Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
In just a few weeks, leaders from across the country will gather together to learn from each other and to build the skills and relationships that are so critical to growing a strong state-based movement for equality.
Over the last 30 years, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has seen great strides in the movement for full equality. Much of this success is the result of a concerted movement, which was galvanized in response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Equality Federation is pleased to announce the hiring of Jace Woodrum as our first-ever Director of Communications.Jace brings to the Federation more than eight years of experience in communications and three years working with LGBT organizations, including one of our member groups: One Colorado.
Equality Federation and Equality Federation Institute are winning equality in the communities we call home. You can fuel that momentum by making a contribution to support our work right now:
HRC's Municipal Equality Index rates selected municipalities by their laws, policies, and services affecting LGBT people. Starting in 2012 with a snapshot of 137 cities in 50 states, the 2013 Index adds 150 more locations to their report. The Equality Federation Institute and the Victory Fund are joint partners in this project.
Equality Utah welcomes state and national leaders to the 16th Equality Federation Institute Summer Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City, located in the beautiful, complex state of Utah. Reserve your room online.
Great organizations need great leaders — and they need them to stick around a little while. For years, the turnover rate in our statewide LGBT advocacy groups has been high, and in 2010, Equality Federation Institute identified this challenge as one of our organizational priorities. Committed to addressing this turnover, particularly among executive directors, we began tracking executive tenure and rolling out new programs to help ensure that state leaders were thriving.
On October 5, more than 80 cities across the country will host marches and rallies for the National Day of Dignity and Respect in support of immigration reform. Immigrant communities in America as well as faith, labor, and civil rights groups will join together to call on Congress to pass immigration reform in 2013.
The Obama Administration is continuing to implement the Supreme Court's landmark decision striking down Section 3 of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In the months since the June ruling, federal departments have issued guidance and policy updates further detailing the far-reaching impact of DOMA's demise.
Because transgender people so often experience discrimination at the hands of government institutions, many expect to encounter harassment and other challenges from our legal system. But a new study conducted by OutFront Minnesota and lawyer Ellen Krug found that many transgender Minnesotans report positive experiences with the courts.
Across the nation, our members are working to ensure that transgender people are treated fairly and equally at work. They're advocating for employment nondiscrimination laws, inclusive healthcare policies, and employment benefits, procedures, and practices that honor everyone's gender identity and expression.
State-based organizations across the country are making change in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve. These wins build critical momentum in the fight for full and lasting equality -- but we don’t often hear about them. Far too often, they go unnoticed and uncelebrated by the broader LGBT movement.
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With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.
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