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This article is published in partnership with the Uruguayan media outlet la diaria.

The LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Uruguay was created in 2015 by ten business owners working in the tourism and communications sector, "primarily with an eye toward the LGBT community," Sergio Miranda, vice president of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Business, told La Diaria . "After years, we saw that there was supply and demand in other sectors—besides accommodation, food service, and travel agencies—such as health and personal services, and we began to expand," he added.

Today, the chamber has over 160 member companies, ranging from local businesses like República Microfinanzas, Semm, and Banco República, to international corporations such as American Airlines and IBM. As he always does in interviews, Miranda clarifies that “these aren't gay business owners, but rather business owners who are committed to and work for the LGBT community.” Last year, the chamber was recognized as the best among more than 60 representatives from different countries by the International Association of LGBT Chambers of Commerce.

A unique feature of this business organization is that it doesn't exclusively serve its member companies, but also develops initiatives that promote inclusion and equal opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the labor market. "We started working on this almost immediately because there was an outstanding issue regarding workplace discrimination that needed to be addressed, and that's also part of corporate social responsibility," Miranda stated.

Diverse Talent

Currently, the chamber is working on two projects. First, for the past year and a half, it has been running Talento Diverso, a training program for companies focused on the equal employment opportunities of the LGBT community. This program originated as a business initiative. Developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Development, it also addresses job search skills and aims to create a Diverse Job Bank in the future for companies and organizations interested in recruiting human resources. Miranda indicated that the chamber is in “early discussions” with the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (Inefop) to develop the training programs through this institution.

The most vulnerable group within the community in the labor market is the trans population. For this reason, Miranda stated that they are working especially with the Uruguayan Trans Union to implement specific actions . The barriers are greater, and therefore Miranda indicated that in this case, “the processes are slower.” “Training companies and workplaces to accommodate a trans person involves adapting changing rooms, bathrooms, and other practical matters that take time,” she explained. On the other hand, she considered that “the trans community is very diverse in itself,” and this creates an additional difficulty: “An 18-year-old trans woman is completely different from a 45-year-old, due to their individual histories, their different health conditions, and their levels of education in general. And all of that must be taken into account,” she observed.

The Comprehensive Law for Transgender People—currently under parliamentary review—stipulates a 1% quota for transgender people in job openings across various public sectors and the same quota for transgender people in Inefop's training and education programs. Beyond appreciating this, Miranda maintained that "not all the responsibility should fall on the State," but rather that "the private sector also needs to get involved in these issues" and "these programs aim to achieve that."

Training

So far, ten workshops have been held across the country, with the participation of 20 companies from various sectors such as finance, gastronomy, transport and mobility, accounting and legal services, health, education – schools, teaching institutes and languages ​​– and media.

According to Miranda, the fact that people do not feel empowered to express themselves as they are in their work environment generates "many consequences" that affect their quality of life and therefore their productivity; the most common being depression and absenteeism.

Another, more recent project by the chamber is the launch of an international certification program for companies that are "community-friendly to their employees and customers," stated the association's vice president. "Friendly Biz" is a certification process consisting of "five stages in which human resources are trained and developed, and institutional policies are created to promote inclusion and normalize customer service for LGBT individuals as potential consumers," explained Miranda. The Montevideo Agricultural Market (MAM) will be the first to begin the program this semester, but the businessman confirmed that there are "about ten" companies on the list to participate.