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As a proud ally of the LGBTQ community, I’m anxiously watching the U.S. Supreme Court as it prepares to decide three cases about LGBTQ employment discrimination. It’s with my former LGBTQ co-worker in mind that I hope the Supreme Court takes this opportunity to affirm that all LGBTQ people should be able to work hard, make a living and support themselves and their loved ones without harassment or discrimination.
The anti-LGBTQ discrimination I witnessed with a previous employer was one of the reasons that I left the company. When my coworker announced that she would be coming out to management as a transgender woman after first coming out to me and a few others she could trust, I was shocked to see her passed over for leadership positions and opportunities to be a “public face” for the company.
She was easily one of the most competent and productive designers at the company prior to her transition, but the respect I saw her earn quickly diminished when she began presenting as the woman she is. I heard partners claim that they “accepted the sinner, but not the sin,” as if in naming her gender a “sin,” it somehow excused their own discomfort and discriminatory behavior.
When the chance arose, I began volunteering with Fair Anchorage, the campaign that defeated Proposition 1, which would have repealed Anchorage’s non-discrimination ordinance. I’m proud that we kept important municipal protections in place here in Anchorage. Yet, we still need a statewide anti-discrimination law, and ultimately protections on the federal level.
I simply don’t understand how there is still so much discrimination in our country and state. People’s discomfort with the LGBTQ community is either cloaked in the mantle of religion, as if religion gives people the excuse to be xenophobic, or it is based in fear. If someone being true to themselves scares you, perhaps it’s time to take a look at your own insecurities.
It breaks my heart that I know talented designers in my field who have left Alaska for states with explicit nondiscrimination protections, despite the many opportunities Alaska provides in the architecture and engineering industry. Discrimination has a high cost, and it’s time for business leaders to stand up and say: No one who is qualified, talented, and hardworking should have to fear being fired or denied a job or promotion simply because of who they are.
When the Supreme Court decides the case of Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired after coming out to her employer and one of the three LGBTQ plaintiffs before the Supreme Court, I hope the justices keep in mind people like my former co-worker, who urgently need reassurance that the law will protect them. Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules, Congress must also act to pass the Equality Act to make sure that all LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination in all areas of life. Dignity and respect should never depend on who you are, who you love or what ZIP code someone calls home.
Caroline Storm is a small business owner and LGBTQ ally in Anchorage.
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