Cathy La Torre: “Diversity&Inclusion? There is still much to be done.”

LGBTQI+ activist and advocate. Half Italian and half American. He divides his time between Bologna, Rome and Milan. A mission, professional and personal: to defend those who, in this society of ours, are seen as “different.” Cathy La Torre is all of that. Last Wednesday she participated in the second WoW event, Women on Wednesday (review the event here ), our format dedicated to gender (and other) issues. We interviewed her.

Cathy, you are strongly committed to protecting the LGBTQIA+ community from discrimination, and assisting them from a legal perspective.

It is an issue that has finally, at least in recent years, come to public attention. Does this increased media attention go hand in hand with a positive development of the situation?

It certainly cannot be denied that steps forward have been taken in recent years from a legal standpoint and in terms of the awareness of society as a whole, but it is also true that we were particularly backward in Italy. So from my point of view, and I also speak as an advocate who receives almost daily reports of homophobic attacks, insults or discrimination, there is still so much to be done, just think that the egalitarian marriage that the LGBTQ community has long been calling for has been translated by the Italian parliament into a second-class union.

In particular, in the world of work, how are things going? What kind of evolution are you seeing, at least from your point of view?

It is only since 2003 that it has been illegal in the EU to discriminate against people in the workplace on the basis of their sexual orientation. The legislation requires all EU countries to legally protect citizens against forms of discrimination in connection with an application for a job, professional promotion or training activities, or with regard to working conditions, pay and dismissal. However, we know that it takes time for some of the novelties contained in certain laws to come from citizens to enter the common consciousness. From what I see, it is mostly the larger and more structured companies that are more sensitive and attentive to these issues to the extent that they explicitly provide protocols, employee training and projects that promote inclusion and nondiscrimination. Not surprisingly, I am increasingly teaching Diversity and Inclusion classes in these very settings.

You founded a law firm called “Wildside Human First”-a very unusual name. What does it mean?

When I founded the firm with my partners, we were very clear about the idea of creating something different from a classic law firm. For us, client care comes before profit, and advocacy is a mission and not just a job. I am thus fulfilling one of the dreams I had since childhood, to fight against injustice for a better world.

Diversity & Inclusion are two terms that we have been uttering with increasing frequency for some time now. When you hear these words spoken, what do you think of? Is there not a risk that such important concepts will become buzzwords, emptying them of meaning?

It is true that many advertising campaigns implemented by brands, especially during Pride month, do not reflect real corporate policies, but prove to be merely gestures devoid of ethical value and aimed at the apparent increase of brand awareness. Logos, best-selling products are dyed rainbow-colored, and limited editions are launched for the occasion: actions that are ends in themselves, the consequence of which is the pure enrichment of the company. But I want to see the bright side: the very existence of rainbow washing shows how in our society supporting (albeit only nominally) queer people is now economically beneficial. We can say that rainbow washing is a child of times when queer people are less demonized by society, so it is an indicator of a more welcoming society, and I can only be happy about that. To come to the question, it is not always easy to tell if and how much a company that supports the queer community is actually sincere. One of the ways to tell if a company or entity is actually paying attention to queer issues is to see if it talks about said issues even outside of Pride month. However, this is not a strategy that gives certainty either. In general, the best thing would be to buy from LGBTQ realities that often struggle to stay afloat.