Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments in Ethiopia, Meloni gets a pass from Biden, Uganda under scrutiny, the grand India reveal, Florida’s economy, Costa Coffee in the crosshair, J. C. Leyendecker, & more
Welcome to the 129th issue of my equality news digest, where I share important (and much less important) news, updates, and commentary about the LGBTQ+ equality movement at the intersection with business.
This week: anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments in Ethiopia, Meloni gets a pass from Biden, Uganda under scrutiny, grand India reveal, Florida’s economy, Costa Coffee in the crosshair, J. C. Leyendecker, and much more…
Global News
Ethiopia: reports of violence against LGBTQ+ people
In 2014, some Ethiopian politicians considered mimicking Ugandan lawmakers in hyper-criminalizing homosexuality. A demonstration was to take place. God knows Ethiopia has nothing else to fear but homosexuals! Anyway, the Government was quick to shut down the circus - which I guess is easier in autocratic settings (what a former World Bank boss called a “well-managed democracy” in the cynicism which is the hallmark of Bretton Woods apparatchiks)- aware that the international community’s patience was running thin after the Ugandan global debacle. This week activists called attention to rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, rhetoric, and acts in the country, including calls for violence on TikTok. See here: https://houseofguramayle.org/news/press-release-on-the-lgbtqia-situation-in-ethiopia-06-august-2023/
This aggression is manifesting both in public areas and online, with the alarming endorsement of the government
Italy: Meloni’s petty move against children gets overlooked by the U.S.
Several times here, I discussed Meloni’s Government's petty antagonistic move in retroactively removing LGBTQ+ non-biological parents from birth certificates. I cannot fathom the end goal: deterring gay people from assisted reproductive technologies? Now that feels more like eugenics than what we have been doing. The consequences are tremendous for our children preventing their non-biological mother from picking them up at school, accompanying them in the event of hospitalization, or asserting rights if the baby's biological mother dies. It can also affect citizenship in some instances. As the father of (extraordinary) twins born through surrogacy - who encountered similar resistance from France in 2013 - it riles me up. Meloni’s cruelty also goes against many European Court of Human Rights decisions, which sided with children's fundamental rights and interests. Yet, so far, Meloni seems to get a pass from her European counterparts. Washington is still talking of the “warm welcome” she received from the Biden administration (see here). His team and the State Department did not adequately brief Biden.
India: the grand reveal
I will be in Bangalore from November 15 to 25th to join my friends from Pride Circle. I would be delighted if you wanted me to stop by your local office there. Hopefully, my trip will coincide with the “great reveal” on same-sex marriage. Law Today tweeted yesterday that Chief Justice CJI Chandrachud had said the justices are “in the process” of writing the same-sex marriage judgment. Hopefully, the decision release coincides with my India trip.
Vatican: the Pope extends a hand to LGBTQ+ people further
Ten years after the Pope asked, “Who am I to judge?” and on his way back from Lisbon for the World Youth Day (WYD), where he hung out with 1,5 million young Catholics - including my niece - the Pope had another positive message to LGBTQ+ people (read about his remarks here). In short, the Church is open to EVERYONE, but according to its rules, not everyone can partake in (some) sacraments. Incidentally, America Magazine, which is to American Catholics what Clutch Magazine is to me, just had a great article on what has changed for LGBTQ+ Catholics in the past ten years.
Last month, the Vatican released the working draft of the ongoing synod’s document which calls for a new pastoral approach to queer Catholics, notably using the L.G.B.T.Q.+ acronym which the church had long avoided.
Israel: Rabbi calls for war against LGBTQ+ people
Not all clerics are warming up to LGBTQ+ people. In another theocracy, the 86 years old Rabbi Thau called on his followers to 'wage war’ on Israel's LGBT community. If we do, go to war, I will wear my Derek Rose camouflage PJs and use my wits as weapons. Activist Yaya Fink filed a police complaint against the Rabbi. It’s not his first encounter with the law; Thau has been under investigation for not one but multiple rape accusations. Thau also referred in a new book to LGBTQ+ people as a "new culture of eliminating the family" and a "crime against humanity."
Uganda: the World Bank (eventually) does the right thing
I won’t bore you again on the importance of the Bank’s statement on Uganda as I emailed you about it in the evening and will be on the BBC World Service at 6 a.m. local time to discuss it (how will I stay awake that long? mystery). Once again, Ugandans, 42% of which live in poverty, are paying the consequences of Museveni’s addiction to power (the self-described “gentleman farmer” who is not much of a gentleman has been in power since 1986). The World Bank's change of tone (remember their lackluster May statement?) can be attributed to the arrival of President Ajay Banga, who did not like MD Axel van Trotsenburg’s approach. What is good at the Bank is that the apparatchiks sont ni de droite ni de gauche mais là où on les pose (not sure, it translates). Credit should also go to Outright’s relentless work behind the scene and I will also take some (see my June 2nd oped in the Post). AHA is not Business as usual and deserved a careful response. By this morning, the news had spread globally. See initial coverage here.
