The UK’s government today announced an action plan to improve the lives of LGBT+ people in the UK, a top financial institute has praised the news.
WikiImages / PixabayJess McNicholas, Managing Director, Head of Global Inclusion Diversity and Corporate Citizenship, EMEA at State Street comments on the new Government action plan to improve the lives of LGBT people,
“As we celebrate Pride Month in the UK, it is hard to believe in 2018 that 40% of LGBTQ + people who participated in the recent UK government survey still face abuse and discrimination because of their sexual orientation. The government’s plan, announced today, is a clear statement of its commitment to tackle the inequalities faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community. No one should ever have to hide who they are in their community, school or workplace.”
“We all have a responsibility to create an inclusive culture, which allows LGBTQ+ people to feel respected at every level of society and to reach their full potential without the fear of abuse or discrimination. As the slogan for this year’s Pride campaign aptly says “we have come a long but there is a way still to go”. Today’s statement is big step forward on that journey and State Street are proud to celebrate all our LGBTQ+ staff and ensure that our inclusive culture is one where all are treated equally and with respect.”
The UK’s Government has launched an LGBT action plan, in which it wants to deal with issues facing the LGBT+ community, including how this government will collect, maintain and protect the data of LGBT people.
“This Government is committed to making the UK a country that works for everyone. We want to strip away the barriers that hold people back so that everyone can go as far as their hard work and talent can take them”.
Big words, so what exactly are they promising?
Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Women and Equality has outlined 75 points she wants her office to push in order to achieve better rights, equality, safety and visibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people of the UK.
The LGBT action plan offered the following for LGBT+ data protection and collection.
We want to ensure that government services monitor these protected characteristics in a consistent, respectful and proportionate way.
We will enable government services to appropriately monitor sexual orientation and gender identity. The Government Equalities Office, the Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service will work together on a cross-government project to develop monitoring standards for sexual orientation and gender identity across central government. These standards will be freely available to the wider public and private sectors. The Government Equalities Office and Office for National Statistics will provide guidance and support to departments looking to implement monitoring in their services to ensure that it is consistent, proportionate and safe.
We will ensure the Civil Service is an exemplary employer for collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity in a sensitive, respectful and proportionate way. Civil Service HR, the Office for National Statistics and the Government Equalities Office will work to develop standardised questions for inclusion in internal departmental systems such as human resources systems for government employees. Civil Service HR will continue to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in the annual Civil Service People Survey so that the diverse workplace experiences of civil servants can be better understood.
We will provide guidance on protecting private data concerning the characteristics and history of transgender people. The Government Equalities Office will work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and other agencies to agree guidance for public and private sector organisations explaining how they can protect these data and ensure the privacy of trans people. The guidance will help organisations to comply with relevant legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation and the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
In line with the Government’s approach to open data8, we will explore how best to make as much of the national LGBT survey data available as possible. We realise that the data we have collected is rich and comprehensive. We will not share or publish any data from which individuals can be identified, but the Government Equalities Office will look to publish more aggregate-level, anonymous data which will be of use to researchers, academics, stakeholders, the media, policymakers and the public at large.
We will undertake further work to improve our understanding of the needs of specific groups within the LGBT population. The Government Equalities Office will look to improve the evidence base relating to the experiences of groups including older people, people in care, people with disabilities and long-term conditions, and black and minority ethnic people.
Here’s what the government plans are in other key areas:
The UK’s Government has launched an LGBT action plan, in which it wants to deal with issues facing the LGBT+ community in the UK, including how people can self-identify, ensuring LGBT people know their employment rights.
“This Government is committed to making the UK a country that works for everyone. We want to strip away the barriers that hold people back so that everyone can go as far as their hard work and talent can take them”.
Big words, so what exactly are they promising?
Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Women and Equality has outlined 75 points she wants her office to push in order to achieve better rights, equality, safety and visibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people of the UK.
The LGBT action plan offered the following for LGBT+ policing and safety.
We also want to ensure that LGBT people are aware of the rights they do have already.
We will consult on how best to reform the gender recognition process. Last year, the Government Equalities Office announced the intention to consult on the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to see how the legal gender recognition process can be made less bureaucratic and intrusive. The consultation will be published alongside this action plan, and we will use the results of the national LGBT survey and the consultation to bring forward proposals for reforming this public service.
We will consider ways to make it easier to tell the government if you have changed your gender. The Government Equalities Office will investigate whether the ‘Tell Us Once’ service – which is currently used to notify government departments of bereavements – can be learned from so that transgender people who are transitioning and want to update their name and gender across multiple departments only have to do so once.
We will improve our understanding of issues facing non-binary people. The Government Equalities Office will launch a Call for Evidence on the issues faced by non-binary people, building on the findings from the national LGBT survey.
