Since the beginning of their existence and in today’s society, the community of LGBT workers are not being treated fairly or getting their fair share that they deserve in the workplace. They are victims to high rates of workplace discrimination. Instead of being judged as workers and what they bring to their jobs and how they work, they are being judged by their sexual preferences and appearance. Being a gay or transgender worker causes them to be mistreated, not judged for the actual workers they are, and most importantly, halts a majority of them in better career and job opportunities. Although under federal law it is illegal to fire someone who is either gay or transgender, they are still either being denied employment or being terminated from their jobs because of their gender category or sexual orientation.
A great amount of problems still exist in LGBT workplaces, rights in the sphere have evolved and there are signs for a better and brighter future for the community. “The government has announced that it will be advancing legislation to amend section 37.1 of the employment equality act, which currently allows religious—run institutions, such as schools and hospitals to discriminate against LGBT employees. But the amendment will not protect every worker, as Rob Buchanan reports.” (BUCHANAN)
Both gay and transgender individuals continue to face widespread discrimination in their workplace. They are being judged by factors that have no impact on how they perform and
According to the article “Gender Identity Discrimination” (n.d), this occurs in the place of work when a company or its management makes a distinction in opposition to a worker exclusively because of their sexual characteristics or distinctiveness. This can include ceasing employment for a transgender staff member after the company/employer discovers the employee's gender distinctiveness or intended plan for conversion. This can also consist of rejecting a transgender employee’s admittance to the bathroom amenities at work that are accessible to other staff members. This may also include necessitating a transgender individual use the bathroom that is not constant with the person’s gender individuality or appearance. Also included in this form of discrimination is harassment or refusing to investigate claims of persecution by coworkers and management. As well as, any other unconstructive employment exploitation directly related to the employee’s gender presentation. Is should be noted that at right now , this category of discrimination is not illegal under federal law , however, there is governmental endeavors in the works to pass federal laws to make it unequivocally
Although, an employee’s sexual orientation/identity isn’t a visible characteristic, it should be considered an important of diversity management. Bower and Blackmon (2003) states that managing diversity, particularly when it comes to sexual orientation diversity, may be just as significant as managing visible diversity (as cited in Ozeren, 2014, p. 1203). Research of those who identify as LGB (not T), indicates that they’re a sizeable population. Gates (2015) states that “it is generally thought that between 8.2 to 8.7 million United States citizens identity as LGB citizens (transgender number are less well-known), or between 3.5 to 3.7 percent of the population” (as cited in Shrader, 2016, p. 181). For my term paper, I will explore the following questions: How is the U.S. currently responding to complaints filled by LGBT employees? What is the government doing to improve policies, laws, initiatives or statutes to protect this population? I will answer these question by performing
Because of this many of them arrive to work in fear of rejection or being ‘outed’ causing them to lose their job. As discovered by expert Cosby Burns “Discrimination and unequal treatment on the job inflicts significant economic harm on gay and transgender public-sector employees and their families.” (http://www.americanprogress.org) Many open homosexuals will be turned down for employment just because of their sexual orientation despite qualifications, even though it is completely irrelevant to their skills and no one’s business but their own.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion and nation of origin. With the recent acceptance of marriage equality, it may leave the population doubting if they can be open and honest about their life. While, Title VII now encompasses the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) population, individuals may continue to fear their protection within the employment process. This is due to the ongoing debate within each state to implement anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT workers. This may encourage people to purse a career based on fear of discrimination rather than compatibility.
