Diversity and Inclusion: LGBT Listening Session

1. Diversity and Inclusion: LGBT Listening Session APTA transit Board members workshop April 2016

2. Diversity Council Initiative • Emphasis on working to develop activities and resources that APTA member organizations can use to enhance inclusiveness of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community • Co-chairs Paul Larrousse, Celia Kupersmith and Barry Barker

3. The National Landscape

4. Supreme Court Decision • 2013 case of United States v. Windsor, which invalidated a key portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and allowed for the U.S. government to begin recognizing legally valid same-sex marriages • June 26, 2015--The nation’s highest court determined that the U.S. Constitution requires states to license and recognize marriages between two people of the same sex, making marriage equality officially

5. Federal Law • Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964 • Prohibits discrimination on the basis of “sex” • Interpretation by EEOC and some courts • Protection based on gender stereotyping and gender non-conformity • Protection for transgender employees • Schroer v. Billington (District Court for District of Columbia) (2008) • Macy v. Holder (EEOC – 2012) • “Addressing discrimination based on gender identity is a priority for the commission [EEOC]” – David Lopez, EEOC General Counsel

6. State Laws • Sexual Orientation • 22 States + D.C. prohibit discrimination in private and public employment: California, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin

7. State Laws • Gender Identity • 19 states + D.C. prohibit discrimination in private and public employment: California, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington

8. Definitions “People will forget what you said and did, but people never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou

9. Definitions • Just so we’re all on the same page. . . . • Sexual orientation • Gender Identity • Gender Expression • Gay and Lesbian • Bi-Sexual • Transgender • Queer or Questioning

10. Sexual Orientation • An individual’s experience of being physically and/or or emotionally attracted to men, women, both men and women, other types of gender expression, or people with any gender expression

11. Gender Identity • Gender identity is an individual’s sense of being a man or woman, falling outside or in between the gender binary, or combining aspects of multiple genders • Everyone has a gender identity

12. Gender Expression • Gender expression describes the external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social interactions

13. LGB… • Gay: A person who is attracted primarily to members of the same sex. • Lesbian: A woman who is primarily attracted to other women • Bisexual: A person with significant attraction and desire for both sexes, both sexually and romantically. Being bisexualdoes NOT imply confusion or wanting/having more than one partner.

14. Transgender • Transgender people are people who have a gender identity or gender expression that is different from that traditionally associated with their assigned sex at birth • Transgender women are transgender people who identify as women • Transgender men are transgender people who identify as men

15. Transgender • Some people who identify as transgender do not identify as men or as women • Some people who meet the definition of transgender do not identify with the word transgender • Transgender people span all communities, backgrounds, races, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, and abilities

16. Queer….or Questioning • Was, in the past, a pejorative and offensive term • Still is to some people inside of the LGBTQ community • Today, more of an umbrella terms and includes anyone who: • Wants to identify as queer and • Who feels somehow outside of societal norms in regard to gender or sexuality

17. LGBT Inclusion at Fortune 500 Companies As of 2015: • 89% include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies • 66% include gender identity and/or expression (15 years ago, this was about 3%) • 66% provide equivalent medical benefits between domestic partners • 25% provide transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, including coverage of surgical procedures

18. LGBT Employees’ Workplace Experiences Studies have indicated that 58% of LGBT employees have heard jokes or derogatory comments about LGBT people at work An analysis of over 50 studies since 1992 showed between 7% and 41% of LGBT workers report being verbally or physically harassed or having workspace vandalized Source: Movement Advancement Project, Human Rights Campaign and Center for American Progress, A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits and More Taxes for LGBT Workers (Full Report), May 2013.

19. LGBT Employees’ Workplace Experiences Between 10% and 21% of LGBT workers report that bias against their sexual orientation contributed to a negative performance evaluation 11% to 28% say such bias is why they were passed over for a promotion Another survey found that nearly one in 10 “out” workers reported losing a job in the past five years because of their sexual orientation Source: Movement Advancement Project, Human Rights Campaign and Center for American Progress, A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits and More Taxes for LGBT Workers (Full Report), May 2013.

20. Key Challenges for Employers ”I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

21. Key Challenges for Employers • Interviewing and Hiring • Harassment and Discrimination • Employee Policies

22. What are your best practices? “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” ― Maya Angelou