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We are happy to be part of the first Rainbow Day on July 13 at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main.
The Rainbow Day provides all interested parties with an exceptional opportunity to enter into discussions with companies in a pleasant atmosphere, to explore their own career opportunities and to learn how a modern company offers all employees a contemporary, appreciative working environment.
The booth discussions at the exhibition stands in the auditorium center, which go beyond the company booths, offer an opportunity for exchange. Many other partners of Rainbow Day are represented: University institutions, student associations, the press – diversity is important to all of them.
The supporting program with lectures and panels goes one step further in terms of content and is also of interest to all those who do not currently wish to embark on a (new) career path.
The visitors’ lounge offers space to linger and exchange ideas, and free drinks are available here.
More information about the event is available on the Rainbow Day website (German):
Informationen für Besucher*innen – RainbowDay
RECAP
We were pleased to welcome Maxi Pichlmeier as a guest at our PROUT PERFORMER Lunch Talk on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Click here for the recording of the conversation (German):
about Maxi:
![Foto_Maxi Pichlmeier_Lunch Talk](https://staging.proutatwork.de/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Foto_Maxi-Pichlmeier-240x240.jpg)
For those who don’t know Maxi, digital media are anything but foreign to him and he has a lot to say when it comes to queer life, politics and media. Because being queer is still political in 2023! Maxi Pichlmeier’s TikTok account is all about queer news, queer politics and the gay community, to which he himself belongs. In his videos he processes his own experiences and wants to bring news to young (queer) people.
![Aktionsplan Queer leben](https://staging.proutatwork.de/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/Fh2ToetXEAIJ13--1024x1024.png)
On November 18, the federal cabinet decided on the action plan “Queer Leben”, as scheduled in the coalition contract. Different plans for acceptance and protection of sexual and gender diversity were hilighted, and six topic points were solidified:
- Recognition by law
- Participations
- Security
- Health
- Strenghtening of the Communities
- International issues
Update March 22, 2023
On March 20, the Queer Representative of the Federal Government Sven Lehmann welcomed to the launch event of the Aktionsplan “Queer Leben” in Berlin. PROUT AT WORK, together with numerous organizations, belongs to the circle of those who bring the action plan to life.
The aim of the event was to launch the official implementation of the action plan. The more than 200 participants from various associations and organizations exchanged ideas and formed working groups, which in turn will discuss the concrete implementation of the action plan’s projects in the coming months.
Prior to the event, 78 civil society organizations were selected from more than 140 applications in order to bring as many different perspectives as possible to the working groups. We are very pleased that PROUT AT WORK is also one of the selected organizations and will be represented by our board member Albert Kehrer.
The launch event as well as the formation of working groups represent the first necessary steps towards the implementation of the action plan for a queer-friendly society and we are looking forward to placing important topics around LGBT*IQ in the workplace there in the future.
THE AKTIONsPLAN IN THE WORK CONTEXT
In addition to topics such as the Self-Determination Act, the reform of the Parentage Act, and blood donation, other issues important to the work context were also addressed under the heading of “participation”. These include the following measures:
- Expansion of the diversity topic pillar as part of the “New Quality of Work (INQA)” initiative of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS);
- Research projects on the situation/discrimination of LGBT*IQ in the world of work as well as improving the promotion of projects for acceptance;
- Development of a guideline for employers that includes the recommendations for action of two studies on the “Third Option” in a comprehensible way for use in everyday work;
- Sensitization of employers, trainers, employee representatives for the concerns of LGBT*IQ employees and applicants;
- Support for raising awareness of LGBT*IQ issues in in-company training;
- Establishment of a dialogue process (federal government, states, collective bargaining parties, church employers) on improving the working conditions of LGBTIQ* in institutions of churches and religious communities;
- Promotion of diversity management in the federal public service;
Additional measures in the area of federal administration:
- Development of an internal federal diversity strategy (incl. creation of further training opportunities, support for the establishment and networking of employee networks and a strategy for diversity-sensitive personnel selection procedures);
- Implementation of diversity issues (incl. LGBT*IQ/gender identity) in initial, further and advanced training (e.g. qualification measures by the Federal Ministry of Defense [BMVg] in civilian and military training and by the Federal Foreign Office in training in the Foreign Service); Regularly strengthening the educational and advisory competence of the social service in the Bundeswehr on the diversity issue; Conducting systematic baseline analyses on the situation of LGBT*IQ (e.g., with the help of employee surveys);
- Sensitization of employees to implicit prejudices and integration in competence requirements/competence models;
- Sensitization and, if necessary, training of employees involved in recruitment processes;
For more information about the plan “Queer Leben”, feel free to drop by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
PROUT AT WORK Welcomes the Action plan “Queer Leben”
“In addition to topics such as the overdue Self-Determination Act, the reform of the Parentage Act, and a reform of blood donation, the action plan also addressed other aspects that are important for the work context, which we very much welcome and which provide important impetus for our work.” Albert Kehrer, CEO of PROUT AT WORK.
