A Williams Institute study of workplace discrimination against the LGBT community reveals that being out in the workplace remains a liability.
The statistics from the Williams Institute indicate that 15 to 43 percent of gays and lesbians face workplace discrimination, with numbers reaching as high as 90 percent for transgender individuals.
In Colorado members of the LGBT community share protection under the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), passed in 2007 and signed by Gov. Bill Owens.
The bill has not been passed on a federal level and in 38 states people can still be fired based on sexuality and in 37 there are no workplace protections based on gender orientation.
“Colorado has some of the most progressive laws for any state, especially because of ENDA” said Nic Garcia, senior managing editor of LGBT magazine, OutFront Colorado. He adds, however, “There is no actual remedy if workplace harassment does occur.”
OneColorado, an organization that works to fight for and protect LGBT equality, conducted a survey in January 2010 that reported 52 percent of transgender Coloradans experienced prejudice at their place of employment as did 27 percent of gays and lesbians. Of those who did experience discrimination, three quarters did not report it at all and only 3 percent reported discrimination to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
There are also economic implications for the LGBT community tied to discrimination. “Regardless, discrimination should not happen with this many people out of work” said Garcia. “Employers should choose the best candidate in these times; as the old saying goes ‘Never judge a book by its cover’.”
Brad Clark, executive director of OneColorado, noted that a hostile work environment can cause workers to quit a job, which can lead to high numbers of unemployed, especially in the transgender community. The numbers of discrimination are much higher for the transgender community, which both Garcia and Clark attribute to a lack of education and understanding.
“Gender expression is ingrained into us at such a young age that there’s still a lot of misunderstanding of the transgender community, including at the workplace.” Clark said.