Top Down

We don’t discriminate! So said the CEO
We are a diverse company and do not discriminate. So said the HR director.

We hear that a lot but by the time you get down to the low level managers and employees somehow the message gets lost.

Barnes & Noble is latest retailer to face transgender discrimination lawsuitA transitioning employee says she was told to “think of the children” when considering her appearance.Fortune
By Claire Zillman
May 7, 2015

Barnes & Noble is the latest retailer to face a discrimination lawsuit filed by a transgender employee.

On Wednesday, a transgender woman who had worked for Barnes & Noble from 2007 to 2013 sued the bookseller in California Superior Court in Orange County for discrimination and harassment.
[…]
In 2013, Ramirez finally told her manger that she was transitioning into a woman and that she wanted to present herself as one at work. According to the complaint, the manager told Ramirez that wearing makeup and appearing as a woman at work would make other Barnes & Noble employees lose respect for her position as a manger and as a leader. The manager forbid Ramirez from asking coworkers to call her by her female name, Victoria. The manager later said that Barnes & Noble would not allow Ramirez to use the store’s women’s restroom or wear skirts because it might make other employees or customers uncomfortable. She could only wear makeup if it wasn’t obvious, the manager said, and she couldn’t discuss her transition with coworkers unless the manager was present to ensure that no one felt sexually harassed.

When one HR director went to hire her back at a different location her former HR director gave her an unfavorable recommendation. Meanwhile…

When contacted by Fortune, Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble, emphasized the company’s longstanding support of transgender workers. She said it works directly with transitioning employees “to provide the support they need to feel comfortable in the workplace” and with their coworkers “to ensure they are educated about the transition process and what to expect.” Keating declined to comment specifically about Ramirez. But she added “we are very proud to employ a large number of transgender individuals, whom, like all employees are treated with dignity and respect.”

And the HRC Corporate Equality Index (CEI) gave them a 100!

They look great on paper but like many other companies and organizations the polices gets muddled as it moves down from the ivory towers and doesn’t become operational.