[Here are also talking point on numbers: the Bank has about 24 active loans to the Ugandan government, representing a portfolio of $5.4 billion, which you can compare to a GDP of $48 billion. All future lending is suspended, including about a billion $USD of pipeline projects such as a Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development project or a Strengthening Public Investment Management, Public Finance Systems, and Public Sector Capacity project. A list of existing and future projects can be found here. Perhaps more importantly, any signal of the Bank's withdrawal sends a strong signal to investors: the country might find it harder to finance its debt and attract private investment.]
US News
Florida: is the State paying the price for DeSantis'antics?
A few articles have appeared in the past weeks alleging that Florida is taking an economic hit from various DeSantis positions. CNN had this piece “DeSantis’ ‘anti-woke’ bills are costing Florida millions of dollars in business.” The picture might be a bit more complex: the state economy is going strong, and the New York Times recently showed that tourism was relatively resilient (see here). In the meantime, the Orlando Magic sent DeSantis a check angering many.
USAID Releases LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy
USAID released last week its LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy with a mention that “LGBTQI+ people also have been among the first populations targeted by authoritarian actors seeking to exploit social wedge issues.” I would argue that progressives also sometimes “seek to exploit” LGBTQ+ issues as a political or geopolitical tool to the detriment of our well-being. In any case, a clear sign that the new policy is valuable was the European Conservative’s review:
The new USAID LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy highlights the hypocrisy of the globalist Left, which purports to oppose colonialism but engages in brazen ideological imperialism wherever it can, in every corner of the world.
Virginia: chronicling the culture rift
This piece in New York Times Magazine is a must-read this week. It discusses how a tragic sexual assault case in schools was gradually rebranded by the right and the victim’s parents into a transgender bathroom access story. That quote alone will make you want to read the article:
Look, the kid is not transgender [...] He runs with the drama crowd, and you know how the drama crowd can be. [...] He wore skirts occasionally, but he has never come out to the school as either nonbinary or transgender
From the Boardroom
LGBTQ+ people are the missing piece in Deloitte’s “Missing Pieces.”
Like every year, LGBTQ+ people are excluded from Deloitte’s State of Board Diversity, ironically titled "Missing Pieces". Deloitte's claim is a bit strange: "Due to inconsistent availability of data, [its] Missing Pieces report does not incorporate board representation for persons with disabilities or those who may identify as LGBTQIA+"” It just feels lazy. First, a complete LGBTQ+ dataset is available through NASDAQ-listed company disclosures on Board Diversity. Secondly, the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors has published an annual list of LGBTQ+ people on Fortune 500 Boards for two years. And thirdly, "not incorporating board representation" information on LGBTQ+ people is a sure way to ensure the perpetuation of a lack of data. In 2023, discussing Board Diversity in the U.S. without mentioning LGBTQ+ diversity is ubuesque.
August 25th at noon EST: tips from Irene Chung Britt
As part of our webinar series, the Association is glad to welcome Irene Chang Britt on August 25th at noon EST. This month's session is titled: "Concrete Tips to be Noticed in the Governance World.” Britt’s public company board experience is impressive: she serves on the Boards of Victoria's Secret & Co., IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., and Brighthouse Financial, Inc. You can register here.
October 8-12: See you at the NACD Summit
I sold my collection of CBG Mignot soldiers and pawned my firstborn so I could register for the NACD Summit and book a room there. Hailed as the most influential conferences for board directors, the NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) Summit, at the aptly named Gaylord Convention Center in DC (Maryland, really …) takes place over four consecutive days. For the first time in the history of the Summit, the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors will host a dinner on October 9th for LGBTQ+ attendees. Let me know if you are attending, and I will share the invitation.
How much is a Corporate Director paid?
The question everybody has but rarely asks me. Anyway, my response would be, “it depends which Board”. This week, Fortune had an article this week: Here’s how much big companies pay their board members according to the latest data (spoiler alert: they earned $325,000 last year as their average base pay - with additional compensation for Committees participation).
And finally
Are you ready to serve on a Board? In the HBS Review this week.
The Gay Business
ESG is past “Peak Hype,” but what it says about capitalism isn’t
You have my permission to skip that September “I-Know-just-enough-about-ESG-to-make-a-buck Summit,” but sustainability, in particular on social justice, is here to stay, according to Jon Miller, Founder and Chairman of Open for Business (whose Board I advise) who had a piece this week on the World Economic Forum blog. The key is to look past the snake oil salesman and think concretely about how social justice fits into your corporate values.
We are undoubtedly past peak hype on ESG, where expectations exceeded reality. We may now be in a period of general disillusionment. But the reality is that ESG growth is continuing. As the hype falls away, the field will mature.
