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WorkPride Panel: Politics and the impact they have on the LGBTQ+ community

Politics have a vital role in the lives of every single person around the globe, dictating what they can and cannot do, what opportunities are available to them and how they can climb up or redefine the social ladder. In many countries worldwide, being LGBTQ+ in any shape or form is still punishable by death or time spent in prison. 


In this panel we will explore some examples of how certain political actions can damage the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as how the community is not protected under certain legislation in comparison to their straight counterparts. As we understand this is a sensitive subject, we ought to put personal political stances aside and study the subject through a more objective, non-biased lens. 


In Partnership With

Speakers:

  • George Wright (he/him)
    George Wright (he/him)
    Senior Communications Officer
    Houses of Parliament
    I am the Senior Communications Officer for an MP in the House of Commons, with a history working at myGwork as the Head of Community Engagement. My undergraduate was in Law at the Royal Holloway College, University of London, and I'm always keen to answer questions :)
  • M
    Cyrus Engerer
    Cyrus Engerer
    Member of the European Parliament
    European Parliament
  • M
    Jill Nussbaumer
    Jill Nussbaumer
    Business Analyst
    SIX Digital Exchange
    Besides work, Jill is politically engaged as the vice president of the young liberals and state senator of the canton of Zug. During the debate on marriage equality in the Swiss parliament, Jill was lobbying in the interest of same sex couples. As she is in a same sex relationship herself, the topic was close to her heart.
  • John Yates
    John Yates
    Director of Racial Equity and Social Justice
    NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
    John Yates is a civil servant currently serving the NYC Department of Health as the Director of Racial Equity and Social Justice in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response. Primarily, John has been focused on supporting the agency with minimizing the health disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic which occur as a result of structural racism. In addition to this, John is also a part-time evening J.D. candidate at the CUNY School of Law. John hopes to be a civil rights attorney who will be able to best serve the members of his community. And if that was not enough, John also started a non-profit organization called PODER (Spanish word for "power") which works to fight voter suppression and the low voter turnout among Black and Latino folks.
  • Angela Eagle
    Angela Eagle
    Member of Parliament for Wallasey
    UK Government
    Angela has been an active member of the Labour Party since she first joined aged 17 in 1978 and has since held various positions in the party. She was elected to the Party’s National Women’s Conference in 1989 and chaired the National Conference of Labour Women in 1991. From 1989 until 1991 Angela was the constituency party secretary for Peckham in South London before being selected as the Labour Party candidate for Wallasey. Angela was first elected to Parliament in the 1992 General Election when she defeated the then Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign Office, Lynda Chalker, by 3,809 votes to become the first ever Labour MP for Wallasey. Whilst in opposition, and as a newly elected MP, Angela became a member of the Employment Select Committee in 1994 that has investigated such subjects as the role of trade unions, mothers in employment and executive salaries. In recognition of her achievements Angela was promoted to the role of opposition whip in 1996. Angela’s first Government role was in the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions where she was appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State following the 1997 General Election that returned a Labour Government and Angela re-elected with a greatly increased majority of 19,074. In her new role, Angela worked on environmental issues such as water, the countryside and regeneration. In 1998, Angela was moved to the Department of Social Security, again as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, where she had a number of responsibilities including Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Family Tax Credits and the Benefits Agency. Angela remained in this role until the 2001 General Election where she was re-elected for the third time. Following the 2001 General Election, Angela moved to the Home Office where she remained until the reshuffle in May 2002 when she returned to the backbenches. Angela was a member of the Treasury Select Committee for five years. Angela was also elected as Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party during this period. She was also elected to represent backbench Labour MPs on the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee. Angela was back on the frontbench in June 2007, this time as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, a new position created in HM Treasury. Angela was responsible for areas including competition and improving regulation, excise duties and gambling, climate change issues such as carbon trading and taxation of transport and the Royal Mint. Angela was promoted again in June 2009; this time to the role of Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society in the Department for Work and Pensions. Following the 2010 general election the Tory-led Coalition took the keys to Number 10 and the Labour Party was in opposition. Angela came joint fourth in the Labour Party’s shadow cabinet election and was appointed to the role of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury by the new party leader Ed Miliband. In October 2011, Angela became Shadow Leader of the House. In September 2015, she was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, a position she held until June 2016. She has since served on the backbenches, and has campaigned on issues such as cuts to disability benefits and NHS services across the Wirral. Angela was re-elected to be the Member of Parliament for Wallasey in the 2017 General Election and the 2019 General Election. Angela was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for parliamentary and political service.
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    John Wright Sol
    John Wright Sol
    Member of Parliament
    El Salvador
    John Wright was sworn in as Deputy of El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly on May 1st, 2021. This is his second time as a legislator, but his first as a member of the centrist ‘Nuestro Tiempo’ party. Wright led the effort to establish ‘Nuestro Tiempo’ as a new political alternative after his first term in parliament. In these trying times for democracy and human rights in El Salvador, political participation and the role of opposition parties are of paramount importance. John studied Political Science in Washington, D.C. and has an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid. He also served as a professional firefighter in the United States, an experience that has strongly influenced his views on public service.
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