GaYme Changers in Portugal

In his groundbreaking book GaYme Changer: How the LGBT+ community and their allies are changing the global community, Jens Schadendorf described a revolution: in less than a decade, gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, and queer people in the West and some other parts of the world broke free from their long history of marginalization, stigmatization, and criminalization to become the ultimate champions of creativity, diversity, and innovation.

Now, in this shorter work, Schadendorf looks at Portugal. He explores in-depth-backgrounds and tells fascinating stories of a complex reality in this beautiful country in Europe’s Southwest. On the one hand, its legal situation is quite positive for LGBT+ people. On the other, they face severe cultural resistance and rejection in workplaces and social life. But there is also progress now, with campaigning organizations, individuals, and companies leading the way, some of them catching up strategically and fast.  They have a reason to move on, since what applies elsewhere in the world applies here too: letting LGBT+ people develop into dynamic forces is a benefit to both business and society. It is economically right, and it is socially and ethically the right thing to do.