This past Saturday, the 2008 HRC Greater New York Gala was held at the Hilton New York.
A big congratulations to our client Ernst & Young, who received the Corporate Equality Award for their work for GLBT inclusiveness not only within E&Y’s walls through employee group bEYond, but for bringing the message to corporate America as a whole.
In a call to action for others in corporate America, Americas Area Managing Partner and Inclusiveness Executive Sponsor Steve Howe of Ernst & Young, was quoted during his acceptance speech as saying: "Tonight, we proudly celebrate this recognition and then tomorrow we get back to our continuing journey of building an inclusive culture at Ernst & Young. We have more progress to make. We challenge others to follow our lead, and I can assure you that we are going to continue our advances."
Also at the ceremony, actress and scene-stealer in Ugly Betty, Vanessa Williams was awarded the “Ally for Equality Award.” Check out her speech from the ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh2TpOpTSOk. She talks about how she uses her celebrity status to make everyone an “ally for equality” and about her history with being inclusive of gay friends as well as how she raises her kids to welcome our community. She even noted that some of the best relationship role models for her children are gay couples that she is friends with.
Also at the event, Marriage Equality New York received the Community Equality Award and singer and Tony Award winner Idina Menzel as well as Mantryx Aerial Duo performed.
Media coverage in local NYC GLBT publications focused largely on transgender protesters outside of the event. However, additional visibility has occurred in recent days on GLBT blogs like Queerty when HRC released Vanessa Williams’ speech on YouTube (complete with an impromptu rendition of “Colors of the Wind”).
It also appears that they allowed attendees to take photos inside the event and as a result of the photos and video, my Facebook newsfeed has subsequently included multiple photo postings of NYC based friends who attended the event, most at a table purchased by their employer. (Some were even able to grab a photo with Becki Newton, Amanda on Ugly Betty). Others have posted links and videos of Vanessa’s speech.
This has not only spread the word about the event, but also highlights companies who are actively involved with HRC and gives co-workers the chance to share photos of their GLBT employee groups.
Ernst & Young even included coverage of Steve Howe’s speech and photos from the event in their internal daily e-newsletter.
With celebrities, Congressmen and policymakers, and a several tables purchased by large corporations including Citigroup, Pfizer, and Morgan Stanley, the gala was a visual representation of how each of these audiences is turning their attention to address and embrace our community.
SUBSCRIBE
The people protesting against the HRC’s betrayal on ENDA were the most important part of the news story. They deserved the most coverage. They were speaking for the majority of the lgbt community.
The people protesting against the HRC’s betrayal on ENDA were the most important part of the news story. They deserved the most coverage. They were speaking for the majority of the lgbt community.