IMS Luxembourg's event stressed that inclusion isn't just policy – businesses must foster a culture where all employees feel valued.

Last night's Inspiring More Sustainability (IMS) Luxembourg event, Walk the Talk: Family at Heart – Allyship and Rainbow Families in the Workplace, was divided into two distinct parts.

The first half was an eye opener that made me realise that discrimination is still baked into our laws. It culminated with MEP Mark Angel sharing via video the battles he is fighting on behalf of citizens. He described how family law is set by member states and can work against the EU principle of free movement.

Consider a family in Luxembourg working for a multinational. The man is infertile, but the family was created with the help of a sperm donor and in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The multinational moves the family to Italy, and the happy family story continues.

Compare with a 'rainbow family' of two married women. To make their family whole, they seek the help of a sperm donor and IVF. The multinational moves the family to Italy and the non-biological mother is not recognised as a parent. The family story changes.

It seems to me that the patchwork of laws in member states discriminates against the rainbow family. They have a different outcome because the non-biological parent is homosexual, even though sexuality is a protected characteristic.

And the person that is likely to suffer most is the child. If anything happens to their biological parent, will they become legally orphaned and a ward of the state?

The second half of the event involved personal stories from panel members, and for me the stars were the children. The children weren't on stage, but both Catherine Guilleaume and Loic Choquet shared how their children had educated their primary school classmates on how happy and loving families come in different forms.

And there were lessons for business leaders too.

The first is to create an inclusive environment to get the best performance from all your people. Loic's career accelerated when he was able to work without the burden of trying to hide his true self every day in the office.

The second is that policies need to be combined with education. The policies don't work without implementation by educated people, and supportive colleagues need a framework.

But more importantly, what are the lessons for society?

In my opinion, it isn't to just 'Walk the Talk' as the event publicised, but to 'Walk and Talk'. My eyes were opened by event, and through conversations with those outside of our echo chambers we may be able to build the support for politicians, such as Mark Angel, on their march to achieving equality.