Stormy Week for GLBTs in the Workplace
It's been a pretty bad news week for GLBT individuals in the workplace. Today, researchers at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics released findings that gay men are earning up to 23 percent less than their heterosexual counterparts in management and blue-collar jobs. Lesbians, on the other hand, face a negligible amount of discrimination when compared to their heterosexual counterparts, according to the study.
The research was conducted on 2004 census wage and labor data from 91,000 heterosexual and homosexual couples living together. The study notes that a likely explanation is a general negative bias towards homosexual individuals. In the case of lesbian women, employers may view them as more career-focused and less likely to leave the labor force to have children, which may explain why discrimination against them isn't as rampant in the workplace.
On a related note, a federal bill that would have banned discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation is likely to be vetoed by President Bush, according to an AP report. Some officials are calling the bill a threat to religious liberty, since the legislation would bar groups that "emphasize religious principles broadly" from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill does include exemptions for schools and organizations directed toward a particular religion, however.
This legislation also received a significant amount of flack from GLBT rights organizations, since protections regarding gender identity were stripped from the bill before it came to a House vote. Critics argued that the bill would not only allow companies to still discriminate against transgender individuals, but also against gays and lesbians who do not fit neatly into their prescribed gender roles on the job.
Overall not a great week in terms of GLBT equality in the workplace. As time goes on, however, I'm pretty confident that protections will be put in place, even at the federal level. Right now, there are many states that do protect individuals from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, such as New Hampshire, and several that also cover gender identity. It's still a mixed bag when you look at the country as a whole, though.
Im Not Sure I Get It!
Justin,
I see what you are saying but truthfully I don't understand the findings at all. For example, if you are working in a certain company, how do they know you are gay or trans-gendered, unless of course you make it common knowledge. In other words, what I am really curious to know is; is sexual orientation flaunted in such a way that management has no choice but to notice?
My mom works with a gay man who in my opinion is a bitter but in your face gay person. Not a single customer can walk away without knowing he is gay, because he makes it a point to let them know.
I am a heterosexual female, and in all my years of employment one could never guess my orientation unless I told them. In other words, I wonder if gays and trans-genders are setting themselves up in the workplace to be frowned upon. No one likes whiners or braggers, and my experience with alternative sexual types have been just that...."nobody likes me, everybody hates me!" In reality one should enter the workplace everyday trying to keep their personal life to an absolute minimum.
If no one knows your gay than no one can discriminate. I suppose what I am getting at is this...When one gets a new job, they never walk in wearing a badge that reads, "I am Gay" or "I am a heterosexual". It's no ones business, including management, but if you brag and whine, well aren't you opening up a can of bigot type worms. I have never worked in a company where I felt compelled to share my personal life with anyone!"
On the other hand, I must make it very clear that I have a handful of gay friends...they are awesome people and I love them so much, no matter what. If I were an employer, sexual orientation wouldn't matter to me one iota, but if a person made their sexual orientation a federal case, and had a bad attitude, well, it might be hard to swallow, and even downright annoying. I would be just as sick if I had to hear about Joey's experience with Jane day in and day out. Their is a time and a place for everything, and the workplace is not a forum for sexual rights or heterosexual rights. If you are working for a company, and keeping your personal life to yourself than really all that is left is performance, and if that sucks too, than I am sorry to say that you can't blame it on gay rights.
Just my opinion...hope I didn't upset you...just trying to put it into perspective.
Tracy M
Good Points
Tracy,
Those are good points and I forgot to even include that in my response.
Personally I do not care about orientation. Once can assume but you can't discriminate by assuming.
I agree with you that if you do not flaunt it that no one is going to know. In my career, i seldom bring up anything personal and when asked, I am short and to the point. I don't give my kids names, personal info, etc. I am asked quite often.
I think that gay/lesbians are more or less looking for validation and acceptance but you are correct that they should not let that spill over into the workplace. My experience in my last entry comes from militant members and those who put in in your face and link that to your performance. It is almost like....ha ha....I am in charge now.
Conversely, I worked for a gay man who told me he was but NEVER brought the agenda into the workplace and despised those who did. He was fantastic to work for and would constantly ask me what it was like to date and be married to a woman, etc. We have been friends a long time and I do think of him as gay or straight...just as himself. I would think that would be enough for anyone.
I think that they are looking for validation and acceptance but you are righ on that the workplace is not the time or place for it.
Re: I See Your Point But...
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your comments, and sorry for the delay. I've been out of town for a few days, and just hopped back on the blog today. I definitely don't see your comments as criticism or bigoted, so certainly don't worry.
