Online LGBTIQ+ conference 'Differ(ent) kinds of energy': 18 November 2021

This event is fully online.

Every year, Tech@Workplacepride organises an event from a different city in the Netherlands. This year the LGBTIQ+* conference 'Differ(ent) kinds of energy' takes place on Thursday 18 November from NWO institute DIFFER. The guiding theme of this 2021 edition is sustainability and energy transition, and the importance of diversity for this mission. We will have talks by leading scientists and people from industry about developments on sustainability and energy, suited for a lay audience, mixed with stories about and reflections on diversity. There will be both LGBTIQ+ and non-LGBTIQ+ speakers. *LGBTIQ+: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or questioning.

To ensure a sustainable energy transition in the coming years, organisations need to be more innovative, build better strategies, and make courageous choices. Having employees who represent diverse communities helps to better understand the environmental impact of a company’s operations, build more trust among the public, increase cultural intelligence, and develop better strategies. In addition, companies with more diverse teams are more innovative and more likely to outperform companies with homogenous teams.

This Tech@Workplacepride event works on the basis of three important objectives:

1. Awareness about the importance of diversity for the upcoming energy transition and research.
2. Increase knowledge of developments in sustainability and energy.
3. Build and expand your network of, and connections with, role models and ambassadors for workplace inclusion and diversity across different companies, and take back concrete, actionable ideas and examples to implement in your own organisation.

Programme

The programme is available on the WorkPlacePride website. 
*Register here for online participation.

About Tech@WorkPlacePride

TECH@WorkplacePride is a special program in which views, experiences and best practices are exchanged which increases the visibility of LGBTIQ+ people within the tech industry, students, and in turn, society in general. Decades ago, it seemed that some LGBTIQ+ people simply did not aim for a career in technology. Now we know better: today we see more LGBTIQ+ professionals working and contributing to the success of technology-based organizations. In the tech sector, aspects like networking and interpersonal skills, as well as success factors are changing rapidly also. Traditional, hierarchical organizations are now shifting to being more network based, and interpersonal skills and personal branding are becoming more and more important. This however means that remaining “safely” in the closet is more difficult. TECH has been a focus in various workshops during Workplace Pride’s conferences. About one in three Workplace Pride employers have a strong connection to technology so tech@workplacepride will continue to be a focal point for the Foundation. For more information contact Tech@workplacepride.org.

Organisation

Workplace Pride is one of the proud organisers and hosts of this year’s event, together with the Dutch Research Council (NWO), a major funder of scientific research in the Netherlands, and its institute DIFFER that conducts leading fundamental research in the fields of fusion energy and solar fuels.