Equality@Work Awards celebrate leaders in workplace equality

Kenneth Cole and Padma Lakshmi

The Pride Agenda’s fifth annual Equality@Work Awards Luncheon was yesterday at Cipriani 23^rd Street in NYC. The event was attended by more than 250 people representing industries including fashion and retail, legal, financial, real estate, among others. The awards were given to three special recipients who have gone above and beyond in creating inclusive workplaces and serving as excellent examples of how other companies can set and raise the bar for LGBT employees in their industries: Kenneth Cole of Kenneth Cole Productions as the individual honoree, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Credit Suisse as the corporate honorees.

The Equality@Work Awards also celebrates Pride In My Workplace, the Pride Agenda’s innovative program that trains businesses and firms to be employers of choice for LGBT people in New York. The program’s interactive industry roundtables train businesses on workplace best practices.

Padma Lakshmi, host of TV’s “Top Chef,” got the crowd laughing as emcee, and Pride Agenda’s own Alan Van Capelle told companies that are behind the times in empowering their LGBT employees that it’s time for them to “pack their knives and go.” Well said!