Question of the month: Where do I find LGBTQ information?

Maybe you have heard some form of this question recently. Perhaps it came from a client, an employee, or as part of an RFP.

For us, clients have been increasingly asking about this information, and we’ve been happy to direct them to the details we provide on same-sex relationships, legislation, and culture as it relates to their employees’ business presence in a particular country.

But we wanted to do more. And the Global Mobility industry has been asking for more. As Jason Suto from BlackRock said on a recent FEM panel, “People have to feel valued, respected, and safe at any organization.” Educating all employees helps satisfy those needs. And so we have extracted, developed, and given a distinct place in our country reports to specific LGBTQ+ content.

Through this ongoing project, there are now “LGBTQ+” articles under “Family Matters” in 60 of our destinations. And the list is growing.

Developing additional content for this topic has revealed some interesting points. One is the fact that certain languages – like Czech, for example — are heavily gender-based, and adopting more inclusive, gender-neutral terms can be more of a challenge in these places. Another is that some nations have achieved such a level of inclusiveness – as Norway has — that LGBTQ groups are fewer than elsewhere, due partly to less need for advocacy as well as less social distinction among the larger population.

As companies’ policies and strategies evolve, the need to be informed will continue to build. While by no means exhaustive, here are a few organizations that operate around the world and provide meaningful information for specific countries:

Equaldex
Collaborative LGBT knowledge base providing timelines, maps, and other displays of legislation on various topics worldwide.

ILGA World
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association is a worldwide federation of more than 1,600 organizations from over 150 countries and territories campaigning for human rights. Established in 1978, ILGA World has ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations.

International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association
Provides travel resources and information while continuously working to promote equality and safety within LGBTQ+ tourism worldwide. IGLTA’s members include LGBTQ+ friendly accommodations, transport, destinations, service providers, travel agents, tour operators, events and travel media located in over 80 countries.

OutLeadership
Global LGBTQ+ business network. Scroll down for briefs on LGBTQ+ business climate score, current legal status, and impact of discrimination on business and talent for 25 countries.

Stonewall Workplace Briefings
​​​​​​Briefings outline the legal, socio-cultural and workplace situation for LGBT people in the specific countries, advise employers on how they can create inclusive and equal workplaces for LGBT employees around the world, and showcase progressive workplace practices.

Workplace Pride Foundation
Not-for-profit foundation dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTIQ+ people in workplaces worldwide, striving for a world of inclusive workplaces where LGBTIQ+ people can truly be themselves, are valued and, through their contributions, help to lead the way for others.

Written by Ellen Harris, GMS, Product Manager, Content Group

Relocation everywhere — including within the United States — is being driven by new and exciting trends. More than ever, it seems, employees and their families are motivated to choose their locations by flexible options, welcoming environments, and personal ties.

Even when an employee’s destination lies outside of a traditional metropolitan area in the USA, it’s important to know that state-level resources and information can be very useful, especially for:

• obtaining a driver’s license and other local identification
• determining school requirements and identifying education resources
• learning more about housing, utilities, legislation, and government
• discovering area intercity and regional transportation networks
• finding regional groups, clubs and activities

Below, you’ll find a list of Living Abroad’s USA city reports, re-grouped by state for easy reference. And if your employees are moving to USA metropolitan areas that extend across multiple states, such as New York City, Kansas City, Washington DC, Cincinnati, or St. Louis? Don’t worry — you’ll find that each report covers them all.

Written by Erin Fitzgerald, GMS, Content Manager

Globally mobile workers have long relied on Living Abroad’s experience bringing you superior content on a wide range of topics. But would it surprise you to know that we also have long experience working remotely?

For more than a decade, our core team has worked from home, utilizing an office periodically for meetings and planning sessions. And while pandemic shutdowns were jarring in many ways, we didn’t miss a beat with our workflow, which allowed us to flex and adjust quickly to our clients’ needs.

Here are some things that have worked for us over the years:

* Weekly company call to share what each person is working on and bring up any issues.

* Monthly in-person meeting (online during COVID) which is a little more in-depth as we spend additional time on broader topics and larger projects.

* Quarterly planning meetings during which we take stock of what’s been accomplished over the previous quarter and discuss the upcoming one. Again, these are typically in person and last a few hours.  We took these online last year.

