A job fair aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has been held in Shanghai. (Photo/Chinanews.com)
(ECNS) - China's first job fair aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has been held in Shanghai, with 17 employers, including Fortune 500 companies, taking part. However, some Chinese employers appeared reluctant to participate, reported the Beijing Times.
About 400 Chinese LGBT job-seekers attended the event on April 25, according to organizer Shanghai LGBT Professionals/WorkForLGBT, a group founded by Steven Paul Bielinski. Most of the job-seekers were fresh graduates, while a small fraction sought new work opportunities.
Bielinski invited about 150 companies, both private and foreign enterprises. He said he expected no more than 10 employers to attend, but 17 turned out. Fortune 500 companies like Google, Starbucks, Ford, IBM, and Microsoft were present.
Bielinski said an LGBT job fair is not discriminatory.
The LGBT population can face difficulties at work, said Bielinski, and hiding their sexual orientation can create even more mental strain. LGBT people are creative and imaginative, and tend to be more readily accepted in artistic and creative industries, rather than traditional, male-dominated industries such as energy and manufacturing, he added.
Chinese companies prefer to accept the LGBT community as customers rather than employees. They successfully explore the LGBT market but appear unwilling to integrate LGBT people into their own staff. Bielinski advises Chinese companies to fight against LGBT discrimination and foster a better working environment.
