LGBT Issues in the
Job Market & Workplace
Michael Lebeau
BSC Career Services
"The
American
business
community
understands that success lies in enabling a
diverse workforce to serve a diverse
marketplace. At this point in our nation's history,
diversity in the workforce means that a growing
proportion of the employee population is other
than white, Anglo-Saxon, heterosexual, married
men whose wives are fulltime homemakers.
That includes not only white women and people
of color but anyone whose lifestyle doesn't quite
mirror the traditional family reflected in Leave It
To Beaver."
LGBT-friendly companies typically have a
written non-discrimination policy covering sexual
orientation in their employee handbook or
manual.
LGBT-friendly companies typically have a
written non-discrimination policy covering
gender identity and/or expression in their
employee handbook or manual.
LGBT-friendly companies typically offer health
insurance coverage to employees' same-sex
domestic partners.
-TED CHILDS (IBM Corporation)
WORKING WHILE GAY
We all grow up imagining the exciting careers
we will have as adults. We find our interests,
focusing on our happiness and paths to
success. Often, our career choices require us to
work for a certain company and sometimes we
end up there out of necessity.
We become so focused on our careers and
making a living that we often don't anticipate
discrimination towards gays in the workplace.
We are suddenly faced with the difficult decision
of coming out at work or revealing our sexual
orientation to co-workers. We ponder over many
questions: Should I come out? How will I be
treated by my peers? Will I get passed up for a
promotion because I am gay? Does my partner
qualify for my benefits? Is there a gay
organization at work?
IS MY COMPANY LGBT-FRIENDLY?
Choosing the right company to work for is a
good start in finding an affirming and inclusive
environment. Conduct good research about
prospective companies.
LGBT-friendly companies typically support a
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
employee resource group; or would support
employees' forming a LGBT employee resource
group if some expressed interest by providing
space and other resources; or have a firm-wide
diversity council or working group whose
mission specifically includes LGBT diversity.
LGBT-friendly companies typically offer diversity
training that includes sexual orientation and/or
gender identity and expression in the workplace
LGBT-friendly companies typically engage in
respectful and appropriate marketing to the gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender community
and/or provide support through their corporate
foundation or otherwise to LGBT or HIV/AIDSrelated organizations or events.
And LGBT-friendly companies typically do not
engage in corporate action that would
undermine the goal of equal rights for lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender people.
STATE OF THE WORKPLACE
While corporate America has demonstrated
leadership in providing fair and equal treatment
for LGBT employees, there is still significant
work that is yet to be done.
Despite overwhelming public support for
employment non-discrimination for LGBT
employees (87% in a recent Gallup poll),
there is still no federal law mandating the basic
standard of non-discrimination on the basis of
either sexual orientation or gender identity and
expression. In the absence of national, legal
protections for LGBT employees, LGBT
employees are forced to rely on an incomplete
patchwork of state and local laws for protection
from workplace discrimination. Workers in 34
states could be fired because of their sexual
orientation or gender identity and expression at
any time.
By enacting non-discrimination policies that
explicitly protect LGBT employees on the job,
some companies have attempted to fill the void
left by this legislative inaction. An increasing
number of companies have realized that
providing equal benefits and protections for
LGBT employees in the workplace is not only a
sound business practice, but a requirement to
recruit and retain the best employees possible.
Smart businesses also recognize LGBT
consumers’ $600 billion in buying power and
their high degree of brand loyalty to companies
that treat their LGBT employees equally. In
today’s business environment, diversity is
considered a competitive advantage. Put simply,
employer policies that are LGBT-inclusive are a
smart business practice.
