More than 85 major corporations, small businesses, government agencies and nonprofits participated in the third annual Windy City Times WERQ! LGBTQ job fair Friday, Sept. 29, at Center on Halsted. An estimated 600 people attended the event, which included two panel discussions.
The Job Fair coincided with the launch of the Windy City Times #HireTrans citywide campaign to push all employers to increase their hiring and workplace inclusion efforts for the transgender community. #HireTrans is a visibility campaign that features more than 60 trans and gender nonconforming people who were photographed by award-winning filmmaker Andre Perez.
The Job Fair, which was free and open to the public, was hosted by Windy City Times with Center on Halsted, MB Financial Bank, US Bank, Howard Brown Health, Pride Action Tank, Chicago House, Association of Latino/as Motivating Action, Affinity Community Services, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Out & Equal Chicagoland and Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus.
The first workshop at the job fair was Trans and GNC in the Workplace, moderated by Vanessa Sheridan of Center on Halsted, with panelists Lathem Bonem, Trans Works Program Manager at Chicago House; LaSaia Wade, member of Chicago TGNC Collective and the Trans Liberation Collective, and director of Brave Space Alliance; and Denise Bowker, who has worked for Northern Trust for 30 years in the technology area.
At noon, the Building Confidence for Job Searchers Over 50 panel was moderated by Imani Rupert-Gordon of Affinity Community Services, with panelists Ashley Brazil, Senior Career Specialist in the Employment Program at Chicago House and Social Service Agency, and Darryl Grant, who brings nearly 10 years of experience as a professional recruiter, interviewer, job search coach, and resume advisor in the Chicago area.
Late in the day, about a dozen people showed up to protest the participation of A Wider Bridge in the fair. The organization promotes Israel in the LGBT community and the protesters accuse it of "pink washing" the country's policies and actions toward Palestine and Palestinians. A Wider Bridge leader Laurie Grauer was among the three women who had been asked to leave the post-Dyke March rally in June, sparking an international controversy on all sides of the debate. By the time protesters arrived at the job fair, however, A Wider Bridge's Grauer and a few of the other exhibitors had already packed up for the day. The protesters stayed for awhile, posting photos and video from their action.
Exhibitors in the 2017 job fair were:
ACLU
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
ALMA
Alight Solutions
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
AON
Astellas Pharma
AT&T
A Wider Bridge
Barilla America, Inc.
BD Medical Supply
Betancourt Realty
Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Blue Plate
CDW
Central States SER
Charles Schwab
Chase
Chicago Center for Arts and Technolgoy
Chicago Commission on Human Relations
Chicago House
Chicago Sky
Chicago Women in Trades
Christy Webber Landscapes
City Staffing
CME Group
CNA Insurance
Comcast/Xfinity
Conagra Brands
Edelman
Education Pioneers
Exelon Corp.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Fifth Third Bank
GameStop
Gap Inc. and Old Navy
Glenkirk
Grainger
Google
Grassroots Campaigns Chicago
Groupon
H&M
Heartland Alliance
Heels and Hardhats Contracting Co
Hilton Worldwide
Howard Brown Health
Hyatt Hotel
Indiana Tech
The Jellyvision Lab, Inc.
John Casablancas: Modeling, Acting
The John Marshall Law School
The Kellogg Co.
KPMG
Lawrence Hall
LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois
Mariano's/Kroger Co.
Marriott Hotels
MB Financial Bank
Morningstar
The Nature Conservancy
Navy Pier
Northern Trust
Northwestern, Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing
Pace Suburban Bus Company
Paul Mitchell the School Chicago
Planned Parenthood of Illinois
Renewal Care Partners
ResourceMFG
Riveron Consulting
Robert Bosch LLC
Roosevelt University
Rush University Medical Center
Savor...Chicago at McCormick Place Convention Center
Schafer Condon Carter
Skills for Chicagoland's Future
Smart Resources
Stomp Exterminator
Test Positive Aware Network
The Night Ministry
Thresholds
TransUnion
Trilogy, Inc.
Trunk Club
Uber
United Airlines
Uptake
US Bank
Walgreens
Windy City Limousine
Zurich North America
Employers have been encouraged to post jobs on the job fair's Facebook page: http://ift.tt/2iZbcQ8 .
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