We will also improve our understanding of the issues facing people who are intersex. The Government Equalities Office will launch a separate Call for Evidence to improve the evidence relating to intersex people’s experiences.
We will ensure that LGBT people can easily access information they need about their rights. The Government Digital Service will review the existing content on GOV.UK aimed at LGBT people, and improve the content to ensure that it fully meets their needs.
Here’s what the government plans are in other key areas:
YASSS queens. Delieveroo has just become DELOVEROO for Pride season.
Teaming up with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Charlie Hides and Absurd Bird restaurants Deliveroo has changed its name for Pride season to De-love-roo and they’ve launched a special menu just for us queens.
All the profits are going to LGBT+ homeless charity, Albert Kennedy Trust.
The menu will be available to order exclusively through Deliveroo in the run up to Pride in London (July 7th).
The Charlie Sliders:
The Valentina (I’d like to leaves it on please)
Veggie burger with double lettuce and extra spinach leaves (and a double wrapper) The Chicken Latrice Royale
Large and in charge with a double dose of southern fried chicken The Vanessa Vanjie Wit’mayo
Classic fried chicken burger with mayo and extra hot BAM sauce
The Charlie Sliders all cost ten, ten, tens across the board (£10) with all profits going to support the incredible work of the Albert Kennedy Trust.
The menu created with season nine sensation Charlie Hides is available to order exclusively through Deliveroo in the run up to Pride in London (July 7th).
Joe Groves at Deloveroo said, “Celebrating love in all its forms is at the core of the Deliveroo brand and we are proud to play our part in PRIDE once again. The Drag community is pivotal to the story-telling of the LGBTQ+ community, so honouring some of these icons seemed like the perfect way to help us spread the word and raise money for a great charity. Creating this menu to raise funds for The Albert Kennedy Trust and re-branding as Deloveroo are part of our continued efforts to create visibility around LGBTQ+ causes”
Season 9 Queen Charlie Hides said, “the Deliver-Ru restaurant is the only place you should be ordering lunch and dinner from this pride because the food is almost as delicious as me and the profits go to a brilliant cause…So sashay your way onto Deliveroo right now and let’s raise some money folks!”
Tim Sigsworth, CEO of Albert Kennedy Trust said, “What a delicious way to raise funds and prevent LGBTQ+ youth homeless. It takes just £25 to keep a young person safe for one night after facing homelessness or abuse just for being who they are. No young person should have to choose between a safe home and being who they are.”
24% of young people facing homelessness in the UK identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender, with 77% citing abuse and rejection by their families after coming out as the primary reason. The Albert Kennedy Trust provides safe homes, mentoring and support to ensure that no young person has to choose between a safe home and being who they are.
McDonald’s is to phase out single-use plastic straws by 2019
The world is literally thanking McDonald’s RN.
The mega-chain McDonald’s has announced that it’s to quit using plastic straws. It currently uses 1.8 million straws every day, according to the BBC – most of which are single use and end up in the trash.
It is estimated that we use over 8 billion plastic straws in the UK each year and considering there is under 70 million of us in the country – that’s a lot of straw per person.
The restaurant is to phase out the plastic in all 1361 of its UK and Irish store by 2019. The eventual aim is to make all of McDonald’s packaging sourced from renewable or recycled sources by 2025.
The new policy follows on from a successful trial in a few restaurants earlier in 2018. The company said, “Reflecting the broader public debate, our customers told us they wanted to see a move on straws”.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove called it a “significant contribution” to helping the environment, adding that it was “a fine example to other large businesses”.
But the change isn’t happening globally. BOOO.
However, some users, have said that the banning of plastic straws could have unforeseen consequences for people who are disabled, who argue that plastic straws enable people to be able to drink independently, particularly for hot drinks. The eco alternatives either conduct or disintegrate with hot liquids.
Grindr has now been bought by a Chinese gaming company, meaning it is not under the LGBT ownership anymore.
In 2016 Grindr’s founder Joel Simkhai announced that he had sold 60 percent of the dating app to the Chinese gaming firm Kunlun Tech Co. The remaining 40 percent has now been snapped up by the same firm in a deal thought to be worth $152 million.
The initial purchase of just over 60 percent was thought to be worth $93 million.
The British Government has announced it is to open a trade office in the US State of North Carolina, despite the state’s anti-LGBT laws.
CREDIT: Foreign and Commonwealth Office / FLICKR/ CC
The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) is looking to open an office in Raleigh, North Carolina, despite the state’s notorious anti-LGBT laws.
The State which enacted HB2, a bill which bans LGBT+ right ordinances, earlier in the year has seen businesses pull out of investment deals, and rock stars pulling out of gigs.
