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I attended the Out and Equal Conference in Washington DC late September 2007.  Apart from enjoying the warmth of autumn in Washington the conference was fun, inspiring and educational.
2,391 people from 349 companies and 20 countries gathered to talk about workplace issues relating to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) employees.   Attendees came from a range of organisations – many of which are household names – Johnson & Johnson, Gap, Disney, Ernst & Young to name but a few.  Key note speakers included John Amaechi, the first out NBA player, originally from Manchester and Brian Graden, President of Entertainment at MTV.

I personally furthered my knowledge in setting up and running LGBT employee networks, in ensuring that they are business focused and how to engage not just GWM (gay white men!).  I also qualified to run a workshop on LGBT issues and of course made loads of fantastic contacts.

Arising from this I pulled together these thoughts on the role of diversity networks within organisations.

©Jean Balfour 2007

For  more information and to listen to presentations from this year’s conference visit www.outandequal.org.

If you would like to know more about Jean’s leadership development work you can read more by clicking on the following link.