EXCLUSIVE: Pride in Exile featuring Former EEOC Commissioner, Chai Feldblum and New York District EEOC Administrative Judge, Karen Ortiz

Congress established the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its primary purpose is to prevent and address unfair treatment in the workplace, ensuring that employers don't discriminate against individuals based on race, gender, religion, or age in hiring, firing, or promotions.

 

Essentially, the EEOC attempts to create a level playing field in the job market by investigating complaints and enforcing anti-discrimination laws. Yet today’s EEOC, led by acting chair Andrea Lucas, is rapidly changing, especially as it enforces—or rather fails to enforce—protections for LGBTQ+ employees. Pride in Exile, a volunteer organization, was created to seek actionable ways we can resist the weaponization of the EEOC as it threatens the hard-earned rights and protections of LGBTQ+ employees.

 

In this exclusive interview, I am honored to host two absolute titans in the fight for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion: Chai Feldblum, a renowned legal scholar, activist, and former Commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under President Barack Obama, and Judge Karen Ortiz, an administrative law judge at the EEOC’s New York District’s Office who has bravely challenged the current EEOC’s leadership over policies affecting LGBTQ+ cases.

 

Together, we explore:

 

• Our Guests’ Career Journeys. The guests' journeys to EEOC leadership and the significant advancements in LGBTQ+ workplace protections made over the past two decades.

 

• Threats to LGBTQ+ Workplace Protections. An in-depth look at current threats to LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion and concrete strategies to counter them, including the vital role of the all-volunteer organization, Pride in Exile.

 

• Vision for a Belonging Society. A forward-looking discussion on envisioning and building a future of work where belonging is truly inclusive for all, especially the most vulnerable within our LGBTQ+ communities.

 

Our conversation is designed to support people like you—visionary leaders and those on their way to joining us. Want to gain the skills necessary to apply this learning to your work?

 

Join the Belonging Movement today! After you join, you'll receive exclusive access to complimentary workshops, group coaching sessions, and 1:1 somatic coaching offers designed to help you lead with your values and build groups that center team safety, trust, and belonging.

 

Don't just imagine belonging – build it. Join the Belonging Movement here: https://www.rhodesperry.com/subscribe.

 

Support Pride in Exile by becoming a member: https://www.prideinexile.org/