I think the main issue here, at least as I see it, is trying to prevent companies from firing people just because they happen to be gay. I don't see it as setting a preference for GLBT folks in the workplace, or trying to get preferential treatment. If an employer finds out someone is gay, and then fires them because of it, this legislation would hold them accountable for that decision. As it stands right now, companies can fire well-qualified individuals just because of their sexual orientation, and from my point of view that's just wrong. There are already protections in place to protect individuals from racism, sexism, or discrimination based on disabilities, so this would add another category to that list.
I can certainly see your point in terms of individuals gravitating towards people like them. That's simply human nature, and you see it everywhere from the workplace to the cafeteria to high schools. In regards to a lesbian giving preferential treatment to other lesbians in hiring, that should certainly be dealt with. I think there was a similar case somewhere out in the midwest where a lesbian fire chief was giving preferential treatment to other lesbians in the workplace, and she was demoted. That was the right decision in that case.
On your last point about how you've been treated in the past by lesbian women, I can't really comment in a general sense. I've met people of all sexual orientations who fit stereotypes, but I've also met plenty of others who don't fit them at all. It may be the case that some of the lesbian women you had met were resentful of men, but I definitely wouldn't say that's always the case. In fact, I'm sure you've met plenty of lesbians who you didn't even know were lesbians, and treated you just like anyone else would have.
In my experience, I've learned that people are just people. It's best when you can strip people of their labels and just see them for who they are (I know, this blog is based on a set of labels, but I do so to try and bring some issues out into the open). There are people of all genders and sexual orientations who may be resentful towards men, and it may just be the case that you've bumped into mainly lesbian women who fit this bill. It's certainly not always the case, though.
At it's heart, getting back to the main post, my hope with such legislation is that it will allow individuals to be evaluated by the work they have done at a company, and not pass a sexuality or gender identity litmus test. Taking a step back, many states already have such protections, and many corporations already have comprehensive non-discrimination policies. This legislation would tackle the remaining frontier, the companies where discrimintion truly IS an issue.
Thanks for reading and writing, and I hope this was helpful. Definitely don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have!
~Justin
Re: Im Not Sure I Get It!
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for your comments, and no worries, you didn't upset me. :) I'm geared towards opening up conversations on this blog rather than saying "I'm right" about everything, because I'm not.
What I can do is share where I'm coming from, and hopefully it'll help clarify things a bit. I definitely agree that the workplace, especially compared to other environments, is no place to flaunt your sexuality. I wouldn't condone marching around the office with a rainbow flag any more than I'd condone toting around a "Straight is Great" flag. There are some flaws with the argument that sexuality doesn't ever leak into the workplace, though.
Sexual orientation does seep into the workplace for straights and gays alike, but in very subtle ways. Have you ever walked into your boss's office and seen a picture of him or her and their spouse? Oftentimes employees keep pictures of them and their significant others on their desk, and no one would argue that it is an uncalled for showing of their sexual orientation.
Office parties are another example where sexual orientation comes into play. Workers are often encouraged to bring a "guest," and many times it happens to be their significant other. If a gay employee happens to bring their partner, then the cat will be out of the bag. It's up to each individual employee to gauge the climate of their workplace, though, and determine if they're risking anything by doing so. In the perfect world, though, it wouldn't matter who you brought to the annual holiday party.
In many cases it doesn't matter. For that small percentage where it does, however, non-discrimination legislation could prevent employers from firing someone for being gay or lesbian if they happened to bring someone of the same sex to a holiday office party.
Like I said before, I definitely don't condone overtly flaunting sexuality in the workplace. It's not the appropriate setting whatsoever. My concern, though, is that one's sexual orientation does get noticed in the workplace in ever so subtle ways. Then again, there is always the gossip mill. The legislation would help prevent employers who caught wind of their employee's sexuality from firing them simply because they are gay or lesbian.
Hopefully this helped clarify things a bit, but definitely let me know if you have any other questions!
~Justin
That's a really good point,
That's a really good point, and one I was probably going to bring up if you hadn't, Justin.
I think it's somewhat unrealistic to expect that someone's personal life is going to be completely boxed up and never brought up at work ever. People talk about their significant others, their kids, their families, their pets, etc. When you're straight, it isn't a big deal. Straight people complain about their husbands/wives/boyfriends/girlfriends/etc all the time at work. But when you're gay? If you complain about your significant other, you're at risk of being accused of flaunting your sexuality inappropriately at the workplace.
Sure, there's one in every crowd who's out and proud and wants everybody to know within a five mile radius, but I'd say there are ten times as many who just want to talk about their lives, relate to those around them and talk about their partner at the water cooler without fear, just like all the straight people do.
