It’s Not That Bad, Right?
What Do We Accept……
Marie: “If you let me, I can turn you straight.” – this is what one boss said, to be ‘helpful’. At work, our LGBTQ peers/colleagues/loved one’s experience distressing and sometimes severely disturbing remarks and reactions. Discrimination is rampant, and even more frequent among LGBTQ people of color. Sometimes they are simply denied employment altogether; But, when on the job, reports of verbal harassment and even physical slaps and gestures are astounding.
What do we accept? What do we tell ourselves is “not that bad” – how much do we tolerate in order to exist/survive/remain employed? Some LGBTQ people stay closeted during working hours, never revealing details about their private lives. How long can we go on with restrictions like this?
Or, does everyone wear a mask/different persona at work to varying degrees
Nearly 1 in 10 LGBTQ people in the United States experienced workplace discrimination in the last year.
4 in 10 women have faced gender discrimination on the job.
“In a report titled LGBT People’s Experiences of Workplace Discrimination and Harassment by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. It found that 46 percent of LGBTQ workers reported receiving unfair treatment at some point in their careers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity —" Reported in Out News, Sept. 8, 2021, 11:01 AM CDT
Janet: Marie asks if we all wear a mask/different persona at work. I say we do. I never flew my “freak flag” at work and yet I still threatened males who felt they had to label me to make themselves comfortable that I had less power. So yes, I did wear a different persona at work. No questions about marriage, children, or the lack of both. Off limits and yet we Project Managers had to make ourselves “relatable.”
We had to show competence and understanding of the other’s resistance to instituting statistical measurements in with their daily reporting. I was one of the 4 in 10 women who have faced gender discrimination on the job. Bullying, name-calling, threats to “walk out” or “never participate” or “no woman can tell me…” But…I was hired because I fulfilled visual requirements: Pleasant, good looking, well groomed, smart.
Sounds like a Golden Retriever, doesn’t it?
One thing we can do is to make sure our vote counts.
Do you know which legislators support Title VII? The human Rights Campaign has a website designed to provide this info : https://www.hrc.org/resources/yeo
Marie: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, or age.
Do you know which legislators support Title VII? The human Rights Campaign has a website designed to provide this info : https://www.hrc.org/resources/yeo.
Employment rights for LGBTQ employees are getting stronger, In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v Clayton County, Georgia, that Title VII’s protection against sex discrimination in employment extended to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Let’s make sure the wheel keeps turning the right way.
Janet: We minimize, normalize, blame ourselves, are fearful of retribution, and silence ourselves in the belief no one will listen. The mask serves the purpose of non-disclosure. But, because the 1 in 10 and 4 in 10 have a common experience that everyone can, in some way, relate to, we have to keep talking about it. It can be complicated and challenging but we must rise to the occasion and lift our voices.
Create the community that says we talk, we write, we have a say in this world!
Marie: When you’re ready, and we hope it’s soon, for your voice to be heard – submit your story to Our Silent Voice. We will respect it, believe it, love it – and – we will publish it. Let your words have their impact on the world.
P.S Marie is right, make your vote count. And, this 1965 flag carrying marcher for free speech, says wave your flag, raise your voice and act on your rights to be educated, informed, and vote.