A couple of years ago, I wrote an article entitled, “Is Corporate America REALLY ready for the LGBT”. At the time that the article ran, I sincerely hoped that the corporate landscape had indeed changed for the better when addressing the issues and concerns of the members of their staff that belong to the LGBT community. More and more corporations are adopting philosophies that include members of this community as well as other minority groups that make up our society. That, in and of itself, is a good thing. It paints the image of the landscape of Corporate America that realizes that our culture is comprised of people coming from a diverse background. We do not all share the same beliefs, race, background or religious affiliation…nor do we all share the same sexual orientation.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Unfortunately, there are still people in positions of authority that don’t subscribe to the ideology of embracing the differences that make our nation what it is. There are people that still cling to the fact that certain members of our community are less deserving of equal and fair treatment because of nothing more than the color of their skin. In fact, those very people honestly believe that they have the right to subject people that are not like them to treatment that would be best described as harassment.
I’ve heard horror stories about the intolerable boss who doesn’t acknowledge you for the contributions and accomplishments that you’ve brought to your team. I’ve heard them, and tried hard not to believe them…until they hit close to home. What I’ve come to realize is that the same bosses and supervisors that make work life questionable for some, for the most part do it knowingly. Discriminatory behavior displayed by anyone promotes an atmosphere of intolerance and translates to a “hostile work environment”; yet many people display questionable conduct in the name of their personal beliefs which often run counter to most company credos which often expound upon the belief of inclusiveness.
Those same people that promote a “hostile work environment” oftentimes do so in the name of their religion, ignorance or lack of social education. People that are not like them are deemed unworthy of proper recognition, promotion and fair career advancement, and that’s unfortunate. People that display these types of behaviors have also been doing it for a lot longer than we care to acknowledge, and as a result, have become quite proficient at doing so. They know what to say as well as what not to say, and they also know when to pull the behaviors back before crossing that proverbial line. They know that most people that are the victims of discriminatory actions have recourse if they can somehow prove that they have been victimized to begin with. And let’s face it; the ability to be able to prove that you were the victim is difficult, first off because you don’t WANT to be a victim. You don’t want to believe that your boss has an ax to grind because of what you represent to them. You may chalk it up to them just having a bad day…and that would be okay except I’ve always held true to the thought, “Why do I have to have a bad day because YOU are having a bad day?”
The other piece of the puzzle is that you don’t want to make a bad situation worse because we all know that we need our jobs. We need to make money to survive. And even though we can all admit that the economy has gotten better, it’s still not where it needs to be and a decent job is still on the difficult side of being easy to come by.
You don’t want to be the center of an investigation that may be resolved with minor coaching or even worse, with you being labeled as the trouble maker. It happens. And what you thought would’ve made a situation better only succeeded in making it worse.
Still, the good news is that people that are in positions where they are at the mercy of a supervisor that has questionable intentions don’t have to remain there. It takes time to get out of it, and it begins with you. It isn’t a hopeless cause:
· Keep a paper trail: If you believe that you are being victimized, note everything that has happened. Keep every email and keep track of every “coaching” session. If you are being victimized, then you may very well be the only one going to these undo coaching sessions. The sessions are needed to show that you are indeed a problem…whether they are legitimate or not. So keep them in a folder along with all of the associated paperwork.
· Talk to your constituents. Find out a little bit more about the background of your boss from those that have worked with him/her longer than you. Has this person demonstrated this type of conduct before?
· Be observant and be honest. Know your environment. Do you deserve the coaching session or write ups? Are the supervisor’s behaviors legitimate? Do they have merit? Are the disciplinary actions warranted?
The Numbers:
(1) The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy aggregated a number of surveys to determine the extent to which gay and transgender workers experience discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Their findings illustrate that discrimination and harassment are pervasive:
- Fifteen percent to 43 percent of gay and transgender workers have experienced some form of discrimination on the job.
- Eight percent to 17 percent of gay and transgender workers report being passed over for a job or fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Ten percent to 28 percent received a negative performance evaluation or were passed over for a promotion because they were gay or transgender.
- Seven percent to 41 percent of gay and transgender workers were verbally or physically abused or had their workplace vandalized.
REFERENCES:
Center for American Progress
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/06/workplace_discrimination.html
J.L. Whitehead
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