The newly appointed DIT, headed by Doctor Liam Fox said,
“I am pleased to announce today that the UK government plans to open 3 new offices right here in the United States, in Minneapolis, Raleigh and San Diego.
“Our ambitious vision for an open and outward-looking UK economy includes growing our footprint in the most important markets around the world and these 3 cities offer exciting opportunities to boost trade and investment.”
HB2 Bans LGBT Rights
HB2 bans LGBT+ right ordinances in North Carolina.
In March, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a law which would allow business owners to discriminate against LGBT people on the grounds of religious belief. The law also requires trans people to use the public toilet that aligns with the gender that is on their birth certificate.
The MP for North Somerset has voted against every piece of legislation that equalised LGBT rights in the UK.
Dr Fox was unsuccessful in his bid to become Prime Minister.
What Is HB2?
Business Over Rights?
THEGAYUK reached out to the DIT about why North Carolina was chosen even when the FOC warned LGBT travellers about visiting the state, a Department for International Trade spokesperson said,
“These locations were chosen because of their potential for UK trade and investment given their economic productivity and well-established research and development institutions and establishing a presence in these cities will help us to increase our reach across the United States to the benefit of British businesses.”
The Nikon Camera Corporation has shot a new commercial for its “I Am Generation Image,” campaign featuring an African/American married gay couple Kordale and Kaleb Lewis and their three children, whose morning routine selfie they posted to Instagram went viral overnight last year.
The morning routine selfie, showing the two fathers styling their two daughters’ hair, garnered thousands of favourites, likes and comments; both positive and negative. Many of the negative comments they received were both homophobic and racist in nature.
In Nikon’s video, the two fathers explain the background story behind the selfie, and they confidently address the negative comments they received and express what they hope for their children going into the future. This is unquestionably one big happy family as this heartwarming video clearly shows.
A subsidiary of telecoms giant Orange has pulled advertising from Red Pepper, a tabloid newspaper in Uganda.
It has been reported that a subsidiary of Orange has pulled its advertising from Red Pepper, a tabloid which controversially published a list of ‘Uganda’s 200 top homos’ in Uganda – after new laws which make homosexual acts illegal were introduced in February.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the law in February 2014
Red Pepper came under heavy international criticism after publishing a list of known homosexuals calling for them to be hunted down.
Over 77,000 signatures were collected on a petitioning site. Orange announced the cut with Red Pepper via Twitter
“We commend Orange for their leadership in reaction to the Anti-Homosexuality Law” said Andre Banks, Executive Director and co-founder of All Out, an international organization building the global movement for gay rights.
“Orange’s decision to withdraw their advertising and to explicitly support their LGBT employees should ring alarm bells for Ugandan politicians and business people about the impact this law could have on the national economy”.
The anti-homosexual law states:
Life imprisonment for gay sex, including oral sex
Life imprisonment for “aggravated homosexuality”, including sex with a minor or while HIV-positive
Life imprisonment for living in a same-sex marriage
Seven years for “attempting to commit homosexuality”
Between five and seven years in jail or a $40,700 (£24,500) fine or both for the promotion of homosexuality
Businesses or non-governmental organisations found guilty of the promotion of homosexuality would have their certificates of registration cancelled and directors could face seven years in jail.
Tourism is on the rebound according to experts, who expect the LGBT spend on travel and tourism to rebound to a staggering $200 BILLION in 2014.
BIG SPENDERS
The outlook is good especially for those who are gearing their marketing and products towards the LGBT community, as the collective spend is believed to be in excess of $200 billion (£120 billion).
The latest findings from the Out Now market research group suggest that the top markets for tourism were: Europe (USD$66.1 billion) USA (USD$56.5 billion) and Brazil (USD$25.3 billion).
In terms of most sort after destinations France led the way by more than 6%, the LGBT2020 Research found.
ALL SIGNS POINT TO FRANCE
Founder of the The Villages Group Rainbow in France, Danny Silver said:
“France is the ultimate destination for the LGBT community. Having lived here for many yearsnow I have seen the progress which has been made in transforming the nation into a LGBT-friendly destination; the legalization of gay marriage last year was a significant step in the right direction and with Paris hosting the Gay Games in 2018, I can only see LGBT tourism to France going one way – up!
“Indeed for older members of the LGBT community, often more concerned with cultural and safety issues in other destinations, France offers a truly welcoming atmosphere with numerous gay-friendly restaurants, bars, beaches and accommodation choices such as our project, The Villages Group Rainbow located in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of SW France.’
France was highly rated in last year’s ILGA Rainbow Map, which measures how LGBT friendly each country is in Europe. It was given a rating of 65%, which is shared with Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Spain and Portugal.