WORKPLACE INCLUSIVENESS
"In
assessing
workplace
inclusiveness,
companies should consider the following
questions: Are your facilities physically
accessible (ramps, elevators)? Are your printed
materials available in alternative formats (braille,
large print, tape)? Does promotional material
represent and welcome all those served (people
of color, gays, people with disabilities)? Is the
language used in the office inclusive (Holidays
instead of Christmas, partner instead of husband
or wife)? Are staff openings and services
advertised in publications targeted to diverse
populations? Is gender equity discussed and
practiced in your office? Are magazines and
other materials in resource areas inclusive of
various groups? Is there diversity among the
hired staff? Has your company established
relationships with organizations that can serve
as resources in promoting diversity? Do
employees confront jokes or slurs against any
group or individual (women, blacks, gays, Jews,
Hispanics, Polish)? Is diversity training provided
for or required of employees in your office? Is
the affirmative action statement clearly printed
on all applications and other materials? Is every
individual who works in, visits, or is served in
your office treated with respect and their
individual
needs
taken
into
account?"
-CHERYL HETHERINGTON (Celebrating Diversity:
Working With Groups In The Workplace)
HOW OUT DO YOU WANT TO BE?
Coming out is a personal decision. It is up to you
to determine how important it is to be out and
under what circumstances. For many people,
their sexual orientation is such an integral part of
their identity that to remain closeted in the
workplace would seem false. Others, however,
might prefer to maintain separation between
their personal and professional lives, only
sharing information about their orientation with
close friends.
Hiding one's identity could lead to feelings of
lowered self-esteem and frustration at leading a
dual life; being openly gay could lead to
discrimination, harassment, or even the loss of
one's job. There is no "right" answer.
What has been your level of involvement within
LGBT activities and the community? Are most of
your friends, peers and support networks LGBTconnected? If you have a partner, is he or she
out in most situations? The strength of your
identification and level of past commitment to
the LGBT community may be a deciding factor
in whether or not to come out in the workplace
and how visible to be. Your attitudes about this
are likely to change throughout your lifetime.
Each time you change jobs, in fact, you will likely
re-evaluate your feelings about being out.
Many people believe that the only way to gain
widespread acceptance is to be out and visible,
whereas others prefer to express their political
beliefs in a less direct, more personal manner.
The bottom line is that for now you must decide
what is best for you.
POLICIES & CLIMATES
The industry to which you are applying for jobs
might be more or less accepting of LGBT
employees than others, although you should not
generalize prior to researching a specific
organization. Prior to the interview, you should
try to research an organization's official policies
and resources. Research organizations' LGBT
employee groups, non-discrimination policies,
and domestic partnership benefits. Contact the
employee group and talk to current staff about
the organizational climate, which goes beyond
the formal policies. What is it really like to work
there?
If your job search takes you to unfamiliar
geographic regions, try to find out if the future
work site is located in a state, county, city or
community that prohibits discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation (which sets a general
tone of acceptance, or at least tolerance). There
might be regional or municipal workplace groups
for LGBT individuals, even if there may not be
one for a particular organization; these types of
associations are invaluable for networking. In
the absence of employee groups, contact
bookstores, gay-owned businesses, and the like,
to learn more about the region you are targeting.
Take advantage of the LGBT networks that are
widely accessible through Gay Yellow Pages
and other such resources.
RESUME WRITING:
HOW MUCH TO INCLUDE?
Should LGBT-related activities be included on
the resume? Consider your audience and
determine ahead of time how out you want to
be. If you are applying for a "gay" job (e.g.,
lobbyist for the NGLTF), then the LGBT
experiences can be an obvious advantage. But
what about other types of jobs? The skills you
developed as a result of participation in LGBT
organizations are likely to be of interest to many
employers, although the organizations in which
you participated may be viewed with less
enthusiasm by some. To help evaluate the
policies and climates of various organizations
and industries, conduct a bit of research prior to
writing your resume.
As with any potentially controversial group
affiliation, such as political or religious activities,
you will want to weigh the pros and cons of
including such information. One strategy is to
simply omit
any
reference
to
LGBT
organizations or activities. Some recruiters, even
gay ones, have said that such information can
be extraneous, especially if social activities are
summarized
rather
than
skills
and
achievements. If you do choose to include
LGBT-related information on your resume, be
certain to put the emphasis on accomplishments
that are relevant to employers. Highlight
leadership, budgeting, event planning, public
speaking and organizational skills. While
highlighting skills, you might "downplay" the
nature of the organization in which you
developed those skills. One option is to avoid
naming the organization, and instead, describe it
generically
as
an
"anti-discrimination
organization" or a “diversity and equity
organization,” and then document your
accomplishments from this experience.
