Open for Business

Four regional programmes spanning sixteen countries. Five new research publications. One new coalition member (welcome BlackRock!). These are just some of the highlights from the past year of Open For Business’ efforts to advance LGBTQ+ equality around the world using the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Today as we launch our latest Impact Report on #IDAHOBIT2024, we reflect on both the challenges and successes of the past year and continue to activate business everywhere as a driving force for LGBTQ+ equality globally: https://lnkd.in/eJ4wJJnb

Happy #TrusteesWeek! The Board of Trustees here at Open for Business go above and beyond in lending us their time and their expertise to ensure our work is as impactful as possible. We're incredibly lucky that our founder, Jon Miller, now chairs this excellent group of people and still provides hands-on support with the production of our reports and other key content. Our Vice Chair, Lori Dobeus, is also a pivotal part of Open for Business' success, lending her talents to our finance and operations work. This has extended to helping our Chief Executive, Dominic Arnall, in developing robust structures and processes to support our growth. In addition to Jon and Lori's unwavering support and skills, we're incredibly privileged to have Ken Chan, Netanya Clixby, Robert Glick OBE, Dinah McLeod, Liam Rezende, Ken Janssens, Danni Davies and Gurchaten Sandhu on our board, as well as our wonderful board advisor Fabrice C Houdart. If you're interested in becoming a Trustee, and feel passionately about the business case for inclusion, we are currently recruiting! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ejWbjf2g

  Last week we were delighted to be joined by some of our wonderful partners at Open for Business’ Coalition Forum, kindly hosted by BlackRock in London.   Our Open for Business Coalition Forum brings together our Coalition of 38 global businesses, who partner with Open for Business to make the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion around the world, and to use the power of data and research to advance LGBTQ+ equality in challenging geographies.   At this year’s Coalition Forum in London, we were delighted to be able to share the findings from our latest reports for Hungary and Serbia, the result of a year-long programme of research that has been made possible thanks to BlackRock. We were also delighted to preview our new and exciting City Ratings platform, which has been powered with incredible support from Accenture.   Huge thanks to our brilliant speakers, including Roberto Speranza, Martin Parkes, Matthew Bennett and Open for Business’ own Liz Jacobs, Fernando Alonso Pérez-Chao and Dominic Arnall, panellists Amarildo Fecanji, Zsuzsanna Garaj, Petar Blagojevic and Dániel Waliduda and moderator and Open for Business Trustee Netanya Clixby. 

We’re hiring! Open for Business is seeking an experienced Finance and Operations Manager to join our growing team. This role will lead and strengthen our financial and operational functions, and is critical in ensuring that Open for Business adheres to best practices in financial management and reporting, including compliance with the Charity SORP. Deadline for applications is 22 November. For more information on the role, see below.

Open for Business and the World Bank estimate that diminished public health outcomes in the LGBTQ+ community and workplace exclusion of LGBTQ+ people can cost Serbia more than RSD 47 billion (USD 443 million) per year.   Last week, we launched our Economic Case for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Serbia, at a wonderful event at Dorćol Platz and in collaboration with BlackRock, whose grant helped power this report.   We were thrilled to welcome Martin Parkes, Managing Director, BlackRock, Paris, who shared personal reflections and a superb keynote speech, as well as our CEO Dominic Arnall, who highlighted key findings from this report. The second part of this event comprised a panel, moderated by Open for Business Director of Communications, Matt Horwood with panellists:   Jelena Kotević, Head of the Department for Cooperation and European Integration, Commissioner for Protection of Equality of the Republic of Serbia; Petar Blagojevic, Associate, BlackRock; Emina Mujkanovic, Head of Public Affairs for South Eastern Europe, IKEA; Aleksa Santic, Executive Director, Come Out; and Jelena Vasiljevic, Executive Director, Rainbow Ignite   The panel explored how the economic case can help drive the brilliant work already being undertaken in Serbia by the business community and civil society. We would like to thank our panellists for such a considered and productive conversation, as well as all attendees for their participation, and our excellent compere for the day, our Project Manager Amarildo Fecanji!   Key findings from the report include:   - Skilled workers in Serbia are leaving to work in more open societies. Serbia faces a brain drain crisis. World Bank-LinkedIn data analyses shows that Serbian workers are leaving to work in more open countries. - Public health outcomes are worse for the LGBTQ+ community and have a cost to Serbian society. Minority stress, a pervasive anti-LGBTQ+ environment, and concerns about safety while living openly, fuel higher levels of discrimination and HIV in the LGBTQ+ community. The situation is associated with costs due to disability and lost wages. - Serbia’s reputation as a non-inclusive society for LGBTQ+ people impacts its ability to attract talent, companies and investment. Data and news about the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies are creating a less than welcoming environment for growth. - LGBTQ+ friendly companies outperform their rivals. Data from open for Business’ global research and interviews with local companies demonstrate there is a diversity dividend.   To read the full report, visit https://lnkd.in/eEf-HbBs

