Hello my people! Today, October 11, marks International Coming Out Day and we are going to celebrate it with amazing news!
Origin
The date was implemented by Robert Eichberg and Jean O'Lear, remembering that October 11, 1988, was the celebration of the Second March for Gay and Lesbian Rights (Washington DC, USA), to ask for equal rights for all people without discrimination.
The phrase “Coming out of the closet” refers to the voluntary and public action of a person to express their non-heterosexual sexual orientation, and comes from the Anglo-Saxon expression “to have a skeleton in the closet”, which used to mean “to have something embarrassing that you don't want to make public”.
Advantages of Coming Out in companies
Being able to live our AUTHENTICITY in our workplace has important benefits for people that can quickly translate into competitive advantages for organizations.
1. Live an honest and full life.
2. Develop closer and more genuine relationships
3. Improve self-esteem because they know us and love us for who we are
4. Reduce stress due to hiding our identity. (Mental health)
5. Increases people's productivity, since we focus on work and not on hiding our orientation or identity.
6. Meet other people from a dynamic and proud community (belonging )
7. Help dispel myths and stereotypes
8. Become role models for other people (visibility)
9. Help more young people make the adaptation process easier for them
10. Empower us to become agents of social change
Today in companies…
Only approximately 40% of people in the LBGTQ+ community are completely out of the closet in their jobs, since many of us are still afraid of rejection, rumors and being cut off job opportunities[1]. This is justified by surveys that indicate that 37% of people in our community have suffered situations of harassment or discrimination in the workplace, and only very few people dared (or were able) to make complaints. [2]
A McKinsey study reveals that people who are openly LGBTQ+ repeatedly have to come out[3], since their colleagues and other people assume that they are heterosexual or do not pay attention to their pronouns. A clear example is when people ask me “and what does your wife do? Imagine their faces when I tell them that my wife's name is Erick.
And then?
There is still a lot of work ahead to build inclusive organizations, and that is why the adventure of my book ComeOut! doesn't stop. Today marks 3 years since the first edition in Spanish came out, and the journey has been incredible. I learn every day from you by being able to bring the message to companies, radio, television, organizations and more.
Then came the Portuguese edition, which allowed me to extend the message to the rest of Latin America and Portugal, and continue forging friendships in Brazil.
And today with great pride and excitement I tell you that the English edition is now available “Come Out! The ultimate guide for inclusivity in the business” in order to expand the barriers and take the message to the rest of the USA and more companies in the world.
For this month, the paperback book will be on sale for $9.99! And its digital epub version will arrive soon. You can get it at this link: https://bit.ly/ComeOutEng
Thank you for being part of this story! 🚪🌈
Let's continue building together a society in which it will be no longer necessary for us to come out of the closet, but where we can live free, equal and proud.
[1] https://mpatika.com/ 'LGBT Diversity in the work context in Spain'[2] Latin American Survey on Sexual Diversity, Harassment, Violence and Discrimination in the Workplace. NODES Consulting. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jzpFtPGhYJNr8b6xOTqJmlPYsL6pLPzU/view[3] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/lgbtq-plus-voices-learning-from-lived-experiences#/
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