More than a dozen stock exchanges around the world are participating in an initiative that seeks to promote LGBTQ inclusion in the private sector.

The first “Ringing the Bell for LGBTIQ+ Equality” ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Toronto Stock Exchange when members of the LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors Canada Association rang the closing bell.

Two “Ringing the Bell for LGBTIQ+ Equality” ceremonies took place on Wednesday at the London Stock Exchange and the Australia Stock Exchange. Similar events are scheduled to occur in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Chicago, Mexico City, the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the Namibian capital of Windhoek, and other cities throughout the month.

Koppa: The LGBTI+ Economic Power Lab and various U.N. agencies are behind the campaign that coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

IDAHOBiT commemorates the World Health Organization’s declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder on May 17, 1990.

“This is more than just a symbolic gesture – it’s a global call to action to focus on LGBTIQ+ economic equality inclusion,” said Fabrice Houdart, co-founder of Koppa, in a press release that announced the “Ringing the Bell for LGBTIQ+ Equality” campaign. “Economic inclusion remains among the unfinished business of the LGBTIQ+ equality movement of the LGBTIQ+ equality movement around the world, including in the U.S. We are ringing the bell to remind the world: Our journey is far from over.”

“With an increasing number of governments trying to force businesses around the world to retreat on their support for basic equality, companies must step in and defend their right to do business as they see fit, including their support for equality for all,” he added.

Watch the video on YouTube.

Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association.