Berry talks about her non-profit, what she loves about her work, and the future of Out & Equal.
Selisse Berry has a mission in life, and that mission is to bring LGBT equality to as many companies and organizations around the world as she possibly can. It may sound ambitious, but for Berry it’s just a part of her everyday gameplan. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Out & Equal, a reputable and innovative workplace advocacy organization that Berry started from scratch, many LGBT individuals across the United States are now successfully out of the closet and able to live and work authentically at their jobs.
Berry started Out & Equal 20 years ago, and since then nearly a billion people have been positively affected and influenced by the work, events and programs it has provided. Curve took some time to chat with Berry about her non-profit organization, what she loves most about the work she does, and where she sees Out & Equal heading in the future.
When did you start Out & Equal and what was the motivating factor behind it?
In 1996, I graduated from seminary school and wasn’t able to be ordained as a minister because I was a lesbian. I was eventually hired to lead an LGBT training program at the United Way, and realized that the program wasn’t going to be sustainable unless we expanded it out to businesses. I started organizing and bringing people together who were trying to get domestic partnership benefits for their companies. Initially, it was a small group of LGBT employees from Fortune 500 companies within the San Francisco area. Little by little it began to grow into Out & Equal, and I’ve been running it ever since.
What is the overall goal of Out & Equal?
The overall goal is to support the LGBT community in the workplace and help create a network of LGBT friendly employees and companies so that [LGBT] people never have to hide who they are and are able to be totally authentic at work. Then they can do their best and be comfortable because they are in a company or workplace that supports them, and allows them to be out and equal.
How has your own career path influenced how you run Out & Equal?
I always joke that I have a master’s in theology and a master’s in special education, which prepared me to lead a non-profit. In the beginning, it felt important to me to build a community. That has always been one of our goals—to make sure [LGBT] people do not feel alone at work. If people were brave enough to come out in the mid-to-late nineties, they were often the only ones out. So I felt it was important to bring people together from across different companies to get support and learn from each other.
What is Out & Equal’s Annual Workplace Summit and what can LGBT individuals expect when they attend?
The premise of the summit is to bring LGBT people together to experience a sense of community and pride. We have inspiring speakers, hundreds of workshops, and always make sure there is an entertainment part to acknowledge and celebrate LGBT arts. Our first summit was held in Atlanta and close to 200 people attended. It was wonderful and it has continued to grow. Last year’s summit drew about 7200 people from 35 different countries around the world. It’s come along way and a lot of people attend year after year because it offers an energizing factor and inspires them to continue the fight for equality in their workplace and in their lives. Often, Out & Equal is the first time that some of the attendees have come out. I’ve been told many times that it’s a life-changing experience for them to finally be able to be fully out. It’s a pretty amazing event.
What do you love most about what you do?
There are so many things I love about what I do, and the work we are doing for the LGBT community. I love the one-on-one conversations I have with people and learning how our events have been life-changing for them, and also recognizing how powerful the act of bringing people together, building community and peer-to-peer education can be a key foundation for changing the world. I have wonderful colleagues that I get to work with, and a fabulous board, and have recently been connecting with Embassy’s around the world to talk about LGBT workplace issues. I stay energized and motivated because of the consistent work that has been successful but also because of the new opportunities available on the east coast and the global work.
What is the future outlook for Out & Equal?
We’ll continue to do what we do well. But certainly the global aspect of our work is significant, and we are looking for both organic and strategic ways that we can expand our work globally. We bring together LGBT executives each year to talk about how they can continue to make changes within their own companies because they are decision makers and they have opportunities to have conversations with upper management folks that many other LGBT employees don’t have. We also have over 20 chapter affiliates around the country and we are looking to solidify those and make sure they feel connected to the mothership.
For more information about Out & Equal, visit outandequal.org