![Porträt Albert Kehrer](https://staging.proutatwork.de/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/MicrosoftTeams-image-2-300x300.jpg)
For more information around trans* in the workplace, the third option, and other workplace related LGBT*IQ topics, we encourage you to check out our free HOW TO guides.
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Today is World Holocaust Memorial Day!
We commemorate the victims of National Socialism and its inhuman atrocities. In the deadly ideology of the Nazis there was no place for people who did not correspond to their image of man. They were consistently persecuted, imprisoned, deported to concentration camps and murdered en masse. The organized genocide of European Jews, the Shoah, and of Sintize and Romnja, the Porajmos, was a unique breach of civilization in history. The Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust is celebrated on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Among those persecuted under National Socialism were also queer people. They were also imprisoned by the Nazis and murdered in concentration camps. An estimated 78,000 gay and bisexual men were identified and 15,000 deported during the Nazi era. 53,000 were convicted between 1933 and 1945. Lesbian women were not granted sexual self-determination – they were persecuted and imprisoned as “asocials.” Trans* persons were persecuted under the same categories. The estimated number of LGBTIQ victims of the Nazi regime is high and many people do not know that homosexual and trans people were also murdered in the concentration camps.
This year, for the first time, the German Bundestag is focusing on queer victims of National Socialism during the hour of remembrance on January 27. As a foundation that advocates for LGBTIQ people in the workplace and their rights, we welcome this novelty. Especially because the struggle for rights and protections under the law for LGBTIQ people can be far from over.
For example, Paragraph 175, which legitimized the persecution and imprisonment of homosexual people in the Nazi regime, was adopted by the Federal Republic after the end of the war. In the FRG and the GDR, homosexuals continued to be persecuted on this basis for decades. Homosexuality has not been punishable in the reunified Federal Republic until 1994.
More information on the situation of queer people in the NS
Moving critical Masses
Let’s take action together to advance LGBT*IQ issues.
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PROUT EMPLOYER Hogan Lovells
“The diversity of our employees is important to me – not only because of my role as Managing Partner and Diversity Sponsor, but also personally. As a company, we function best when people feel comfortable with us and have trust in our working relationship.”
Dr. Stefan Schuppert advises companies in the field of data protection and information technology. He is Managing Partner for the German offices of the international law firm Hogan Lovells and also Sponsoring Partner for Diversity in EMEA. In 2021 and 2022, he was recognized as a PROUT Executive Ally.
Hogan Lovells has been a PROUT EMPLOYER since 2017 – so it has been committed to LGBT*IQ diversity for a long time. Why is this particularly important to you?
Dr. Stefan Schuppert: As a global law firm, we have been committed to equal opportunity, appreciation and respect for many years. The diversity of our employees is important to me – not only because of my role as Managing Partner and Diversity Sponsor, but also personally. As a company, we function best when people feel comfortable with us and have trust in our working relationship. In an open working atmosphere, we can be creative and find innovative solutions for our clients. And the work is fun! It’s a positive sign for all our employees when we commit to equal treatment for all people and an appreciative, respectful working atmosphere.
In 2022, Hogan Lovells’ LGBT*IQ network, Pride+, celebrates its 5th birthday. Congratulations! What do you see as the biggest success of the network so far?
Dr. Stefan Schuppert: Thank you! We are very proud that this network has been part of our everyday life for five years. Pride+ is present and active at all our locations and provides assistance even in countries where it is not so easy to promote LGBT*IQ issues. Pride+ promotes knowledge about the LGBT*IQ community, sensitizes people to diversity issues and supports the visibility of role models. And it connects us to one another – because as “allies” we demonstrate our solidarity with our LGBT*IQ colleagues.
What advice would you give to companies that are still at the very beginning of their commitment to LGBT*IQ diversity?
Dr. Stefan Schuppert: My advice would be: just do it and keep at it, even if the seats at the first diversity events are not booked out right away. It’s important to raise awareness of the issues. Because it’s often ignorance that leads to discrimination. This is where PROUT AT WORK, as an important partner, can help to overcome uncertainties and build up knowledge.
For the acceptance of the topic, it’s also important that the “tone from the top” is visible every day. My advice is to win over important role models in the senior management team for the topic.
Ultimately, it is crucial that all employees – regardless of hierarchy – are committed to the topic of diversity and help create an open and appreciative culture.
