanted to give you
advance notice of the recruitment process.
The ETS is keen to raise awareness of the recruitment campaign and to attract applications from individuals with
relevant experience for the employee side. They are particularly keen to encourage applications from groups who
are currently under-represented on employment tribunal panels, including women, and members of the black and
ethnic minority, disabled and LGBT communities.
The TUC will circulate details of the recruitment process and the deadlines for applications as soon as they are
available. This will include information about how individuals can apply and how to access information about the
process.
The TUC will also be running a briefing event for potential employment tribunal members on 2
September 2009, from 10am to 2pm at Congress House. Information about this briefing and a
registration form are attached. The deadline for registering for the briefing is Friday 21 August 2009.
Please distribute this and future information to any individuals whom your unions would like to encourage to apply to
become lay employment tribunal members.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TUC PLAYS NO ROLE AT ALL IN THE NOMINATION OR SELECTION PROCESS.
PLEASE THEREFORE DIRECT ALL FUTURE ENQUIRIES TO THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL SERVICE
We are sorry for the short notice about the process and the briefing. Please also note that the timing and timetable
for the recruitment process have been decided by the Employment Tribunal Service.
Hannah Reed
TUC Senior Employment Rights Officer
Tel: 020 7467 1336
Mobile: 07766 250083
The International Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
reveals the most gay friendly corporations in the world: BT
Group, IBM and The Dow Chemical Company
Copenhagen, Denmark, July 28th 2009 – The International Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
(IGLCC) is pleased to unveil the results of the first edition of the International Business Equality Index. The
Index is a measurement of the performance of multinational corporations in relation to Diversity and
Inclusion issues specifically focusing on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in the
countries where they operate. The leading corporations are BT Group, followed by IBM and The Dow Chemical
Company. The announcement was made at a press conference during the closing of the IGLCC Second
Annual Congress in Copenhagen.
The corporations participating in this year’s Index are: AMR (the parent company of American Airlines, Inc.
and American Eagle), BT Group, Cisco Systems, The Dow Chemical Company, IBM, ING, Intel, KPMG, Kraft
Food, Merck, Novartis, Philips, SAP, TNT and UBS. They represent 1.7 million employees in 227 countries and
sales of USD 800 Billion a year.
"On behalf of BT, I am absolutely delighted with this recognition" said Ian Livingston, BT's CEO." As one of
the largest communication companies in the world, we provide service to customers in more than 170
countries and employ well in excess of 100,000 people across the globe. Diversity must be, and is, at the
heart of our business and having the policies and the practices in place to support the LGBT community is
essential to our success."
Anne Heal, BT's Senior Champion for Sexual Orientation added, "BT has been providing same-sex partner
benefits to employees since the early 1980s and will continue to look at ways in which we can ensure that our
people can be 'who they are' at work without fear of discrimination or prejudice. The IGLCC award recognises
the efforts of out HR community and our LGBT network, Kaleidoscope, in their determination to ensure that
equality of opportunity is reality in our business. I am also delighted."
"The findings of the survey on which the Index is based are somewhat mixed, but definitively encouraging,"
said IGLCC Secretary General, Pascal Lépine. "The vast majority of respondent corporations have Diversity
and Inclusion programs and most explicitly include LGBT issues. We see from this survey that most of these
companies take sexual orientation and gender identity matters very seriously. However, full equality is still
years or decades away."
While corporations scoring high on the index are powerful examples of how diversity and inclusion programs
can be very successful, the 2009 Index findings also point to a darker side: nearly 50% of global
corporations participating in the survey do not have any LGBT Diversity & Inclusion managers; openly gay
men or lesbians are hard to find among the ranks of management (fewer than one out of ten include gay
men or lesbians in more than one of every sixteen countries they have a presence in); and, without regard to
the level of internal focus on LGBT inclusion, these multinational companies are not proudly trumpeting their
diversity programmes to the general public or the local LGBT communities through advertising or PR. In fact,
only a handful of companies support local LGBT communities either through financial or in-kind support.
Despite these negatives, Mr. Lépine is optimistic. "To have such confidence shown towards our community
makes me believe that there are still many good chapters to be written in the history of the international
LGBT business community. It is especially important in these difficult economic and political times to salute
all the participating corporations for their courage and example", he said in today’s presentation. "But," he
continued, "we must be realistic and say that, even if today we see promise, there is much more work to be
done. Far too often we see and hear of gay and lesbian professionals throughout the world that do not have
access to basic employee rights and benefits just because of their sexual orientation", added Mr. Lépine.
The Index is the product of an international committee that includes gays, lesbians and transgender
professionals living and working in eight different countries from Europe and North America. The International
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and its European Region (ILGA-Europe) have
played an instrumental role in the development of the program. "It is obvious that with the impact of
globalization the LGBT community has its eyes on what corporations are doing at the international level, not
just in one single country", said David Pollard, Chairman of the Index Committee.
"BT Group’s outstanding commitment, policies and investment in LGBT diversity merits them the title of the
most LGBT friendly corporation in the world. We challenge all multinationals to follow the example and
leadership shown by those who saw a chance to be ahead of the curve. The IGLCC is proud of this historic
moment and extends the invitation to all international corporations to participate in next year’s Index",
concluded Mr. Lépine.
To download a copy of the Index report, go to: www.iglcc.org/index2009
Homophobic and Transphobic Quotes
"If I did something wrong, he used to slap me and he even asked other employees to beat me. He often threatened
to kill me or my family and friends if I dared to leave my job or denounce him."
Honduran teenager Antonio on how his boss treated gays before he fled to Mexico (Reuters AlertNet 05-08-09)
“How could he say this about me? He lied from the beginning and he’s still lying now.”
Abu Aita, representative of Christian Fatah and the non-profit Holy Land Trust, on being portrayed as a
murderous terrorist by Sasha Baron Cohen in Bruno (Guardian 01-08-09)
“(officers were) touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that’s offensive.
"I’m happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that."
Dallas Police Chief uses the old panic defence chestnut to justify his force manhandling customers in a bar
(Bostonedge 05-08-09)
See You Next Month!
LGBT History Month Patrons:
Angela Eagle MP Work and Pensions, Cyril Nri, actor, director and writer,
Sir Ian McKellen, actor, Labi Siffre, poet, songwriter and singer.