5 THINGS TO KNOW

Vogue Italia celebrates LGBT models in fashion

In a landmark moment for Vogue Italia, the September issue features not one, but two, pro-LBTQ covers — sealed with a kiss. Following the example set by the late, great, Franca Sozzani who frequently dedicated entire issues to underrepresented minorities in fashion, like plus-size and women of color, new editor-in-chief Emanuele Farneti has chosen to celebrate fashion’s biggest month with models locking lips.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Finding the right LGBT friendly law school.

Prospective law students – whether LGBTQ or those interested in a career in LGBTQ advocacy – who want to find an inclusive law school should start by researching their options. “Law school is a very, very tough environment in general,” says law student Zahar Lopez in the Law School Admission Council’s “Choosing an LGBT-Friendly Law School video.” “So you don’t want to add to the stresses of being a law student, additional stresses of not fitting in because you’re gay.”

BUSINESS

Financial planning for the LGBT community.

We’re getting a lot of emails from readers concerned about the prospects of their financial security and same-sex marriages under the Trump Administration. As Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Brian Thompson of BT Financial, says, “With so much uncertainty as to what the future holds for our marriage and civil rights, you need a comprehensive financial plan.”

BUSINESS

An LGBT dorm floor at UNLV.

When resident assistant Sawyer Spackman heard at an October University of Montana conference about other schools that had LGBTQ floors in their residence halls, he pitched the idea to Residential Life Coordinator Andrew Lignelli. Could UNLV do something like that at South Complex? Lignelli’s reaction was a quick “no.” There wasn’t much time to develop the idea and he figured the university would want to focus on the existing themed floors in the residence halls.

BUSINESS

Wall Street continues support for LGBT employees.

Investment advisory firm TIAA has added reciprocal IVF assistance to its family planning benefits package as an LGBT inclusion measure. The New York City-based firm officially added the benefit July 1 after conversations with its LGBT employee resource group during Pride Month in June.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Transgender videos used to train AI software.

About five or six years ago, one of Karl Ricanek’s students showed him a video on YouTube. It was a time lapse of a person undergoing hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, in order to transition genders. “At the time, we were working on facial recognition,” Ricanek, a professor of computer science at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, tells The Verge. He says he and his students were always trying to find ways to break the systems they worked on, and that this video seemed like a particularly tricky challenge. “We were like, ‘Wow there’s no way the current technology could recognize this person [after they transitioned].’”

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Luvs gets it right when connecting with LGBT parents.

Finding an “insight” is the holy grail of marketing. Brands spend years and dollars mining data to find exactly the right way to connect with their target audience. The “insight” becomes the unique aspect of the target where the brand can find an even more unique connection. Finding the “insight” is a big part of what I teach in my class at NYU. It’s a big part of the work I do with clients. And there’s no better example than that of the brand Luvs.