Where do you see the challenges to LGBT*IQ diversity at Hogan Lovells in the coming years?
Dr. Stefan Schuppert: Especially after the pandemic and in times of many very present crisis situations, it is important to sensitize employees again to LGBT*IQ and other diversity topics. Here we would like to create as many opportunities and incentives as possible. We offer exciting lunch talks with external and internal speakers, workshops, team events and much more. Because it is often ignorance that leads to insecurity, this is where we can provide our employees with concrete support. For example, with our guideline for gender-sensitive language, which we have been using for our general internal and external communications since the beginning of the year. We attach great importance to offering everyone in our office an open working environment in which they can be themselves, every day.
Which joint initiatives on LGBT*IQ diversity do you particularly remember, and which projects are you looking forward to in the coming period?
Dr. Stefan Schuppert: I remember many great joint initiatives that we have carried out with PROUT AT WORK in the past five years. For example, our inspiring networking and awareness workshops, or the ToGathering event on inclusive language with clients and the PROUT AT WORK dinner with very interesting keynote speakers. We can’t do enough to further the visibility of the LGBT*IQ community, so I’m looking forward to many more exciting projects in our cooperation.
Dear Dr. Stefan Schuppert, thank you very much for the interview!
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PROUT EMPLOYER ERGO
“I believe that in addition to the pure visibility that we achieve with pride networks, for example, other things are also important. We need to point out unconscious bias. We need gender inclusive language. ”
Markus Bader is 45 years old and lives with his partner in Hamburg. After studying business informatics, he joined Hamburg Mannheimer Versicherung, part of the ERGO Group, as IT coordinator in 2002. After 3 years he was able to take over a first management position as group leader in this area. In 2013 he had the opportunity to join a department manager position in ITERGO, the IT service provider of the ERGO Group. In 2018, he left IT with a step into business as division manager for Life Classic Operations.
As a leader at ERGO, what does it mean for you to advocate for more LGBT*IQ diversity and visibility?
Markus Bader: As a gay and outed executive, I think it’s important to advocate for more visibility and I’m glad that we’ve also had a pride network for a little over 2 years now and that I can get involved there. We know that there are still many LGBT*IQ people who decide against coming out in a professional context because they fear disadvantages. We need role models who make it clear that your choice of job and your career goals are not dependent on your sexual orientation.
What experiences in your career so far have shaped you in terms of LGBT*IQ?
Markus Bader: In fact, in the first (un-outed) years of my career, I had the experience that derogatory remarks were made about outed colleagues regarding their sexual orientation. Not always and often, but it happened. That definitely shaped me for the years to come. I didn’t feel ready to expose myself to that at the time. The confidence to come out to colleagues didn’t develop until a few years later. However, I never experienced rejection or disadvantages and to this day I am happy and grateful that I can be open with my sexuality with my employer. I was therefore all the more pleased that, in addition to the many other diversity issues, the topic of LGBT*IQ has also become an institution at ERGO with the Pride network.
You are committed to LGBT*IQ diversity at ERGO, to what extent do you receive support from your colleagues?
Markus Bader:
From my immediate colleagues, I feel the normality and matter-of-factness that my life model is met with is actually the strongest support. Today, I never have the feeling that someone avoids asking me how my summer vacation with my partner was, for example, just to avoid bringing up the subject. On the contrary – I experience just as much interest in my life and partnership as I do with others.
pride@ergo was founded by committed colleagues.
The Diversity Management Team has provided support from network building to the present day, and the godmother of our network is our Chief Human Resources Officer. This is an important contribution on the part of the employer and also shows me that the topic is important and is seen.
You were part of the PROUT Executives list in 2021 and 2022, congratulations again! What did that mean for you and how did you perceive the reactions?
Markus Bader: I was very happy about the positions on the Prout Executives list. For me personally, it was also an exciting process – I’m not very active on my social media channels, or rather a consumer than a creator. Sharing the list position on LinkedIn, among other places, was another new experience for me – and I received positive feedback without exception afterwards – from previously unknown people, from people I had lost sight of, but also from my immediate environment.
What specific actions for more LGBT*IQ diversity are you concerned about right now?
Markus Bader: I believe that in addition to the pure visibility that we achieve with pride networks, for example, other things are also important. We need to point out unconscious bias. We need gender-inclusive language. We have already revised the language and image of our brand presence at ERGO. This will certainly not happen overnight, but we have made a start, and ERGO must continue to develop.
Dear Markus Bader, thank you very much for the interview!
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Update from the 16. of March 2023: On March 16, the Bundestag decided to end the existing discrimination in blood donation. As a result of the amendment to the Transfusion Act, the German Medical Association is now required to issue new guidelines for blood donation.
