THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The Job Fair coincided with the launch of the Windy City Times #HireTrans citywide campaign to push all employers to increase their hiring and workplace inclusion efforts for the transgender community. #HireTrans is a visibility campaign that features more than 60 trans and gender nonconforming people who were photographed by award-winning filmmaker Andre Perez.

The Job Fair, which was free and open to the public, was hosted by Windy City Times with Center on Halsted, MB Financial Bank, US Bank, Howard Brown Health, Pride Action Tank, Chicago House, Association of Latino/as Motivating Action, Affinity Community Services, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Out & Equal Chicagoland and Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus.

The first workshop at the job fair was Trans and GNC in the Workplace, moderated by Vanessa Sheridan of Center on Halsted, with panelists Lathem Bonem, Trans Works Program Manager at Chicago House; LaSaia Wade, member of Chicago TGNC Collective and the Trans Liberation Collective, and director of Brave Space Alliance; and Denise Bowker, who has worked for Northern Trust for 30 years in the technology area.

At noon, the Building Confidence for Job Searchers Over 50 panel was moderated by Imani Rupert-Gordon of Affinity Community Services, with panelists Ashley Brazil, Senior Career Specialist in the Employment Program at Chicago House and Social Service Agency, and Darryl Grant, who brings nearly 10 years of experience as a professional recruiter, interviewer, job search coach, and resume advisor in the Chicago area.

Late in the day, about a dozen people showed up to protest the participation of A Wider Bridge in the fair. The organization promotes Israel in the LGBT community and the protesters accuse it of "pink washing" the country's policies and actions toward Palestine and Palestinians. A Wider Bridge leader Laurie Grauer was among the three women who had been asked to leave the post-Dyke March rally in June, sparking an international controversy on all sides of the debate. By the time protesters arrived at the job fair, however, A Wider Bridge's Grauer and a few of the other exhibitors had already packed up for the day. The protesters stayed for awhile, posting photos and video from their action.

Exhibitors in the 2017 job fair were:

— ACLU

— AIDS Foundation of Chicago

— ALMA

— Alight Solutions

— Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

— AON

— Astellas Pharma

— AT&T

— A Wider Bridge

— Barilla America, Inc.

— BD Medical Supply

— Betancourt Realty

— Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

— Blue Plate

— CDW

— Central States SER

— Charles Schwab

— Chase

— Chicago Center for Arts and Technolgoy

— Chicago Commission on Human Relations

— Chicago House

— Chicago Sky

— Chicago Women in Trades

— Christy Webber Landscapes

— City Staffing

— CME Group

— CNA Insurance

— Comcast/Xfinity

— Conagra Brands

— Edelman

— Education Pioneers

— Exelon Corp.

— Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

— Fifth Third Bank

— GameStop

— Gap Inc. and Old Navy

— Glenkirk

— Grainger

— Google

— Grassroots Campaigns Chicago

— Groupon

— H&M

— Heartland Alliance

— Heels and Hardhats Contracting Co

— Hilton Worldwide

— Howard Brown Health

— Hyatt Hotel

— Indiana Tech

— The Jellyvision Lab, Inc.

— John Casablancas: Modeling, Acting

— The John Marshall Law School

— The Kellogg Co.

— KPMG

— Lawrence Hall

— LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois

— Mariano's/Kroger Co.

— Marriott Hotels

— MB Financial Bank

— Morningstar

— The Nature Conservancy

— Navy Pier

— Northern Trust

— Northwestern, Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing

— Pace Suburban Bus Company

— Paul Mitchell the School Chicago

— Planned Parenthood of Illinois

— Renewal Care Partners

— ResourceMFG

— Riveron Consulting

— Robert Bosch LLC

— Roosevelt University

— Rush University Medical Center

— Savor...Chicago at McCormick Place Convention Center

— Schafer Condon Carter

— Skills for Chicagoland's Future

— Smart Resources

— Stomp Exterminator

— Test Positive Aware Network

— The Night Ministry

— Thresholds

— TransUnion

— Trilogy, Inc.

— Trunk Club

— Uber

— United Airlines

— Uptake

— US Bank

— Walgreens

— Windy City Limousine

— Zurich North America

Employers have been encouraged to post jobs on the job fair's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LGBTQJobFair .

The video playlist below contains multiple videos. Choose Playlist in the top left hand corner to watch videos out of order, if preferred.