The
Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is proud to announce
that Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the leading North American
workplace equality advocacy organization, is partnering with The 2nd
International Expo & Business LGBT event.
This
expo will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun from September 6 –
9 and focuses on the immense growth potential of various industry
segments in gay markets across the Latin American region.
During
this year’s expo, a new LGBT 2020 Study will be released, showing
that real issues surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity
and characteristics in the workplace exist in all countries in Latin
America, including Mexico.
The
LGBT2020 Study is a global research project devised and implemented
by Out Now Global - the world's leading specialist LGBT consulting
agency. Since 2009, the project has been collecting data from
countries around the world, to compare LGBT people's lives; asking
the same set of questions in more than a dozen languages. Almost
100,000 people have now participated in more than 20 countries.
"Out
& Equal is pleased to be participating in this event," said
Selisse Berry, Founding Executive Director of Out & Equal. "Our
work started in the United States and has expanded globally in recent
years. We recently hosted the Out & Equal LGBT Global Workplace
Summit in London with constituents from 28 countries. LGBT employees
everywhere face complex and diverse issues that relate to their
sexual orientation and gender identity. Something as basic as an
invitation to a work function takes on a whole different hue if a
person is not out about their sexual orientation with everyone they
work with. This can cause real issues, and we see workplace equality
as an area where there is still much to be done in Mexico, and across
Latin America. Participating in this event is an important step for
us, and we are looking forward to sharing our experience with the
delegates attending the conference."
For
13 years, Out & Equal has been at the forefront of recognizing
the workplace rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
people and working with corporations to bring about real improvements
in the workplace as a result.
Full
LGBT2020 data results for Mexico and other key Latin American
markets, including Argentina and Brazil, are to be released by Out
Now at the event.
"There
are millions of LGBT people living in Latin America, and most of them
have experienced harassment or other difficulties related to their
sexual orientation in some form or other during this year,"
Cooper said. "For example our latest research shows that only
26% of people in Mexico feel comfortable coming out to everyone they
know at work. To conceal such an important aspect of oneself from
work colleagues wastes a large amount of time and effort, and tends
to risk marginalizing LGBT people to the detriment of workplace
teams. It is far better when workplaces offer respect and acceptance
for LGBT colleagues so that all workers can be themselves and
function to their maximum effectiveness as a team."
Cancun
hosts a variety of events and expositions throughout 2012 that focus
on diverse audiences and interests. The Cancun-Riviera Maya Food
Festival, which celebrated culinary talent in the Americas, was a
complete hit this February. Other festivals held this past year were
The Oasis Country Music Festival, a tribute to country music at Oasis
Cancun Resort and the Diving Emergency Symposium, a training program
for underwater emergencies, at Krystal Hotel Cancun.