Coming Out At Work

Yesterday I dialed into a teleconference that was sponsored by my company on the issue of Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces. I wasn't sure what would come of it, and really nothing did - at first. It involved people from several organizations, not just mine, and talked pretty generally about issues facing LBGT people in the work place, and ways to improve their situation.

One of the things that was discussed was having 'diversity councils' and 'employee resource groups'. As far as I'm aware, if these things exist here in my company they aren't specifically set up to support LGBT folks.

Apparently someone else on the call approached HR about setting up an LGBT Employee Resource Group, and the people that ran the call then sent a note today asking any other people that dialed in from my company to conact this HR person if they were interested in helping.

And I did. :eek: Here's what I wrote:

While writing this post, she has already responded:

So that's me 'out' at work - to one person. If I choose to get involved in this in a visible way, that could change over time to where I'm 'out' to hundreds of people! (Actually - thousands of people - it's a big place! )

I can't imagine being where I am today without EC. And in turn, hearing the stories and struggles of people here in EC inspires me to stay invovled and to move 'the cause' forward in ways that are right for me. This could very well be one of those ways.

Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement! (&&&)

 

Re: *gulp!*

This is actually going to happen next month! I've already confirmed my attendance. Here was the invitation:

I'm really looking forward to it. I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

Re: *gulp!*

I'm overdue in providing an update...

(Note - I also changed the title so it was a little more self explanatory. Benefits of being a mod...)

I attended the first LGBT Employee Resource Group meeting back on the 27th of November. Unfortunately there were only 9 people that showed up, but that's better than nothing. It was great - in that we actually got to talk to one another and introduce ourselves and hear a little bit of everyone's story, and why they'd like to participate in such a group. I was the most senior person there, which was kind of cool. I'm hoping that I can play a bit of a leadership role.

There was someone there from 'Toronto Pride' who is friends with the employee that organized the evening. There was someone there from HR who is responsible for 'diversity'. And there were also 4 people there from IBM Canada, and they shared with us the kind of things they do in their LGBT employee group.

It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to the next one. I'm hoping this takes off.

At the same time, I've started to come out to my coworkers. I've come out to the 3 people that report to me directly, one of my peers, and my immediate supervisor. All of them have been somewhat surprised but have taken it well and been very supportive.

So things are going really well. I just thought I'd let you all know!