Affirming Trans Rights Summit

In September, sparks & honey hosted the Affirming Trans Rights Summit to support, amplify and fight for the future of trans and nonbinary people. In a series of panel discussions with experts, we examined topics from healthcare to policy, and their real world effects on trans people and their families and communities. 

“We are calling for leaders everywhere to implement trans-inclusive strategies,” said Davianne Harris, chief client officer and head of Equitable Futures at sparks & honey. 

The Creating a Trans-Inclusive Workplace report is a step in that right direction, offering strategies for accountability for leaders to build an inclusive and promising future for trans communities, starting in the workplace. 

Now is the time to become an advocate, ally and support system for trans and nonbinary people.

Seeking Answers: Transgender Medicine, Health and Surgery
For transgender and non-binary people, there’s a broad spectrum of actions people can take to live as their intended gender identity. We brought in medical experts, including leading endocrinologists and surgeons, along with patients and partners to discuss treatment options available today (which are at-risk) as well as the spaces they see for bigger organizations to make a significant impact. 
Panelists include: Dr. Josh Safer; Executive Director of Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Dr. Marci Bowers; Gynecologist and Surgeon, and Valerie & Barb Sullan; Retired Litigator & Dentist.

Discussion moderated by Paul Butler; President and Chief Transformation Officer at New America.

Changing the Narrative: Fighting Anti-Trans Legislation
After defining the options and needs available to trans and non-binary people, we turned our focus to those standing in the way of those needs. With legal experts and advocates, we defined strategies to move forward against common legal action, the most critical states where help is needed, and how brands can successfully amplify these campaigns.
Panelists include: Sasha Buchert; Director of Nonbinary and Trans Rights Project at Lambda Legal, Melissa Sklarz; District Leader, 30th AD, Part B, Queens County, Robb Henzi; SVP of Client Strategy, Policy & Philanthropy Practice Lead, sparks & honey.

Discussion moderated by: Elana Redfield; Federal Policy Director of the Williams Institute at UCLA.

Affirming at Scale: Actions for the C-Suite
Many leaders support LGBTQ+ rights but are unclear on how to best advocate for trans and non-binary people inside & outside their organizations. Beyond retaining and advancing gender expansive employees, we built the action items leaders need for a safer, more expansive, and more creative future.
Guests include: Elisa Crespo; Executive Director at NEW Pride Agenda, Blake Plowden; Research Operations Manager at Twitter, and Joon Park; Senior Cultural Strategist at sparks & honey

Discussion moderated by: Davianne Harris; Chief Client Officer and Equitable Futures Practice Lead at sparks & honey.

We extend a deep heartfelt thank you to each of our panelists for sharing their perspectives. sparks & honey will continue to use our elevated access to our clients to advocate for the rights of gender-expansive people. The conversation was dense and multifaceted as merited by its subject. Our intention, for all viewers of this content, is to leave with broader understanding of the vast and different needs within the trans community and better questions to ask as you investigate your own ability to reduce inequity in your company and community.

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Additional sparks & honey learning and action for gender expansive equity.

Explore other resources sparks & honey has dedicated to elevating the rights for people who identify as trans and non-binary. All of these resources are free to download and can be shared with anyone you believe can benefit from this work.

Watch 6/23/21 Culture Briefing x ADCOLOR | TRANScendence

As the trans community experiences both a beautiful flourishing of cultural visibility as well as attacks to their very existence, how can we hone in on leveraging the creative talent and resilience to push back against malign actors and realize its fullest potential? We’re joined by Nick Adams from Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD.

Download The Equity Effect | sparks & honey Intelligence Report

Published in July of 2021, we explore various principles gleaned from living through the pandemic and establish equity, or the quality of being fair, as a leading determinant for wellbeing. It’s the responsibility of organizations of all kinds to claim equity as a strategic, grounding ideal. This report covers the five cultural shifts with which every company now needs to reckon.

Watch 10/14/21 Culture Briefing | Non-Binary Style

Non-Binary style icons are emerging across social platforms and raising praise for fashion choices influenced by individual identity. Will department stores with different floors for cis-gendered people be a thing of the past? How can the cultural shift towards uni-sex fashion uplift the non-binary community as a whole?

Download The New Language of Gender

Gender used to be viewed through binary terms: male and female, masculine and feminine. But the new language of gender deconstructs that binary in favor of fluid identities across a gender spectrum. To be culturally literate now demands knowing how to speak the new language of gender and understanding its nuances. With this report, we’re helping everyone from creators to brands and organizations do so. This report was originally published in 2015.

Watch 11/19/20 sparks & honey Culture Briefing | Trans Day of Remembrance

sparks & honey dedicated a Culture Briefing, a day before Trans Day of Remembrance in 2020, to honoring and celebrating trans and non-binary leaders who lost their lives in pursuit of acceptance. We were joined by Andre J, model, Anne Dooley, a Global Client Lead at Omnicom, and Elana Lancaster, LGTBQ Health & Inclusion Consultant.

Continue this work

If you’d like to work with sparks & honey to amplify equity in your own community, learn more about our Equitable Futures Practice by clicking the button below.