Conservatives are running out of businesses to boycott
So much so that, after Dr. Martens last week, a Coffeeshop chain, Costa Coffee, drew the ire of the “Woke Police” because of a trans cartoon character on a mural displaying scars from a gender-affirming mastectomy. Two determined women demonstrated. Rumor has it that they drink tea rather than coffee anyway. See here.
HRC pinkwashes Gilead Sciences amid several lawsuits
Gilead Sciences, which took a public relations hit around its price gouging practices on HIV medication (see here), got a pink-washing boost from HRC for the modest price of $5 million (Gilead’s net income amounted to some 6.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 and some 4.6 billion in 2022). Unclear if it is on par with the fee GLAAD gets from Gilead. I can’t wait to see the partnership our organization builds with the Ugandan Government to recover from the bad press: “Museveni and the Human Rights Campaign Will Work Together to Promote LGBTQ+ Justice.” Get the full story here.
The semi-cultural desk
Dirt in the Opera World
David Daniels and his partner pleaded guilty to sexual assault in court this week. The couple gets probation and is now on the registry for life. As the preeminent countertenor of his generation, Daniels is a very well-known American opera singer (nothing you’d have seen but something Chad Dobson would have). See here.
Visit J. C. Leyendecker at the NY Historical Society
I took tickets to check out the exhibition with historian Hugh Ryan (whose article in the Boston Review this week, who’s Afraid of social contagion, is a must-read) this Saturday morning. The exhibition, “19 of the artist’s original oil paintings and a wealth of related ephemera, and [...] Leyendecker’s editorial work,” closes this Sunday.
Picture of Shawn Mendes swimming in Ibiza
Not sure it belongs here. As Peter Staley would say, here is a “mental health break.”
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the Musical, moving fast
The 1994 non-fiction novel by John Berendt is making new headlines as it heads to Broadway. The invitation-only industry reading in the city last week was very successful. The cast for the reading included J. Harrison Ghee as Lady Chablis. Acclaimed artist Taylor Mac is part of the project. Read more here.
Ne-Yo apologizes for comments about parents of trans kids
Ah, yes, because Ne-Yo is a family man…
Coming and Going
Key LGBTQ+ appointments/departures in Business
Susan Scher (Goldman Sachs) is now a Board Member at Middlebury College. Mario Marte (on the Board of BestBuy) left his position as Chief Financial Officer of Chewy, Inc., and Amy Errett left the Board of Hippo.
The Advocate 30 under 30
The kids are more than alright — they are feisty, imaginative, and can dress in paillettes at the Met Gala …see the complete list here.
The Gay Agenda
August 22nd: NACD Northern California LGBTQ+ Cohort
Join our LGBTQ+ Virtual Cohort Discussion on August 22 | 8:00-9:00 a.m. PDT. I will explore with Board member Richard Socarides the findings of the association's recent 2023 LGBTQ+ Board Monitor report, solutions to overcome barriers, and success stories. We will also cover the current pressure on the corporate world around Pride 2023 and how it affects LGBTQ+ representation efforts. Save your spot here.
September 22-24 - Unleashed LGBTQ+ in Dallas, Texas
It’s unclear what Unleashed LGBTQ+ stands for. My friend commented, “It looks like an LGBTQ+ trade fair almost.” The Dallas Voice did not clarify much.
October 4-7: IGLTA Annual Convention in Puerto Rico
Last year I blew my savings in Lake Como after the IGLTA’s Global Convention in Milan. This year, the “world’s premier educational and networking event for LGBTQ+ tourism professionals” will take place in Puerto Rico. Indian CEO and activist Keshav Suri is to receive the Pioneer Award, which I was a grateful recipient of in 2019. Visit the event page here.
Miscellaneous
Good governance in LGBTQ+ non-profits
I received many surprised emails, “Wow -- who's this?” on my disclosure last week of the salary of a prominent non-profit leader who turned a crucial organization in our ecosystem into a business. I cannot stress enough the risks of our common disinterest in these topics at a time when our community’s well-being rather than personal gains should be our motivating factor.
And to finish some French existentialism
As if my grandmother's departure was not cause enough for philosophical musings, I watched “Le Tourbillon de La Vie” (Julias) on the plane back from the funerals. A 2022 movie with a paltry 6.6 on IMDb, which attempts to address the best topic of them all: the randomness of one’s existence. My son Eitan, seated across the aisle from me, told me that someone was crying whenever he glanced at my screen. The synopsis says it all: an older woman, Julia, ”reflects on the decisions and circumstances that happened in her life that could have led her down different paths.” It struck me because it was the perfect transition between a melancholic France, which always asks itself, “C’est quoi une vie?” and an equally tragically distracted United States perpetually asking, "Who will be our next President? And what’s on sale at Walmart?". And, of course, the takeaway is that we only have moments, control is an illusion, being of service is all that matters, we must honor the invisible battles our fellows fight, and it is probably best not to overthink any of it. On that note, thank you for your messages last week. Here is another takeaway from Julia(s): nothing is more comforting than the encouragement of kindred fellows on a similar strange journey of human existence.
Coming
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