Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity in the Public Sector

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Transgender individuals are disproportionately affected by discrimination in the workplace. In 2011, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality released the report “Injustice at Every Turn,” which details the discrimination faced by transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The report revealed that across all employment sectors 90% of respondents reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job or took actions to avoid it, and 47% experienced some sort of adverse job outcome (did not get a job, were denied a promotion, or were fired), 26% of which lost a job due to being transgender (Grant et al. 51-53).
In the public sector specifically, there are approximately one million gay and transgender individuals working in state and local governments, constituting about 5.4 percent of the public sector workforce (Burns 8). The Center for American Progress released the report “Gay and Transgender Discrimination in the Public Sector,” which examines the effects of employment discrimination on the basis of on sexual orientation and gender identity in the public sector. The report does not distinguish between gay and transgender populations in some of its data analysis, but it adequately expresses the discrimination experienced specifically by transgender individuals in the public sector.

The report disclosed the following findings:
• In 2008, more than half of gay or transgender K-12 teachers employed at public schools reported feeling unsafe at work, 35% feared losing their job and 27% reported being harassed within the prior year.
• In 2009, 19% of gay or transgender faculty and employees at public colleges and universities reported experiencing discrimination and h...

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...Non-Discrimination Act.” American Civil Liberties Union. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Grant, Jaime M., Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, Jody L. Herman, and Mara Keisling. “Injustice At Every Turn: A Report Of The National Transgender Discrimination Survey, Executive Summary.” Washington: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. 2011.Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Grossman, Joanna L. “The EEOC Rules that Transgender Discrimination is Sex Discrimination: The Reasoning Behind that Decision.” Justis.com. 1 May 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 251. Supreme Court of the United States. 1989. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Schroer v. Billington, 577 F. Supp. 2d 293. District Court, District of Columbia. 2008. Web 20 Nov. 2013.
Smith v. Salem, 378 F.3d 566. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit. 5 Aug. 2004. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.

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