Homophobia In Workplace

LGBT Issues in the Workplace

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,”(Declaration of Independence). This is one of the most well known phrases in our declaration of independence. Many would say that this mindset is what continues to make this nation and its citizens one of the greatest ones on earth but others would argue that we do not hold this phrase to its standards. Not all of the citizens of this great nation are capable of enjoying these unalienable rights in its entirety. It is truly sad and unfortunate that only the privileged few are able to fully enjoy these
rights that were ordained by our fathers equally and without discrimination to all citizens of this country. Minorities of all kinds across this country are part of the unprivileged and in particular the LGBT community. The LGBT community increasingly faces various issues within their every day lives whether it be social, cultural, or political issues. Overtime these issues have become less prevalent and various advancements have been made across the nation but they are nevertheless still present in our society. Culturally speaking this community increasingly faces various issues predominantly within the workforce such as unfair treatment, discriminatory policies, and overall unequal benefits. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community faces employment discrimination at various levels. According to the Lambda Legal & Deloitte Financial Services a workplace fairness survey was performed in order to exemplify the extent of employment discrimination for lesbians and gays across corporations in America. Shockingly so, the findings were both positive and negative. Out of the 1205 individuals that participated various indicated discriminatory behavior taking place at their workplaces. “Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents reported experiencing some form of discrimination or harassment in the workplace because of their sexual orientation during the past five years,”(Lambda Legal). Reasons that ranged from working in a hostile industry/company, harassment in the workplace, unfair policies and practices, and other forms of LGBT discrimination were listed in this survey. It is rather unfortunate that these practices are still prevalent across various industries and workplaces. The behaviors that these companies exhibit are without a doubt unfair and discriminatory in nature that should be abolished due to the various constraints that it puts on LGBT individuals.
At various instances throughout our nations history it appears that our society has always had a certain minority group to discriminate against. Early in the 20th century it was women and their fight for rights, mid century we have African Americans fighting for equality, and coming into to the 21st century we have the LGBT community and their fight four equality. Our society has increasingly put barriers for these minorities in order to deter their progress in our society. Changes have occurred after ongoing battles from respective individuals within these minorities but if we carefully examine their battles, it wasn’t commonly accepted by society until the majority of our society saw the need for it. According to Louis Diamant he states: “There will not be much change in the laws or in the culture with regards to gays and lesbians until the heterosexual majority sees the need for the change,”(Homosexual Issues in the Workplace). After carefully analyzing his work in an depth manner it appears that this author holds partial truth behind his words. When analyzing the actions of our society in the past it appears that that is partly the way that society seems to work. It is not until society recognizes and sees a need for change it is only is then when a minorities’ cause can finally be acknowledged and addressed. These issues and discriminatory behavior can finally be tackled down and one of these most important issues is homophobia in the workplace.
“Irrational fear, or aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals,”(Merriam-Webster).
This is the official definition of homophobia within our society. It is an irrational fear of homosexuals in any setting and is ultimately one of the most damaging beliefs to the LGBT community. Homophobia emulates a range of emotions and misconceptions that are destructive in the workplace and in our society. This is the main source where stereotypes and prejudices arise from which ultimately deters and damage LGBT individuals in their places of work. They are not allowed to become part of the social organization of work, which is primordial to the success of the company. This social organization calls for certain type of relations among individuals at work, which are deterred by homophobia within any organization. The LGBT are part of a minority group, but unlike most groups of this nature, homosexuals within the workplace are not visible, and many of these individuals may chose to remain in this state due to fear. Coming out of the closet for them can cause various negative consequences, which become deep-rooted issues within their places of
work.
Although negative outcomes arise from being out at work, there are a few benefits that come from this. Being out of the closet at work can ultimately bring various benefits both for the employer and the employee. The employee is allowed to be free with their sexuality and is ultimately capable of feeling secure and protected in their respective workplaces. LGBT individuals will feel like they are part of an organization that is supportive and respective of them and the will feel included. LGBT inclusion in the workplace is ultimately a great issue for this community. It is something that is necessary for employees if they are to feel at ease within their respective corporations. “Nearly two out of five (41%) gay and lesbian adults in America 's workplaces report facing some form of hostility or harassment on the job according to a new national study conducted by Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris interactive,”(Out and Equal). Working in homophobic and hostile environments only decreases productivity and overall employee morale. By examining the quotation it appears that hostile environments are very much still prevalent in workplaces and are still affecting the LGBT community. This is truly detrimental to companies nationwide because our society is increasingly becoming more accepting of the LGBT community at cultural, social, and political level.
Moreover another issue that is still prevalent in workplaces across America is the matter of unequal benefits. Benefits for LGBT community in the workplace have increasingly become a popular issue in the last few decades as this minority continues to fight for equal representation. “Only about 36 percent of large companies, or those with more than 200 workers, offered the coverage in 2009, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey,” (NY Times). The quote was particularly referring to companies across the nation that offers same sex benefits as an option for their LGBT employees. Personally, it appears that the fight for LGBT benefits equality is in perhaps more than the very benefits themselves but rather a gesture of validation. This gesture that is coming from their respective employer is a sign of support, something that not even their federal government is able to currently provide for its LGBT citizens.