Specifically, the resolution states, “The assessment of a risk due to sexual behavior that leads to exclusion or deferral from donation must be based on the individual sexual behavior of the person willing to donate. The sexual orientation and gender identity of the person willing to donate or the sexual partners of the person willing to donate shall not be considered in the evaluation of the risk leading to exclusion or deferral from donation.”
Update on blood donation: According to current reports, a further step against discrimination against gay and bisexual men and trans* people will be taken from April 1, 2023 and a provision from the current coalition agreement will be fulfilled. Currently, there is a four-month provision period for “people with sexual risk behavior.”
The new regulation would require the Federal Medical Association by law to work with the Paul Ehrlich Institute within four months to adjust the guidelines to eliminate the four-month deferral period for gay and bisexual men and trans* people due to sexual contact with more than one person. Karl Lauterbach, the Federal Minister of Health, said: “Blood donation is a matter of risk behavior, not sexual orientation. There must be no hidden discrimination on this issue either.” With this, Lauterbach makes it clear that the deferral from blood donation is an outdated, discriminatory concept and that the risk behavior (in this case frequently changing sexual partners*) of all people should be valued equally.
But what is it actually about? Read more about the topic on our website.
Moving critical Masses
Let’s take action together to advance LGBT*IQ issues.
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International Human Rights Day is a commemorative day that takes place annually on December 10 and will reach its 75th anniversary next year. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly agreed on a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed by 48 countries.
After the end of the Nazi regime and the horrors of World War II, the aim was to create a comprehensive basis for a worldwide understanding in which all people are equal.
The International Declaration of Human Rights in one click (German):
At the heart of this declaration is the universal validity of fundamental rights that every human being has from birth and that are independent of origin, gender, religion, worldview, culture or other affiliations.
The principles laid down include, for example, the right to life, liberty and security, a ban on slavery and torture, freedom of thought, belief and expression, the right to education, work, health and many others, such as the right to citizenship and political participation.
For the first time in history, rights were formulated that should apply equally to every human being. Nevertheless, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not binding under international law. It is true that many states (such as the Federal Republic of Germany) have decided to base their constitutions on human rights and thus make them legally binding in part. However, there is no globally valid obligation, e.g. even beyond the United Nations, to observe human rights, nor are there any bodies that could guarantee enforcement.
Especially against this background, the International Human Rights Day is an important moment to remind that these universal rights are far from being universally enforced. Human rights are perhaps the most important yardstick and basis for creating a democratic world in which all people are equal before the state, the law and their fellow human beings. Therefore, we as a foundation also make it clear that our issue, equal opportunities for LGBT*IQ in the (working) world, must be understood as an issue of human rights and human dignity. We join this year’s slogan of the International Human Rights Day and stand up for
„Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All“!
You can find information on this year’s slogan and International Human Rights Day at United Nations:
Moving critical Masses
Let’s take action together to advance LGBT*IQ issues.
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October 19 is International Pronouns Day!
Individual Pronouns are strongly interlaced with the identity and selfgovernment of LGBT*IQ-people. Especially people, who do not strictly experience their gender in a binary sense of male/female, but may identify as genderfluid or nonbinary, use pronouns to express their gender, as not to be judged by their looks, or be misgendered.
In some cases, neopronouns are preferred (for example dey/dem), in other cases no pronouns are used at all, instead their name is used.
Pronouns can help get rid of biases about a persons gender, and they create diversity in the community.
Many people in the LGBT*IQ-Community use them to take a stand against solely binary understanding of gender, and to feel safe and happy with their own identity.
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Ace Week (formerly known as Asexual Awareness Week) is celebrated on the last week of October every year since it was founded in 2010. This year it falls on the week of the 24-30. of October. It exists to make asexuality visible and to give asexual people the possibility to air their experiences.
The word “asexual” is derived from the latin prefix “a” or “ab”, meaning “none” or “without”, and hints at very little or no sexual attraction to others and/or themselves.
Asexuality is not connected to the celibate. that means asexual people don´t actively decide not to have sex due to religious or other reasons. despite being asexual, asexual people can still have sex due veried reasons.
This fact differenciates asexuality from antisexuality, where even the idea of sexual acts is rejected. additionally, asexuality doesnt relate to repressed sexuality or fear. Ace people simply dont feel a desire towards sex. Estimates put around 1% of humanity in the asexuality spectrum.
The symbolism behind the Asexuality flag:
• Black stands for asexuality
• Greysymbolizes the asexual spectrum
• white represents sexuality
• purple stands for community
The symbolism behind the Aromantic flag:
• Dark and light green represent the aromantic spectrum
• white symbolizes platonic relationships
• Grey and black stand for the asexual spectrum