INTERVIEW STRATEGIES
As with writing a resume, you should think
ahead of time about how out you are ultimately
willing to be during the interview process.
Preparing for interviews is critical. If you have
not yet researched the firm, you should do so
before walking into the interview. Once you have
information about an organization's policies and
climate, you have additional information to help
make the decision about whether or not to come
out during the interview.
Because an interview is a process of evaluating
you, and because you rarely know the attitudes
of an interviewer ahead of time, you do run the
risk of encountering someone whom might
evaluate you negatively (consciously or
unconsciously), regardless of company policies.
Depending on the strategies you have used to
present LGBT-related activities on your resume,
you might have already given the interviewer
some indications that you are bisexual, gay, or
lesbian. If that is the case, you should be
prepared to talk about how your experiences
have
developed
desirable
leadership,
communication, and interpersonal skills. You do
not want to be caught off guard, appearing
unprepared or even embarrassed about your
background. An interviewer might ask, "I see
you were president of GSSA for two years. Can
you tell me what kind of organization it is?" If you
have decided to be out, you can respond with a
simple description. If you have chosen not to
come out yet, you may want to refer to it as an
anti-discrimination organization and then focus
on the achievements as a result of your work.
If you have excluded "gay-related" experiences
from your resume, then you might not even
mention them during the interview; your focus
could be mainly on those experiences already
highlighted. Many people decide to wait to come
out until after receiving a job offer, when
candidates have more leverage, or until after
starting a new job, where people can come out
to coworkers on their own terms.
Whether or not you disclose your involvement in
LGBT activities, it is important that all your
comments are relevant to the job you are
applying for. Keep all interview discussion
focused on the employer’s needs.
COMING OUT ON THE JOB
Coming out to a potential supervisor and
coworkers might seem even more intimidating
than coming out during the interview process;
after all, you will have to spend a majority of you
time with your coworkers. Look for clues around
the office – do you see any same-gender
pictures or information on employee bulletin
boards that might hint at the office culture?
Listen for clues in conversations. Is the work
group diverse in other ways? Will you be
working with lots of other twenty-something
employees? In general, "younger" organizations
tend to be more comfortable with diversity. In
addition, even though it is hard to generalize,
certain industries (e.g., many software
companies) and certain geographic locations
(e.g., San Francisco) are known for being gayfriendly. Perhaps you could drop a hint or two to
see if anyone picks up on it.
In general, it may be best at first to focus on the
job, learning more about expectations for your
performance, and establishing yourself as a
professional. Many people believe that when
you are coming out to anyone, in any situation,
you should just use your best judgment and
comfort level. You might prefer people get to
know you first, with the coming out process
evolving more from day to day interactions and
discussions. The question, "So, what did you do
this weekend?" might become easier to answer
once you have already established some
friendships.
Although some coworkers may choose to avoid
your company in more social situations, the
majority will simply accept you for the value of
your work and your contributions. Again, the
bottom line is that you must decide what will be
most comfortable to you.
RESOURCES
Organizations & Websites:
Human Rights Campaign (http://www.hrc.org)
Click on Issues, Click on Workplace
Download free copy: Corporate Equality Index
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
(http://www.thetaskforce.org)
GLBT Workplace (http//:glbtworkplace.com)
Download free copy: Frequently Asked
Questions by Managers Regarding GLBT
Workplace Issues (by Dave Hughes)
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
(http://www.outandequal.org)
Pro Gay Jobs (http://www.progayjobs.com)
Resources for Job Seekers and Employers
Out for Work (http://outforwork.org)
Books & Publications:
Gay Issues in the Workplace
(Brian McNaught)
The Corporate Closet
(James Woods & Jay Lucas)
100 Best Companies for Gays & Lesbians
(Ed Mickens)
Straight Jobs, Gay Lives
(Annette Friskopp & Sharon Silverstein)
Lavender Road to Success: Career Guide for
the Gay Community
(Kirk Snyder)
Gay Men, Straight Jobs
(Dan Woog)
© 2010 Michael Lebeau