Do Anti-Discrimination Laws Work?

We fought long and hard to pass Connecticut gender inclusive anti-discrimination law, but sometimes I wonder does it work? More and more companies both large and small are including protection for gender identity and expression but do they work?

San Antonia just passed a non-discrimination ordinance that includes gender identity and expression for governing city employment, contracting, housing and public accommodations.

San Antonio passes non-discrimination ordinance
SDGLN Staff
September 5th, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The City Council, over stiff opposition by conservative Republicans and Religious Right ministers, voted today to approve a fully inclusive non-discrimination ordinance.

The ordinance adds sexual orientation and gender identity protections into city ordinances governing city employment, contracting, housing and public accommodations. The City Council passed the updates by a 8-3 vote, and despite an ugly smear campaign mounted by anti-LGBT activists that included harmful propaganda directed particularly at transgender San Antonians.

Will unemployment for trans-people in San Antonia now drop?

When I first saw the report “A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits and More Taxes for LGBT Workers” I thought that it would provide the answers to my questions but it doesn’t. Instead it reports the overall state of employment for trans-people,

REPORT: Transgender Workers Still Face ‘Broken Bargain’ When Trying To Earn A Living
Think Progress
By Andrew Cray, Guest Blogger
September 5, 2013

As a result, transgender workers face higher rates of unemployment and greater risk of poverty. A Broken Bargain for Transgender Workers shows that:

• Transgender workers are unemployed at twice the rate of the population as a whole, making it harder for them to support themselves and their families.
• More than four in ten transgender workers in the job market are underemployed. Employers who judge transgender job candidates based on factors other than merit lose out on highly motivated – and often highly educated – workers.
• Transgender workers are nearly four times more likely to live on less than $10,000 a year. Living in this kind of extreme poverty has negative effects on physical health, and can make it difficult to meet basic needs.

The lack of legal protections for transgender employees also has a direct impact on the conditions they face in the workplace. Transgender people face the prospect of unequal benefits, harassment, job loss, and even physical violence on the job. The report details research on the mistreatment of transgender workers:

•     Nearly eight in ten transgender workers has experienced mistreatment or discrimination in the workplace, ranging from disclosure of private information, to verbal harassment, to being forced to present in the wrong gender in order to keep their jobs.
•     One in four transgender workers has lost a job simply because of who they are. For transgender people of color, this rate is even higher, reflecting the “multiplier effect” of race and gender identity based discrimination. Far from being judged based on the work they do, it is clear that too many transgender workers are punished simply for living authentic lives.
•     One in 14 transgender workers have been victims of physical violence at work. Transgender employees without basic protections may be risking their own safety just by doing their jobs.
•     Health insurance exclusions and denial of medical leave means that transgender employees may be left with a difficult choice: risking their jobs to get the care they need, or risking their health by putting their care on hold.

I think they state the obvious, we are unemployed and under employed, what I would like to see is if non-discrimination laws work.

I think that if you analyze data you will find that trans-people have it only slightly better in states with protection for trans-people. If you look at age discrimination I think you will find that companies know how to dance around age discrimination law suits, we didn’t lay them off because of their age but because they were making more money than younger workers. Companies know not to saw the magic words, “you’re too old,” “you’re black,” “you’re a woman” or “you are transgender.”

But even giving all that I still favor anti-discrimination laws; it keeps the honest companies honest, it makes the marginal companies honest and the companies that don’t care if they discriminate won’t change their policies anyway. It also shows that the state or companies care about all their citizens or employees.