Last week, our Campaign Lead for Poland, Łukasz Antkiewicz, took part in one of the most important economic conferences in Poland - EFNI in Sopot, where he spoke about the costs of discrimination against LGBTQ+ in the country and the competitive edge achieved by inclusive companies. According to our Economic Case report, discrimination against LGBTQ+ people costs the Polish economy up to PLN 9.5 billion each year and contributes to the deepening of the so-called "brain drain".    As Open For Business, with the support of Google and PwC Polska, we are currently preparing a new report containing updated data on the impact of discrimination on the Polish economy. Stay tuned!     We would like to thank the organizers of EFNI for the invitation (Konfederacja Lewiatan), and Krzysztof Kiryczuk for moderating the session.   #lgbtq #lgbtqnews 

Last week, our Campaign Lead in Poland Łukasz Antkiewicz attended the residence of the US Ambassador in Warsaw and met with US Ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, and Jessica Stern, the Special Envoy to Advance the Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons. We discussed Open for Business' research in Poland, namely the loss suffered annually to the Polish economy due to LGBTQ+ discrimination. Łukasz was able to highlight too the work being done as part of our local program in Poland, and foster relations with the diplomatic community. A huge thank you the US Embassy in Warsaw for having us and all the other participants of the meeting for a great discussion!

In addition to our recent research launches, we’ve had the privilege of participating in numerous events and forums over the last month, centring dialogue and learning around diversity in the business environment. This includes ‘Empowering and Promoting SMEs: LGBTQ+ Business Forum 2024’, which we were part of in September, co-organized by REDI.LGBTI, Google and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).   Our Director of Global Engagement, Fernando Alonso Pérez-Chao joined Erasmo E. Sánchez Herrera to discuss the global impact of supplier diversity and data on the economic contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. This accompanied a session from Miguel A. Castro, Sr. Director, Global D&I Leader of SAP and Honorary Associate of REDI; Astrid Sosa Erfurt, CEO of Talentum Evolution and Lucia Molinari, on intersectional glass ceilings, as well as an inclusive marketing workshop from Juan Sebastian Muñoz and #IAmRemarkable from Lorena Muñoz Cuadrado and Pilar Sanchez Macías, both offered by Google. The event was closed by the brilliant Eva Perez Nanclares, CEO of S&P Legal, Retales Comunicación and member of the Board of Directors of REDI and Beñat Galdós, CEO of Galde and member of the Core Team of the 'SME Chapter' of REDI.   You can learn more about the event here: https://lnkd.in/dSVreH6q

Great to see Bloomberg News spotlight our (Open for Business) Uganda briefing this week, across broadcast, multiple websites and to a combined Twitter/X following of over 12M on each of its major channels. LGBTQ+ inclusion is not just the right thing to do, but it can pay dividends for businesses and economies alike. Open for Business' research found that in the twelve months since introducing its draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act, Uganda's economy has taken a $1.6 billion USD hit, and this is set to grow to up to $8.3 billion USD over five years. WATCH HERE:

Our Board of Trustees is currently recruiting! We're looking for both a Trustee and Chair of the People and Operations Committee, as well as a Trustee with experience in either finance, charity governance/law or fundraising to join our board. Deadline for applications is 30 October. For more information, see: https://lnkd.in/f8JUar4