I Understand
Justin,
I do see what you mean, and yes, eventually, no matter how hush one wants to be...eventually your orientation will be revealed. I find it so ugly that in this day and age we still have such prejudice, bigotry and hate. I have a strong belief, that until we as a World change into excepting and loving humans, we will never evolve into an Enlightened race. All of this political talk about what this candidate or that candidate is going to do to make a change, just drives me nuts! No one man can change the world we live in today, it has to be a Universal collective thing. It all starts with each and every individual excepting and loving themselves, and than loving and excepting everyone else around them will come naturally.
I don't know, maybe I was born a little too late or I am a reincarnated Hippie, but really...Why can't we all just love each-other, no matter what are differences are. The bottom line is, we all are spiritual souls and are here for a lot of different reasons...so what if one person is black and another white, or one gay and another straight...Let's bring back the compassion and humanity we were put here for.
Sorry to rant, but inequality just makes me nutty!!!
P.S. I found this article in The New York Times today, I thought you might like it. It would make good blog info!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/30gay.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Tracy M
Re: That's a really good point
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for your comment! I think that's really the heart of it all. For the most part we've grown up in an overwhelmingly heterosexual environment (quite reasonable, since 90-95% of the population is straight), so whenever there is any slight deviance it perks up some ears. While a female co-worker complaining about her boyfriend passes right under the radar as completely normal, if a female co-worker is complaining about her girlfriend at the water cooler some may consider it "flaunting" her sexual orientation, when in fact it's just one of those little things people do in daily life.
I think things are definitely changing, and although I'm not completely "out" at work, I am to my closest friends at work. I don't flaunt whatsoever, but if my boyfriend and I did something fun and/or exciting over the weekend, I don't hesitate to bring it up on Monday morning. :)
~Justin
Re: I Understand
Hi Tracy,
I definitely agree. I think the real key in all of this isn't necessarily adding a new law here or there, but changing the whole culture in terms of how we look at people who are "different." Until there are real core changes in how people view individuals who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, not much is going to change in reality. It's a long process, but certainly may happen as more people get to know and understand where their GLBT friends, neighbors, and family members are coming from.
Tying into the great article you sent, one aspect that will help is people realizing that our lives happen to be just as "ordinary" as the average straight person ((unfortunately for us). I wish I could say that I've been to some crazy, flag toting parade lately or an exciting, flashy party. In reality, my boyfriend and I often opt for making a nice, home cooked dinner and watching a movie. The more people realize that we're more similar than we think, the more attitudes will change for the better.
I see a lot of hope in younger generations, where it's much easier to be "out" as a GLBT person. Even younger individuals who may be more "conservative" on the political spectrum often have gay friends, and understand where they're coming from.
~Justin
Justin,
I see the point of view that is being expressed here.
To me, I think that a persons personal choices should be just that, their personal choices. If a person decides that they are gay and that is their lifestyle choice, it should be respected just as a persons choice to be heterosexual.
I don't believe in discrimination in the workplace in any regard and over the years I have worked in many places and have hired, advanced and worked successfully with gay people and every race and nationality. To me anyway, as long as a person can do the job and excels and adds productivity and value...they are a person at the end of the day and they do not need to have nor do I view them as having a "prefix".
My issue here is that legislation like this establishes preferences and being a victim of preferences and having had that hold me back because preferences came before qualifications or readiness to advance...I am agaiinst any legislation that sets a preference.
Additonally, it is human nature to hire people and gravitate towards people who are more 'like you'. I can tell you that I have experience with lesbians especially who overcompensate hiring a disproportionate number of lesbians and have changed the landscape of companies in this way. Is that not the same thing in reverse? I know that comment will draw ire from that group but it is the truth an an observation that I have wondered about.
It is more difficult to get companies to accept gender identification as "normal" or acceptable and although I do not believe in discrimination, I can not condemn them because it is a bit out of the norm and is rather new. I make no judgements but to expect people to be tolerant is reasonable and the right thing to do but to legislate acceptance will cause a massive reaction.
I have worked with people who are trying to sort out their gender identity, gay men and lesbians. My experiences are mixed and I have not had issues with the first two groups at all. Lesbians that I have worked with and for might be another story.
Maybe you can explain something to me. I am not trying to be a wise guy but my experience has been that they are hostile, especially towards men. This has been explained to me by a gay man that they are resentful because they feel that they have to compete in a man's world. A lesbian revealed that this is due to the fact that many were abused by men and they resent men.
Another lesbian accuse me of stereotyping but I only know how I have been treated and the hostility that I have experienced; it does their cause no good by being this way and I know many people who have the same question about this that I have. None of us feel that we are closed minded but all of us can feel the abruptness and masked anger. Could that be part of the issue with acceptance?
This response to your blog is not a criticism or bigoted and I am not stereotyping in any way but I just wondered if you had an explanation to this.