Prior to the pandemic, people would occasionally ask me about my WFH situation. When everyone was forced into the same model, I got even more questions. Here are some common ones:

How do you deal with the isolation? The scheduled check-ins help with that. We also have an IM platform on all day, in addition to email and phone, so it always feels like someone is just a “ping” away. I also use my ‘coffee break’ to walk my dog, which often leads to friendly exchanges with neighbors.

How do you stay focused? I have always been very self-motivated. A productive day makes me happy. I’m a ‘list person,’ tracking goals for the day and week. Some days it helps to pace myself, when possible, arranging work to align with high- and low-energy periods. On extra-busy days, I just keep the coffee brewing and take comfort in the fact that I’m interrupted far less than if I were in an office.

Living Abroad has some excellent tools that make us very self-sufficient in our content management. We have the ability to interact with our content quickly and easily – even remotely.

It also helps to be organized. Over the years working from home, we’ve developed practices that work well to maintain our research library, manage our large database, share and store resources, and keep intact the institutional knowledge that comes with decades on the job. All of this helps us work efficiently, even on our own.

What about interacting with colleagues? Face-to-face contact is what I miss the most about an office. Those non-verbal cues you get from people about how their day’s going, and the water cooler conversations. But the prevalence of video calls now actually means we probably “see” each other just as much now – if not more – than before the pandemic.

Was there anything that was a tough work transition after the COVID shutdown? Yes, sharing my home base with my husband and grown son, who were also suddenly working from home. Our house is small, and we struggled to find space and quiet that worked for everyone. But we aimed for respect and patience. Our industry was going through so much change that it took all my brainpower to constantly adapt our skills and focus our offerings so that our clients remained supported and informed. All in all, we’ve been very fortunate.

Everyone’s jobs have changed in ways they never imagined over the past year. It will be interesting to see how the enforced remote work model of 2020 ends up disrupting the future workplace in all kinds of positive, flexible ways.

Written by Ellen Harris, GMS, Product Manager, Content Group

After months of hope that the second most populous country in the world would be able to keep up with medical support and resources during the pandemic, India is now a focus for international concern. As of the last week of April, India accounted for more than 1 out of 3 reported COVID-19 cases globally. As of the first week of May, almost 400,000 new cases are reported daily in India — and most agree this is an underestimate.

While anyone over the age of 18 in India is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine as of May 1, vaccine shortages are rampant. The country is also currently facing widespread shortages of hospital beds, oxygen tanks, and other key resources, which further challenges its ability to recover from the pandemic. As a result, it’s anticipated that India will deal with overwhelming levels of illness for some time to come.

Governments around the world are mobilizing in support. In addition, many organizations are providing immediate help in India, including food and income for impoverished communities, vaccine awareness, support for frontline workers, and the purchase of medical supplies for hospitals and clinics. A few of these organizations include:

Rapid Response

Indian Red Cross

UNICEF

Oxfam India 

Give India

When giving to support any cause, it’s important for donors to be comfortable with their choices. Two great resources for vetting charities are GuideStar, and Charity Navigator.
Written by Erin Fitzgerald, GMS, Content Manager

Today a colleague sent around a “breaking news report” from the New York Times:  European countries may allow American tourists to visit this summer if they show proof of being fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.  This was incredibly encouraging since global business travel has begun intra-EU and international assignments can’t be too far behind.

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, Europe’s top five most-visited countries are Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.  Currently travel to France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom remain heavily restricted, and travel to Germany is not advised for American citizens by the U.S. State Department.

As the EU is anxious to restore tourism after a year of no travel, Americans are anxious to get on a plane and head to Europe. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions Americans not to go to Greece, Italy, Spain or the United Kingdom.  Currently more than half of the population in those countries have received a first vaccine dose and outdoor restaurants have reopened, along with nonessential shops.

If you are traveling to Europe for essential business, the EU Commission’s Re-open EU App can also help. This app provides up-to-date information on the health situation, safety precautions, and travel restrictions for all EU countries.  It also includes the non-EU members of the Schengen area: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.  As borders open for business travelers, country entry requirements continue to change on a daily basis. Fragomen is a good source for regularly updated immigration summaries, by country.

As we continue to sit tight in the global mobility industry, articles like these give us hope that the end of the mass lockdowns are near, and life as we know it, at least for global mobility, can slowly return to normalcy.

I don’t know about you but thinking of a café crème in one hand and a fresh croissant in the other, a summer vacation in Paris sounds good right about now. Enjoy our new video on France!

Written by Cathy Heyne, GMS-T, Managing Director