Discrimination Against Gays and Lesbians in the Workplace

In a recent podcast regarding a transgender high school student being forced to change in the nurse’s office instead of in the locker room with other students addressed the controversy regarding the treatment of members of our society who identify as LGBTQ. Throughout the podcast, multiple individuals have voiced support for the school’s decision to isolate the transgender student when changing. Do to the opinions voiced in the podcast regarding this case, I realized that the treatment of the high school student is only one example of the existing discrimination towards those who identify as LGBTQ. As such, I intend to explore the controversy of LGBTQ and our obligations that we have as members of the same society. Throughout this paper, I

Sexual orientation is “the clear, persistent desire of a person for affiliation with one sex rather than the other”, otherwise known as sexual preference. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com) Prejudice against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals (otherwise known as LGBT people) remain widespread in American society. LGBT people have always been a target for discrimination. Like other forms of prejudice, this discrimination is based on a hostile attitude toward a specific group and in this case minority. The current strides in the controversy of the legalization of the same sex marriage is a prime example of this discrimination. Sexual orientation prejudice

In a perfect world, people would be equal in rights, opportunities, and responsibilities, despite their race or gender. In the world we live in, however, we always face all kinds of neglect based on different attributes. All over the United States, certain people treat others with prejudice because of particular features they possess. Unfortunately, prejudice and discrimination occur even in places which, by definition, should be free of all personal prejudices – specifically, in offices and other business surroundings. This tragedy is called workplace discrimination; not every unfair behavior at work, however, can be assessed as discrimination. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an employee experiences unfair treatment due to their race, gender, age, religion, marital status, national origin, disability or veteran status, or other characteristics. Discrimination is one of the largest issues people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with. The U.S. have laws and regulations on discrimination but it still often occurs. Workplace discrimination appears in hiring, training, promotion, firing, and other institutional or interpersonal treatment. Discrimination sometimes causes an employee to leave or quit the workplace, resign from a position, or in more severe cases, to commit suicide or act violently against the discriminators. Discrimination is one of the largest issues many people face in the workplace.

The article don’t be so Gay: Challenging homophobic language by Erika L. Kirby is Professor of Communication Studies; she has been at Creighton since 1998. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in organizational communication, and she studies the everyday intersections of working and personal life, emphasizing how differing social identities (especially gender) assimilate into and collide with organizational structures. The following piece was originally published in 2008. The author’s main purpose is to educate the reader on the power of certain words. The author’s tone is truly concerned with how common homophobic slurs are use. The overall topic is to demonstrate what little thought we put in to our words.

Several interviewees in a study about LGBT identity of black Americans expressed much regret for not having black LGBT role models and fear in possibly getting pulled away from their primary reference group, which is their racial group, for being “too out” (Loiacano 1989). While research on the black and other non-white LGBT population’s sexual identity salience is greatly lacking, previous research shows that among middle and upper-middle class black lesbians who have more frequent contacts with whites, their sense of difference is established around racial identity, leading them to prioritize their black identity over lesbian identity (Moore 2011). Therefore, I expect a similar social mechanism to lead black LGBTs to prioritize their sexual identity over racial identity in salience when their difference from other blacks become highlighted through discriminatory

Recognized figures reveal their sexual orientation in public and in films and on television homosexual characters are depicted (Anderssen & Ytteroy, 2002). Despite these advances in the American mainstream, lesbians, gays and bisexuals continue to face discrimination in all areas of life. No federal law prevents a person from being dismissed or denied a job based on their sexual orientation. In different dimensions, the battle continues to gain equality by exercising their human rights. However, there are powerful beings in society that want to reverse the fighting and return to the past. Though progress has been made regarding a degree of acceptance for the LGBT population, they will continue to fight against discrimination and the persecution of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals. There remains a battle that lies ahead.

Living in the 21t century, diversity is seen all aspects of life, majorly in the workplace. A rising issue in America has been making headlines; discrimination in the workplace due to sexual orientation. Sexual orientation refers to “a person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted” (Google). There has been a disturbing and substantial growing rate in the discrimination and harassment of gay and transgender individuals in the workplace as well as throughout the hiring process with limited attention being brought upon the issue. Individuals are being denied the same benefits, opportunities, and job titles due to their sexual orientation.

