Excerpt from the speech:
As a politician I needed a long time to stand up for my gay identity, but I have not experienced any form of discrimination in my life as a political representative and as a minister and I know that there is a growing culture of acceptance and respect in the field of culture and in the media today. Nevertheless, we all know that it is still not a matter of course for LGBTIQ people to be out, especially in business. And this is precisely why I find the founding of the Business Chamber so incredibly important, because it can also give courage to those who are on the way to respecting diversity and valuing diversity and perceiving diversity as something enriching. I am pretty sure that we can do a lot in the area of industry and commerce but also crafts. How many CEOs can you think of who say, as a matter of course, “I am gay – so what”.
Not even 40% have come out, which is a shockingly low figure. And if that is already the case with people in public positions of responsibility in society, what about industrial work? What does it look like for the craftsman, what does it look like for the worker, what does it look like for young trainees in traditional companies? And that’s where your work comes in and I think it’s great that you’re also embedded in Europe and internationally.
