Sessions

Session I

Expanding Allyship & Understanding through Gamified Experience
At their core, ILDC events are created with the goal of offering personal and professional growth to our members, and one of the most effective ways to do this is through interaction with those around you. This session hosted by EX3 Labs will provide the opportunity to have deeper discussions surrounding the LGBTQ+ community and learn alongside your co-attendees about how to improve your allyship through gamified interaction. The ILDC is diligent in fostering an open and understanding community, and this experience is a hands-on opportunity to expand your horizons. Come to this session ready to learn, open up your heart and mind, and leave this hour feeling a more profound and personalized understanding of how to stand up for and offer support to the LGBTQ+ community.

Session II

Intersectionality: Understanding Race, Privilege & Identity
Intersectionality as a concept has been rapidly adopted in recent years as a tool for leveraging more equitable outcomes in corporations. This panel will explore the concept of intersectionality in greater depth and explore how an analysis of race, class and other formulations of difference are important to understanding intra-group complexities in the LGBTQ+ community. Understanding and celebrating differences is key to creating a more equitable workplace, and this panel is designed to push the boundaries of your current knowledge on what it means to be a part of and support this vast community. You will leave this session with deeper compassion and admiration for our differences and similarities, and how this can be leveraged to make you a more effective leader.

Session III

LGBTQ+: Our Identity, Our Voices, & Our Stories
This roundtable will give participants an opportunity to connect theoretical concepts to lived experience. We will hear experiences from panelists occupying distinct spheres in the LGBTQ+ community to consider the benefits and challenges of navigating corporate culture and success. The goal with this personal deep dive is to help our attendees understand the similarities and differences people in the LGBTQ+ community face, and how this can have significant impact on their workplace experiences. This panel will be particularly impactful as each of our speakers will give life to their stories of turning adversity into strength. Our speakers will also provide their best-of and worst-of highlights from their own professional experiences, offering you another resource to apply to your current workforce practices.

Session IV

Corporate Responsibility to the LGBTQ+ Workforce
This subject matter expert lead session will provide a how-to guide to expand and improve your company’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community within the workplace. This will include a dive into regulatory changes that have occurred in recent years at the federal and state levels, best practices as they relate to constructing a welcoming and inclusive environment, and solutions to common problems that may arise regarding these topics. Expect to walk away with actionable items that can be implemented in the short and long term, and a better understanding of how to bridge and move forward with cultural, policy, and leadership efforts.