Lgbtq Case Study

A panel of LGBTQ advocates sat front and center to discuss their experiences about “being out” in the workplace, and to answer questions from University of Central Florida students that stemmed from personal association.

The LGBTQ Employer Panel, led by Career Services and LGBTQ+ Services, was held on March 29 from 3-5 p.m. in the Cape Florida Ballroom of the Student Union.

The panel consisted of five Central Florida residents:

Gina Duncan – Director of Transgender Inclusion, Equality Florida
Wendi Hammond – Drug Treatment Specialist and LGBT Program Manager, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Boyd Lindsley – Associate Director, Nicholson School of Communication at UCF
Gustavo Rico – Donor Relations Coordinator, Harvest Food and Outreach Center
Todd Ruopp – Founder and President, Unleashing Performance Inc.
The panelists
addressed questions including when they personally came out, how they've gone about employers who are less accepting, what questions employers can and can’t ask in interviews and the process of actually coming out in the workplace.

In it’s third annual event, the panel sought to connect LGBTQ students at UCF with a community of people who identify openly with LGBTQ within their personal, as well as professional life.

Justin Andrade, LGBTQ+ Services coordinator, said the purpose of the event was for students to be conscious about how they do their research in regards to where they apply for jobs and how to find support in their place of employment.
“It’s really meant to bridge that gap because some LGBTQ students feel afraid to apply for a job or be out in the workforce, but it’s a way to kind of show that it can get better,” Andrade said. “And it’s okay to also leave if you’re in a place where you don’t feel safe.”

Duncan, who leads Equality Florida’s Transgender Inclusion Initiative, said she has dealt with the concept of intersectionality within the transgender community and different segments of society. Intersectionality, according to Huffington Post, is a theory of how different types of discrimination, such as gender or race, interact with each other, giving advocates a way to fight for their visibility.

“We believe that visibility leads to awareness, awareness leads to education and then education leads to normalcy,” Duncan said. “The more we can have the dialogue, the more we can have this discussion about what it means to be LGBTQ in the
workplace.”

Nicole Davis, a senior sports and exercise science major, said she was nervous about coming to the panel due to being 27 and recently accepting who she is. Davis said it was beneficial to meet the panel and hear how they went through their own process.

“It’s about survival and being able to provide for yourself,” Davis said, “One thing I know I needed to take away from here is being confident in who I am.”

As to whether or not she has personally felt discrimination here at UCF or any workplace, Davis said there were companies in the past that have but not at UCF.

“I’m actually an employer at the Recreation and Wellness center, so wellness is one thing that I felt like I lacked in,” Davis said, “Becoming more knowledgeable, being able to work at the RWC and be myself has been a blessing.”