On 29 March 2023 the National LGBT rights organization LGL organized the first-ever in-person conference in Lithuania specially designated to the topic of LGBTI inclusion in the workplace, “Direction: Employment. Strengthening LGBTQ Workplace Inclusion”.
The event explored topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), its recent trends, challenges, and good practices, as well as the importance of openness in the workplace. It highlighted how inclusion creates benefits in terms of attracting talent and its retention, better bottom lines, overall performance, and contributing to the work culture and trust between companies and their stakeholders.
The conference was moderated by Andrius Francas, Partner of Alliance for Recruitment, Board Member of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce. Welcoming speeches were given by Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania, Robert S. Gilchrist, H.E. Ambassador of the United States of America to Lithuania and Richard Martin-Nielsen, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of Canada to Lithuania.
The event’s keynotes and discussions explored the importance of an open and safe work environment for LGBTI employees, implementing a trust-based culture and promoting diversity and human rights equality in modern business strategies and models.
During the conference, representatives of Moody’s Corporation, Western Union, and Strategic Staffing Solutions delivered presentations. In the first part of the event, a discussion on the promotion of an inclusive workplace “Open at Work” took place. Representatives of “Bitė Lietuva”, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and Accenture Baltics participated in the discussion.
In the second part, representatives of the LGBTI community were invited to learn about career opportunities in the LGBTI friendly IT sector.
© Augustas Didžgalvis photos
The recording of the broadcast can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/kbJMeu5xTr0?feature=share
The conference was a part of the project “Direction Employment”, which created an opportunity for NEET youth of vulnerable/ underrepresented backgrounds to explore their potential in IT. The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment. Norway, Island and Liechtenstein, with the purpose to reduce social and economic disparities in the European Economic Area, created EEA and Norway financial mechanisms. The project is implemented by Bulgarian Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (Bulgaria), National LGBT rights organization LGL (Lithuania), DMC Metrix (Ireland), Lai-momo Cooperative Society (Italy), P.PORTO (Portugal), Ljudska univerza Velenje (Slovenia).