Throughout the years, the LGBT community has put forth tremendous effort to gain rights and recognition in the United States. Yet there have been numerous laws that have discriminated and made them feel unequal. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered. Many people in the community have a hard time accepting who they truly are in terms of sexual orientation or gender identity. Coming out is challenging enough on its own, and laws and regulations that discriminate against those who only wish to live freely can make it hard for them to do so. Living in the time period we do, we have seen many changes in the right direction as far as having equal rights for all, but it has not always been this way. There have been many movements and actions the LGBT community has taken over the years to get to where we are today. There have also been many laws and regulations specifically targeted at same-sex and transgendered individuals, some of which that still apply today.

For 29 States in the US, it is legal to fire an employee for being gay, lesbian or bisexual. 38 States in the Union have no laws on record preventing discrimination against gender identity or expression—commonly known as transgender. While these statistics may be disheartening for many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals, it is not all doom and gloom. Employment protections and rights for GLBTs have grown exponentially in the past two decades.

I found this article specifically interesting due to the controversies found in American history. Gay identity emerged from the rise of capitalism which allowed both men and women in families to go out and work on free labor. John D’Emilio writes, “In divesting the household of its economic independence and fostering the separation of sexuality from procreation, capitalism has created conditions that allow some men and women to organize a personal life around their erotic/emotional attraction to their own sex” (D'Emilio 470). With everyone being out of the house, family ties have “weakened”, leaving room to provide individuals with more freedom. Lesbians and gays were given the opportunity to express their emotional and sexual desires towards the other sex. Capitalism promoted happiness and pleasure. I agree with the workplace allowing families to have more freedom. My dad was unemployed for a period of time due to an injury caused at work. Throughout that period I felt almost suppressed due to him being around all the time, watching my every move. Maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but he always had this image of “daddy’s” perfect little girl and him being home, seeing what actually was going on always made me feel like his perception of me changed. I didn’t “change” though, I was just growing up. Once he went back to work I felt as though this huge

Throughout the course I gained various insights about the LGBT community and those related to the LGBT community. There are three main insights that I gained from this class Intersectionality, concept of gender, and finally lingering bias in workplace.

A third reason why LGBTQ+ discrimination is a problem is because it can cause them to possibly lose their job or be rejected a job. According to the Human Rights Campaign, it is currently legal to discriminate on the job in 29 states, 58% of the country, and it is also legal to fire someone due to sexuality or gender expression in 33 states. It was reported that 1 out of 5 LGBTQ+ experience discrimination at work. According to Catalyst, nearly 1 and 10 LGBTQ+ employees left a job because the environment is unwelcoming. 70% percent of non-LGBTQ+ employees believe it is “unprofessional” to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace. More than half of LGBTQ+ employees hide their sexual orientation in the workplace due to the

During diversity training Human Resource Managers or trainers can discuss the number of discrimination cases filed each year. Coupled with, studies and statistics on the number of gays and transgenders that are homeless, verbally and physically abuse, commit suicide or don’t have adequate medical coverage. Not to mention, the impact of discrimination in the workplace has on their socioeconomic status. Every employee would be made to sign an anti-discrimination policy acknowledging that they understand that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated and will be terminated immediately.

From the beginning of time the male and female have been expected to perform certain roles in society. Males have been expected to work and provide for their family while the female raises the children, cooks, cleans and keeps the house in order. Today many women have broken that tradition and are starting their careers and becoming more independent. Even though females today are braking away from that stereotype, they are being discriminated in the work place because there are still individuals out there that believe that women should play a certain role and that they are not strong enough to work in a cooperation or

Discrimination in the workplace occurs all over the world for many different reasons, yet sexual orientation is one of the least discussed topics. According to Emir Ozeren, “In the workforce, LGBT+ employees are one of the least examined minority groups, even though they are one of the largest groups of people in the workplace”.(“Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Workplace: A systematic”). Many studies have been made about this topic one of them being a General Social Survey conducted by The Williams Institute that found, “42% of LGBT+ identified people in the nation have experienced sexual orientation discrimination in