Update: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin's ENDA Testimony. The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Action Fund submitted testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor that spotlights the crucial need for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation & gender identity. Task Force testimony includes preliminary data from a new groundbreaking survey on discrimination against transgender people in the United States. Data from this large-scale, first- of-its-kind survey show that discrimination in employment against transgender people is a nearly universal experience: 97 percent of the respondents reported being mistreated or harassed at work & nearly half (47 percent) said they had lost their jobs, were denied a promotion, or denied a job as a direct result of being transgender. The Task Force is partnering with the National Center for Transgender Equality on the survey.
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For decades, a majority has supported protecting their friends, family and neighbors from discrimination. They know it's wrong to deprive lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of the ability to earn a livelihood and provide for their families simply because of who they are. ENDA reflects the core U.S. values of fairness and ensuring everyone is allowed to participate on a level playing field in the workplace. People recognize that our nation as a whole benefits when everyone is allowed to contribute their talents and skills, free from discrimination, which is all ENDA seeks to do.
ReplyDeleteThese figures point to enormous vulnerability related to anti-transgender bias. Federal protections in employment are a lynchpin for creating economically viable lives for transgender people. Our data show a potent path that is cut to victimization, housing insecurity and poor health due to loss of a job, or by harassment and bias that force a perfectly productive employee onto the unemployment rolls.
Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.