From today’s NYT:
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has inserted language into the federal jobs Web site explicitly banning employment discrimination based on gender identity.
More here. But yeah, let’s keep criticizing the guy for not doing enough fast enough. Honestly? This blows my mind, though lately I’ve been wondering if the LGBT community has general amnesia.
(h/t to SJ)
I’m criticizing him maily for being a stern father to progressives and a best friend to centrists.
Also, for restoring the Bush economy. Really, as much as I love to see rights for my peeps advanced, the economy is a bigger issue. Doesn’t matter if we’re discriminted against on the job if there are no jobs to be had.
I would agree with Leah B, but this is nonetheless heartening:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....xmxcz.html
With all due respect to the critics, there has been a policy about this for at least ten years. It was initiated during the Clinton administration not to discriminate against employees or prospective employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, among other factor, eg. race, ethnicity, religion, sex, etc.. This isn’t new, only public. It’s good that the Obama administration finally made it official on the Website.
Amanda Simpson may be the first transwoman political appointee in the federal government , she is far from the first (current or former) transgender government employee. There have been quite a few who transistioned on the job, only quietly and protected by regulations. I hope she doesn’t think she speaks for or represents them. They may not appreciate or like it.
A long-time federal employee I know (who chooses to remain anonymous) explained to me that “with all due respect to Susan, she’s wrong here. I know what protections employees have. While sexual orientation was included in the language based on an executive order that came from then-President Clinton, gender identity has NEVER been included in the language until now. And today’s news is still falling short of an executive order or something like the anticipated ENDA.”
Seriously? Do you mean we should withhold any complaints or criticisms?
Positive reaction to things that are done right makes sense, but besides no action whatsoever on DOMA and DA/DT, the Obama administration sat by and did nothing when a military coup replaced the elected government of Honduras, the “health care” part of health care reform was dropped pretty much immediately and it became about health insurance instead, rather than any sort of public option we get a legal obligation to buy from for-profit insurance company, all he brought to Copenhagen was a pointless statement that we agree to limit temperature increase to 2?C (a bit like me saying I’m going to make $100,000 next year without getting off my butt and applying for any jobs), although he said during the campaign that he’d escalate the war in Afghanistan he shouldn’t have let the general bully him into giving him (the general) exactly what he wanted, they gave $700 billion to the financial industry with no strings attached and now the banks are short-selling the dollar on the currency market instead of loaning to communities to stimulate job growth … and so it goes.
Obama had about a year in which he had a reasonable shot at a filibuster-proof Senate, and the Republicans showed immediately that they had no intention of doing anything other but obstruct. Obama should have pulled out all the stops and taken advantage of the never-to-be-repeated opportunity. Sure, let’s give him a pat on the back for things he does right, but I don’t think he should be immune to criticism. Not by a long shot.
Helen, with all due respect to your friend, as a retired federal employee, it was the Cliinton administration which pushed agencies to initiate policies respecting and protecting lgbt (yes, t too) people and adding lgbt representatives to HR advisory boards. The agency I worked for followed with their policy protecting lgbt people (being a supervisor during those years). They specifically asked for a trans-representative for the agency board.
Unfortunately policies don’t change people, and despite all the best intentions, only a few places fully accepted transpeople. And despite all those policies, they weren’t regulations to really protect lgbt people against covert discrimination, meaning transfer, reassignment, even demotion, etc., so while you kept your employment, it wasn’t necessarily in the same place or in the same job. And it’s why most stayed in the proverbial closet.