Global Town Hall with Todd Sears

Over the last few weeks, Todd has spoken to many CEOs and leaders from around the world, and on January 29th, he shared his thoughts and ideas from those chats (and the last 25 years of doing this work) with a broader audience, through Out Leadership’s first-ever, open Out Leadership Global Town Hall.  He also invited a couple rockstar friends to join him. Watch below.

Please feel free to share with your network.

Out Leadership Global Town Hall. 12pm EST Wednesday January 29th

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Out Leadership Resources:

• Out to Succeed 2.0 
  • We’ve been publishing LGBTQ+ talent research for 13 years. Our latest, most significant study, launched in 2024, Out to Succeed 2.0 is the largest-ever global survey of the LGBTQ+ workforce conducted by Out Leadership, in partnership with Out for Undergrad, to analyze the full potential of LGBTQ+ talent.
• AllyUP™
  • We’ve known for years from our research that allyship is the number one reason that LGBTQ and all people in the workplace feel comfortable. We did the first global research on this 5 years ago with AllyUp™, a guide that helps organizations build LGBTQ+ allyship at every level, demonstrating the positive impact of leadership support and inclusive practices on both workplace culture and business success. There are versions for US, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
• Out Quorum – LGBTQ+ Board Diversity 2024: Shaping the Future of Business
  • When Out Leadership started the board conversation almost 9 years ago, only 4% of companies were inclusive – now 51% of the NASDAQ is. As I said, companies aren’t going to be undoing these policies – how can we help them do more? Here is Out Leadership’s 4th annual OutQUORUM LGBTQ+ Board Diversity Report, sponsored by Egon Zehnder and KPMG, tracks the progress of LGBTQ+ inclusion on corporate boards globally, advocating for greater diversity and providing resources to support this goal. We’ve also published board diversity guidelines for the US, UK, Australia, and Hong Kong.
• A Business Leader’s Guide to trans Equality in the US
  • Out Leadership has a long history of supporting and advocating for the Trans community, from the 2018 Business Statement for Transgender Equality, to publishing our latest Trans Business Guide in May 2024 (a practical guide for business leaders around the issue of Trans equality in the US), and holding the fist ever Trans Leadership summit in New York in 2024.
• Guidelines for Corporate Engagement
  • Nine years ago, we published the Guidelines for Corporate Engagement, which provide a set of practical guidelines to help companies navigate the landscape for when and how to engage on LGBTQ+ issues, with input from 30 companies who shared their internal decision-making frameworks. These guidelines remain relevant today and we will be refreshing them in 2025.  

Other Resources:

• Lambda Legal
  • Lambda Legal has been on the front lines of the fight for LGBTQ+ equality for 50 years, literally fighting every form of LGBTQ+ discrimination in every court,  often in the Supreme Court of the United States. Their work is more important now than ever. Please consider donating to help them with this essential work.
• Martin Davidson: Leveraging Difference
  • “In plain English, Martin Davidson explains how diversity can make a company more efficient and innovative, which leads to greater profits.” —Reginald Hudlin, producer/director and former President, Black Entertainment Television, Inc.
• Kenji Yoshino: Say the Right Thing
  • Longtime Out Leadership friend, supporter, partner, and amazing legal scholar, Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor at NYU, along with David Glasgow, published Say The Right Thing, a how-to for addressing identity, diversity, and justice. Kenji, in collaboration with the Meltzer Center, has also released a comprehensive guide to the DEI executive orders issued by the Trump administration this week. This resource also outlines key implications for private employers. It’s a must-read for staying informed on these developments and ensuring you and your team are well-prepared for the evolving landscape.
• Martin Davidson – The End of Diversity As We Know It: Why Diversity Efforts Fail and How Leveraging Difference Can Succeed 
  • The brilliant Martin Davidson is someone I have known and worked with for 18 years. Published 14 years ago, Leveraging Difference explains how diversity can make a company more efficient and innovative, which leads to greater profits. This has helped so many companies and leaders think about difference in the right way and is incredibly helpful when we’re thinking about reframing language in regard to inclusion.
• Malcolm Gladwell: Blink
  • To the point of meritocracy – yes, we’re all for meritocracy, but unfortunately, there are structural issues and human blind spots—implicit biases, or however you want to frame it. Humans react in certain ways, and we have to be able to remove the structural biases that exist within corporations. Gladwell does a brilliant job of explaining human nature in terms of what companies have been trying to address, especially with inclusion efforts and trying to remove these blind spots. I’ve given this book to countless CEOs, as well as Kenji and Martin’s books, and I think these are all fantastic reads that add context to what’s going on today.

Speakers