Montevideo will host a new business conference next September LGBTQ+, just as happened last year in Punta del Este, where a “quality seal” for inclusive companies will also be presented.
The LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Business of Uruguay (Ccnlgbtu) already has more than 240 affiliated companies, after it began its functions from just three founding companies in 2015, with the aim of enhancing the business and the job placement of people who are members of this group.
“We start with three founding companies, Today we are more than 240 companies and more than 45 corporations of all sizes and all sectors. This year we celebrate our ninth year. At that time there were only 13 founding companies, today there are more than 240 affiliated companies between partners and corporate allies,” he told Area Adrián Russo, president of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Business of Uruguay.
In that sense, he added: “There is exponential growth, not only in quantity, but also in the work that companies are developing with us, in what is Pride Connection Uruguay, which are all corporate companies working towards diversity.”
“Have employment exchange, We work a lot on inclusive programs, there are workshops to approach the employment market for LGBTQ+ people. We try to ensure that these companies also request resumes from our employment pool when hiring personnel,” said Russo.
And he pointed out: “We are part of the global network of LGBT chambers of commerce, Uruguay positioned itself very strongly in 2017, we obtained a international award of the best LGBT chamber in the world, that also helps the work that has been done.”
An international Congress is coming in Montevideo
The president of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Business of Uruguay also announced the holding between September 1 and 3 of a new edition of the Uruguay LGBT+ Pride Connection Congress, which this time will be based at Montevideo Municipality.
“We manage an international congress that this year will be the ninth edition, with many people participating. Last year there were 600 congressmen and almost 60 or 70 people from abroad came to present and participate in the congress, plus the Job fair”, Russo confided.
And he indicated that “it is called Uruguay LGBT+ Pride Connection Montevideo 2024, from Montevideo, where they will talk about LGBT tourism, job insertion and entrepreneurship among other topics.”
“In addition, it is planned to call all the presidential candidates that emerge from the internal elections so that they participate in the congress and listen to our proposals,” he said.
A boost for the quality seal
On the other hand, the camera promotes the implementation of a quality seal for companies committed to the LGBTQ+ community “We have been coming for many years, even before the pandemic, looking for the possibility of having a quality seal. We find a great ally in the LATU”, Russo said.
Along these lines, he maintained that “certification is not only in the Customer Support, but the training ranges from why to be a inclusive company, how to work, how to use the manuals, etc.” “And that leads to ending in a ranking of LGBTQ+ inclusive companies that will be carried out every year,” said the president of the chamber.
Next week the pilot plan with the hotel will begin Holiday Montevideo and starting in May, allied and affiliated companies will begin to be certified and obtain quality. “We are quite surprised because there are already more than 100 companies that want to do the process, so we are going to have an arduous task and we are convinced that at the September congress itself we will be delivering the first stamps to the first companies,” he said. .
In the first half of June the benefits card, which will be a free card that all people in the community, allies and employees of the chamber’s member companies will be able to get free of charge to consume with benefits in inclusive companies.
Russo understands that “the cultural change “It is behind the laws” in the country and that there must be progress in smaller cities in the interior of the country, so the seal becomes a necessary tool to create inclusive and safe spaces for the Uruguayan LGBT+ community.
“Many people think that today there is no discrimination in Uruguay due to the existing legal framework, but that is one thing and what we experience every day is another thing,” he stated.
Source: Ambito
