Transforming toward a fully inclusive organisational culture:
Creating a sense of belonging for the LGBTIQ+ community by reflecting on mechanisms
of heteronormativity:
Initiated by IBM and Pride Biz Austria, the LGBTIQ+ Business Forum 2024 was supported by OMV as our host and partner.
We aimed at providing businesses with effective tools to ensure psychological safety – not only for the LGBTIQ+ community, but also for their allies, relatives and friends, as well as anyone who wants to work for an open-minded company that embraces diversity. Evidence has shown that innovation, retention and profitability all depend on the working culture and the level of inclusive leadership of a company or organisation.
This year’s Forum was moderated by Pirde Biz Austria President Lukas Burian and Vice-President Astrid G. Weinwurm-Wilhelm.
„Everyone should feel a sense of belonging at OMV!“
Daniela Vlad, Member of the Executive Board at OMV opened the 12th LGBTIQ+ Business Forum
Michael Czachs, Country Leader IBM Consulting Austria, asked the attendees to take their new insights from the Forum back to their own workplaces.
“The power of true belonging: unlocking employee potential through self-acceptance”
Our keynote speaker Erdem Köygülü, Global Manager at TÜV SÜD, delivered an emotional address about his personal journey towards self-acceptance and the responsibilities of an open-minded workplace.
Panel discussion:
Madeleine Bauer-Eder, Head of HR at IBM Austria, gave insights into moments, when she felt a sense of belonging at IBM, for example when about 70 people unexpectantly showed up to raise the company’s rainbow flag together this June.
„You can’t move forward without belonging“. Janine Broekhuizen, Head of Organizational Effectiveness at OMV shared her motivation for ensuring everyone feels like they belong.
Christina Röthlin, Diversity & Inclusion Lead at OMICRON talked about prevailing misconceptions about psychological safety and demonstrated, why it is crucial to allow for „mistakes“ to happen.
At the Reflecting Team Session, Brigitte Bichler, Janos Marko and Mihaela Iovu shared insights into OMV’s brave journey towards becoming more inclusive with regard for its LGBTIQ+ employees, and their own stories of making themselves seen at the workplace.
Reinhard Florey, CFO of OMV, sent a video message, stating that he is an ally for his company’s LGBTIQ+ employees.
The deep-dive session „What drives an ally“ was hosted by Marcus Pietrzak from OMV.
Christina Röthlin and Madeleine Bauer-Eder hosted the deep-dive session on „How to facilitate belonging?“.
Click here to download the outcome!
The third deep dive session was hosted by Philipp Maier from BakerMcKenzie and Christian Steinmetz from IBM. They shared their expertise on „How do legal frameworks shape the well-being of LGBTIQ+ employees?“
The 12th LGBTIQ+ Business Forum was a great success!
Photos: © Viktoria Morgenstern
12th LGBTIQ+ Business Forum 2024
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