Currently the rights of individuals based on their sexual orientation are not protected by the U.S constitution. This means that at a federal level it is perfectly legal for any company nationwide to discriminate against an individual based on their sexual preference. According to the Human Rights Campaign, “it is legal in 29 states to discriminate in employment on the basis of sexual orientation and in 34 states on the basis of gender identity,”(Human Rights Campaign). This by itself may discourage LGBT individuals from ever being able to be open about their sexual orientation at work in fear of loosing their jobs. These legalities are only hindrances on the LGBT community that greatly discriminate against them. It has increasingly been found that society is ready for a change in regards to this matter but it appears that across our government this change is still not present. Due to this the federal government and in various instances our state and local governments are still capable of such discrimination.
This is currently a very hot topic in today’s society due to the fact that it has increasingly become an issue. An example of how our government has increasingly discriminated against the LGBT community is how it hasn’t been able to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. This act in essence would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by civilians and nonreligious employers. Since 1994 this act has been proposed to congress and at other instances in our nation history various others anti discriminatory policies have also been introduced without any success. Thus our federal government has had multiple opportunities to pass this act in order to end discrimination but it has without doubt failed in doing so. Our president is currently attempting to pass this act in order to cease discrimination simply based on sexual orientation. This is clearly an issue for the LGBT community that is present in several aspects of their lives but in particular in the workplace. I’ve already discussed discrimination within the workplace but this is in reference to the hiring practices. Across various industries in our nation hiring practices are skewed when it comes to LGBT individuals. Increasingly so it appears that this minority is being discriminated against simply of whom they are as individuals. These individuals are particularly discriminated in the business industry. Lorde Brown former chief executive of BP commented “, it was obvious to me that it was simply unacceptable to be gay in business, and most definitely the oil business,”(Business Because). Brown commented on the fact that it is increasingly difficult to obtain a job if you’re completely out of the closet when applying for jobs.
I have particularly faced instances where I’ve felt that I have been discriminated against due to who I am as an individual. As a business major myself, I have had the chance to apply for certain jobs that are within this field. Regrettably, it appears that discrimination is still prevalent in this field of work. There was a peculiar situation that stands out the most. It was a couple months ago and I was applying for a position at an undisclosed office in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As I arrived to my interview, I noticed that the majority of the individuals that were there for the interview were males. I proceeded to the interview shortly after arriving and I noticed that my interviewer was a male that appeared to be the common stereotype of the all American male. Almost instantly, I was aware that this could potentially be a more difficult interview but I was there for a reason and that was because I had the necessary credentials to have at least been considered for the position. At various instances throughout the interview I noticed that the interviewer seemed to have a negative disposition towards me but that did not hinder me. I did not get the position and perhaps it was because I wasn’t the right fit for the company, but even so I felt like this interviewer had discriminated me due to the treatment that I’d upheld during the interview. This is West Michigan and this is a field where it is more difficult to obtain positions due to discriminatory behaviors. This is still able to occur in this state due to the fact that there is no present law against this but there have been various advancements in other states.
Over 16 states within the US including the District of Columbia discrimination in hiring and employment based on sexual orientation has been outlawed. This is in essence appropriate in light of the United States Constitution and how it guarantees equal protection and rights to all. This in essence has prevented discrimination for millions of fellow LGBT members as they go out into the workforce and attempt to obtain a livelihood. This community can freely express who they are from the very beginning which can only emulate other benefits coming from their employers such as workplace inclusion, equal benefits, and overall non homophobic environments. Benefits such as these can only increase the morale of fellow members of the LGBT community and allows for hope of what could possibly come in the near future in respects to their equality in our society and government.
All in all our issues in the workplace such as employment discrimination, unequal benefits, and overall unequal treatment are still present in the 21st century.
There are several industries where this is particularly more prevalent than others such as the business industry and change needs to occur. Although partial advancements have been made to the benefit of the LGBT community within the workplace, there is still a vast array of change that must be made. Our society has increasingly showed that this change can be made and our proof lies in the state banning of discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace. Nationally and globally change has and should continue to be made for this community simply because we are human beings and as human beings we deserve to be treated with dignity, equality and
respect.

Works Cited

Fidas, Deena, Liz Cooper. “Corporate Equality Index.” Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Copyright 2011. Web.18 March 2012.

Raeburn, Nicole Christine. “ Changing Corporate America From Inside Out: Lesbian and Gay Workplace rights.” Google Scholar. Copyright 2004. Web. 17 March 2012.

Diamant, Louis. “ Homosexual issues in the workplace.” Google Scholar. Copyright 1993. Web. 20 March 2012.

Messinger, Lori. “Sexual orientation and gender expression in social work practice: working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.” Google Scholar. Copyright 2006. Web. 20 March 2012.

Dechman, David. “The Momentum Report.” Movement Advancement Project. Copyright 2011. Web. 12 April 2012.

Lambda Legal & Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. “ 2005 Workplace Fairness Survey.” Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. Copyright 2005. Web. 12 April 2012.

Bernard, Tara. “ For Gay Employees, an Equalizer.” NY Times. Copyright 2011. Web. 13 April 2012.

Business Because. “Challenges for LGBT People in the Business World.” Business Because. Copyright 2010. Web. 13 April 2012.

Merriam-Webster. 2012. Merriam-Webster Incorporated. 13 April 2005. .