Location, Location, Location: Fairness and Access in Conference Site Selection

This webinar program was presented on May 19, 2022.

Description

Choosing a location for your in-person meeting is an extremely important decision and many factors play in to where and why an entity chooses to hold its meeting in a particular city/state. There has been increasing discussion on the issue of whether to hold in-person meetings in cities & states that have laws that discriminate against an identifiable population or individuals. For example both Alabama and Tennessee allows discrimination in public accommodations, including restrooms, on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. However this is not an issue specific to the LGBTQ+ community. Women’s right to healthcare, accessibility issues, and voter disenfranchisement are just a few of the many examples.

This webinar provides an opportunity to learn about these laws and to provide an honest and open conversation about whether ABA entities should hold meetings in cities/states that have discriminatory laws on the books.

We will hear from Mark Page, head of ABA Meetings and Travel about the ABA's current policies and procedures and from SOGI Commissioner Hon. Kristin Rosi about her own experiences with these issues and why it is important to take this matter into consideration when deciding where to hold your next meeting. 

This program is intended to be an open and honest dialogue about the issues. It not meant to act in a way to try and change ABA policy but rather educate ABA entity leadership as to the unique issues they will face when selecting their meeting locations.