Inclusiveness and “bringing your whole self to work” were being pitched in the Westin Hotel on Tuesday evening as some of Ireland’s biggest companies and firms came together at Trinity’s first Queer Careers Networking Event. Hosted in collaboration with Law Soc, this was opportunity to hear people speak about their personal experiences in the workplace as individuals from the LGBT+ community. The event was held as part of Trinity’s ongoing campaign for Rainbow Week, and included representatives from Accenture, Eversheds, Ulster Bank, Ernst and Young, and Arthur Cox, to name but a few. It made for an incredibly engaging evening that proved highly informative, offering the perfect environment for friendly and relaxed networking.
Speakers from some of Ireland’s leading corporations talked about their own experience of being out in their workplace, and how their employers provided an inclusive environment for all of their employees. On the the camaraderie of LGBTQIA+ communities in their work, most had well-established queer networks such as Google’s Gayglers, PWC’s GLEE (Gay Lesbian and Everyone Else), Amazon’s Glamazon Community and Trinity’s own LGBT Staff Network.
Most mentioned how the Marriage Referendum brought about an attitude of acceptance and brought LGBT issues to the forefront. Many even told of how their firms and companies actively sought to help fight for equality, doing everything from marching during Pride to sponsoring Dublin’s leading lesbian hockey team. An emphasis was placed on being able to be yourself everyday and many of the speakers also outlined the benefits of taking some time out after college before jumping straight into the corporate life.
After the series of talks was over, everyone was invited next door to a very generous reception that allowed everyone to mingle in an environment that was relaxed and casual, making it easy to ask questions but also gave a very human face to large companies that can often have highly intimidating reputations.
Overall, the event was a roaring success; well-attended and yet it benefited from being intimate enough that people were able to speak to one another properly, enabling them to ask any and all questions that they wanted to answered.
