While the rights of LGBTQ persons are becoming more accepted, as with the recent Presidential Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month making June LGBTQ Pride month, employment discrimination based on biased gender stereotyping and other forms of sexual identity, gender orientation and sexual orientation still exist.
June was chosen as the special month for LGBTQ Pride because the Stonewall riots took place in June of 1969. The Stonewall riots in New York City are the most widely known of LGBTQ resistance/confrontation historical events. While the Stonewall rebellion was not the first such public resistance/confrontation against systemic harassment and arresting of LGBTQ persons in modern times, it is the one that made the lasting difference. For a history of the Stonewall Riots, click here.
As described at indigenouscultures.org, “Prior to European contact, many North American Indigenous cultures viewed gender and sexuality as fluid and beyond the strict male/female gender binary we know today. Two-Spirit or gender fluid members of the community were often revered, respected and held important positions of influence.” Such persons were held in high regard and respected as community healers, spiritual leaders, caretakers and interpreters. In contrast, today much of American employment and top-tier corporate culture in particular still tries to steer their organization into a gender binary and cisgender form.
Even if your employer perceives you as cisgender and not non-binary, a supervisor’s own gender stereotyping may still be an influencing bias affecting decisions regarding your employee status. Such biases influencing employment decisions regarding your status are generally illegal.
A survey by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in 2018 found that about 50% of LGBTQ employees in the US, keep their status hid for fear of bias or retaliation. These statistics have remained basically the same for the past decade in spite of official corporate policies for LGBTQ rights in the workplace becoming common. These statistics demonstrate that corporate anti-discrimination policies are not as effective as hoped or expected, and demonstrate corporate anti-discrimination policies are not effective as to top tier executives who are perceived as being gay. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation report states that this survey applied to all levels of employees. It found that even the top tier employers in the private sector with excellent policies in place were still falling short in eliminating bias against LGBTQ employees.
A double standard exists in some workplaces that results in a less than friendly workplace for LGBTQ workers. This double standard results in a work environment where sexual orientation for LGBTQ employees is still sexualized as documented in a study released by the Human Rights Campaign.
What You Can Do
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced and successful in representing LGBTQ executives and in obtaining monetary compensation for their being subjected to discrimination. I have successfully represented LGBTQ employees who were either terminated or forced out of their employment because of the bias against them and was successful in recovering money for them. I have also been successful in obtaining monetary compensation for persons who experienced harassment because they were perceived to be gay but who were not gay.
If you are being subjected to such unlawful workplace discrimination, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation.
New Jersey employment attorney, Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law serves clients throughout the state, including Bergen, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, and Morris Counties with locations in Southern, Central, Western and Northern NJ to meet with clients.