Connect, Build & Achieve Panels & Workshops

This series of topic-based panels will allow panelists to learn about issues and opportunities in the business world and beyond.

Know Your Rights: Legal Issues in the Workplace sponsored by Merrill Lynch

The wave of LGBT rights legislation has created new freedoms for LGBT people-but it has also generated confusion with a patchwork of seemingly conflicting laws. This panel of legal rights experts will answer your practical questions on how to deal with employment laws, partnership and marriage rights, gender identity and transition protections, and key cross-border legal issues facing both U.S. citizens and internationals.

Corporate Social Responsibility sponsored by Bain and Bridgespan

What is the role of business in advancing LGBT issues? How does the corporate structure engage and support the LGBT community? We will discuss how companies integrate LGBT issues into their overall social responsibility programs and explore the highlights and challenges of their efforts. With an eye to both the internal and external environments, we will look at diversity recruiting, inclusion initiatives, community engagement, and strategic partnerships, all with the goal of finding out how corporations care about LGBT constituents and where they've found successful solutions. Our panel of CSR professionals will focus on their own organization's programs as well as what they see as best practices throughout the field.

Navigating International Waters sponsored by Honeywell

Interested in pursuing a career outside of North America after business school? Concerned about the challenges facing the LGBT community internationally? The Navigating International Waters panel will bring together professionals from a range of industries who will discuss their professional and personal international experiences to answer questions on diversity and career development.

I Want my Gay TV! sponsored by UBS

The LGBT community is a lucrative market, with polls showing gay consumers to be ahead of game economically. This has helped create an explosion of gay roles and gay-related programming in the media. But how does the LGBT community use such opportunities? Are gay characters in the mainstream media genuine or mocking? What about the obvious and definite shortage of bisexual and transgender storylines? Is the diversity of the entire rainbow portrayed in the media? Will the major studios continue to embrace gay-related film projects for mainstream theatrical release? Discuss these questions and more as we find ways to use the media for more than business as usual, but also social change.

Coming Out at Work: How, Why, and When sponsored by Raytheon

Being LGBT is a constant coming out process which forces individuals to continually make choices regarding who they'll come out to and when. While for many of us this process is easier with family and friends, when confronted with coming out at work the decision is not so easy. Do I need to come out? If I do, will it help or hurt my career? Connect with other LGBT individuals that have faced these same issues and exchange perspectives on how best to deal with Coming Out at Work. This panel will look at the choices each participant evaluated in their careers and give you insight into how to tackle Coming Out at Work yourself, and build the skill set necessary to make these decisions and achieve your best.

Landing Your Dream Job: LGBT Recruiting sponsored by Accenture

Diversity has been one of the hottest buzzwords in corporate recruiting the last few years. But what does it really mean for LGBT students? This panel will dive into the unique issues LGBT MBAs face in navigating the recruiting process, including the impact of corporate diversity recruiting, the meaning of being "out" during the recruiting process, and the successful leveraging of LGBT recruiting/networking events.

The Pink Dollar: Marketing Case Study sponsored by P&G

It is a well-known fact that the LGBT community commands a large sum of wealth in both the U.S. and abroad - and that companies specifically target LGBT consumers in the hopes of getting a piece of that pie. Join one of the nation's leading marketing professors in an innovative classroom simulation to discover how firms successfully connect to LGBT consumers to build brand equity and achieve greater market share.

Gay Politics: Choosing Parties and Choosing Battles sponsored by Toyota

Why Marriage Equality? Why vote Republican? Why vote Democrat? Why aren't we all just Libertarians? Through a lively roundtable discussion including LGBT politicians, lobbyists, and activists from across the political spectrum, we will discover the why and how behind the various political issues affecting LGBT citizens. Focusing largely, but not exclusively on America, participants will have the opportunity to ask tough questions about every issue, learn how to get involved themselves, and how to make their companies effective advocate for change outside the boardroom.

Building a Work-Life Balance sponsored by A.T. Kearney

It's 9:00 on Thursday night. You're at the office, working on a report due in less than 24 hours. Your friends are calling you to come out and have a drink and network with other LGBT professionals. You have a sports competition on Saturday for which you need to be well rested. Did we mention you need to make date plans for you and your partner's upcoming anniversary? How do you handle it? Juggling career, personal, social and community-focused aspects of your life is challenging enough. How does the LGBT component affect that balance? Come hear professionals share how they stay actively involved in the LGBT community while simultaneously developing their careers and thriving in their social and personal lives. Learn new tips and tricks to help you realize a fulfilling mix of work and non-work elements in your life.