According to Michael Bronski’s, Ann Pellegrini’s and Michael Amico’s book “You Can Tell Just by Looking” federal anti-discrimination laws do not protect trans-gendered people or other LGBT members. Transgendered people can lose their jobs just because of their gender identity in 34 of the 50 states. According to the APA, the National Gay and Lesbian Task force did a study that a vast majority of the 6500 hundred surveyed
Crosby Burns wrote “The Gay and Transgender Wage Gap” for Americanprogress.org, and the view of the article is clear from the beginning. “Unfortunately, many gay and transgender workers receive unequal pay for equal work in the United States today”
Many people of religion feel an obligation towards their religion and want to reinforce it. A point has been made that allowing a member of the LGBT community to work with them would violate this obligation. In a catholic hospital or school their religious freedom would allow them to terminate an employee based on sexual orientation because of their moral obligation. It is also argued that employers should not be able to, because a person’s sexual orientation would not effect their ability to perform a
According to the Center for American Progress, “studies show that anywhere from 15% to 43% of gay people have experienced some form of discrimination and harassment at the workplace. Moreover, a staggering 90 percent of transgender workers report some form of harassment or mistreatment on the job.” (Burns & Krehely, 2011) This doesn’t just affect the individual, it affects the worker’s productivity and confidence on the job, in some cases it may affect the pay which ultimately throws off the individual’s income for stability within their responsibilities, this can affect the business in a negative way. The list can go on and on of the consequences brought on by employment discrimination. According to USA Today’s Jennifer Calfas, “it is legal to fire someone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. While there is some federal recourse through civil rights and equal employment claims, there's no national anti-discrimination law to protect LGBT workers from state whims. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion and nation of origin, but does not extend those protections to LGBT people.” (Calfas, 2015) Luckily, USA Today’s Jennifer Calfas also states that “Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting employers from firing employees due to just their sexual orientation or gender
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.
The ENDA of 2009 prohibits businesses and employers from using a person’s sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, bisexual) and gender identity (transgender) in most areas of employment, including: hiring, promotions, wages, and termination. The legislation also extends protections to heterosexuals who may associate with GLBT staff, those who speak out against alleged LGBT discrimination, and heterosexuals who are be perceived as being GLBT. The language of the bill, for the most part, mirrors that of existing civil rights laws that address discrimination.
The Employer Nondiscrimination Act has the component to give all equal rights to same-sex couples in the work area. This being said a worker cannot be and judge based on whom he/she choose to love. All employees in the work area must be with the same respect and judgments. It means that employees have to be judged by their quality of work in the job. Thus, the majority of American companies have already set protections similar to ENDA, including 96.6 percent of corporations on the Fortune 500 list (The Washington Post, 2013). The supporters view results do not just promote equality in the country, but it also shows other countries how much United States can improve by giving all citizens equal rights. Some of the law's supporters also believe that the bill will help society because it is a step forward to acceptance bringing families and communities closer together to worry about other issues concerning the country. It will also increase the labor force participation percentage to increase as more protection is being given to employees. It would benefit the country as more and more jobs can be created and will not have to spend so much money on early retirements. As discrimination continues to be a problem for LGBT worker, it is more likely that they will quit the job, and increase unemployment. It can sometimes have a consequence in the business because it prevents a worker from
In order to advance the cause of LGBT equality, society must create and enforce federal LGBT worker protections in order to protect LGBT adults and must ban gay conversion therapy in order to protect LGBT children. Federal LGBT worker protections would protect civil liberties, incentivize society to become more tolerant, and promote economic
M. V. Lee Badgett mentions in his article “What Obama Should Do About Workplace Discrimination,” that this would make a great first step on what concerns banning workplace discrimination against homosexuals by federal contractors. If the government, the structural system of our country, is not only willing to accept all but pose as a model of approval towards all kinds of sexual orientations, then so should we, the people, who make part of the nation. Discrimination against this group of people is unfortunate, but extremely common nowadays; more and more individuals are being harassed, not compensated with adequate wages, and/or fired from their jobs because of the way they sexually identify themselves. This strikes a fear in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees who feel as though they must produce more than the average worker in order to not be affected or expelled from their jobs, often leading them to not take illness days off, vacations, and to perhaps be more productive than the majority of their colleagues. Badgett explains that by issuing an executive order against workplace discrimination, President Obama will be able to gradually bring back equality to the nation, providing parallel opportunities for all and reducing stress, fear, as well as death and unemployment rates in the gay community.
Many LGBT have to face discrimination while trying to attend and can be such a huge obstacle to try to receive an education when you have to go to a hostile work environment every day. In the article “Like walking through a Hailstorm-discrimination against LGBT Youth in US Schools” states that “A lack of policies and practices that affirm and support LGBT youth-and failure to implement protections that do exist -means that LGBT students nationwide continue to face bullying, exclusion, and discrimination in school, putting them at physical and phycological risk and