Sam Thoron

by Sam Thoron, PFLAG National President Emeritus | My story begins in January 1990 when my daughter, aged 19, the youngest of three children, came out to her father as a Lesbian woman. My wife, Julia, and I quickly realized that Liz had not changed. She is still the same wonderful person that we brought into the world and nurtured through her childhood into her emergence as an adult. We needed to learn what this new information meant for us and for our lives. We needed to understand the implications for her in her life.

We soon joined the local chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and there found support for our new journey. I was able to put into perspective my fears about Liz’ future. I also gained an understanding of some of the discrimination she would face. I went to PFLAG for support for my journey and learned that that journey included support for Liz. That means more than just a hug, it means being an advocate for her full equality, and that cannot happen without being open about being the parent of a Gay child.

If you had asked me before Liz came out what I wanted for my children I would have told you that I wanted them to be whole, healthy, happy adults on their own terms. I confess that having one of them identify as LGBT was not in my plans. I was forced to let go of those plans, to tear up my scripts for Liz.  The gift of this process is that I also gave myself permission to tear up the scripts for her two older brothers. This is enormously freeing.

Sam and Julia in Washington D.C.

I have long been deeply committed to the principle that Liz deserves to be afforded the same respect and dignity as flows so naturally to her two straight brothers. She deserves all the same rights, privileges and obligations of full citizenship in this country. She deserves the freedom to marry the person of her choice and to have that marriage recognized everywhere. She deserves full equality in every aspect of her life, in healthcare, in education, in public accommodation, and especially in the workplace. Bringing this about demands open advocacy.

Over the years I have many times been asked to take actions that, at first look, seemed to be way outside the envelope of my comfort zone. Each time I have had to ask myself if I valued full equality for Liz and for the LGBT world. The answer has always been yes. As a result I have had the privilege of meeting and working with a host of wonderful and inspiring people. When Julia and I agreed to make the lead television ad for the No on 8 Campaign, ‘comfort zone’ ceased to be a useful concept. We are out.

I have come to understand that the very best tool for changing hearts and minds that any of us have is our own story, our own experience, strength and hope. It is vital for parents, allies, family members and all members of the diverse LGBT Communities to tell our stories at every opportunity, and even to create opportunities. We can change the world, one person at a time. Each of us must do our part. Full equality will prevail!

For more resources and prespectives on LGBT and allied parenting, you can check out our Town Call podcast LGBT Parenting: Our Children Speak. We’ll also be hosting a fantastic panel on “Straight Talk from Teens on Having Not-So-Straight Parents” at the 2013 Out & Equal Workplace Summit in Minneapolis, October 29-31. You can take a look at the complete list of confirmed Summit workshops online.

Northwest Regional Affiliates at the 2011 National Out & Equal Workplace Summit

by Michael Mattmiller, Out & Equal Seattle Regional Affiliate | What an amazing year we’ve had for workplace equality in Washington state. Since last January, we’ve seen our community rally together to help our legislature pass marriage equality. When a signature-gathering effort referred the legislation to voters, our r corporate leaders joined us to contribute to the pro-marriage campaign, and these leaders proudly took strong, visible stands in support of LGBT professionals. This campaign helped our executives understand how issues like marriage affect our families and our success in the workplace.

So what’s next?

For many of our corporate LGBT professionals in Washington we’ve got engaged leaders, great benefits and diversity programs, and inclusive state laws. Are we feeling the benefit of those laws and programs? Too often we assume that all corporate citizens benefit when an employer announced a great new policy granting same-sex benefits or a new diversity initiative. For many of us that work at corporate headquarters and have the opportunity to interact with our leaders and employee resource groups, we forget that our colleagues in field offices, subsidiaries, or working on factory floors may not feel the benefit of these well-intended gestures.

We also need to think about our colleagues who were left behind during these recent wins. While Washington and five other states have been added to the marriage equality map  in the past year, our neighbors in California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska did not. What knowledge can we impart to the inclusion-minded corporations and professionals in those states who have more work to do? We also need to think about our transgender coworkers who in some cases were excluded from corporate policy and benefits changes. How many of our companies widely-lauded for their leadership on marriage equality still do not offer inclusive transgender healthcare?

These are just a couple of the challenges remaining for us to tackle in our corporates. This list doesn’t include the challenges on which  executive sponsors are now engaging us, such as how their investment in employee resource groups are returning value to the company through increased revenue, retention, and other metrics.

And we thought we were done. Creating a sought-after culture where all professionals feel like valued members of their workplace is still an attainable goal, and through our conversations with ERGs across the Northwest we have found innovative programs that not only tackle these challenges but do so in a way that makes their companies an employer of choice. In the process, many of the LGBT professionals and allies who have developed these programs gained valuable leadership skills, visibility in their companies, and are seeing the benefits in their career.

The Out & Equal Regional Affiliates in Seattle and San Francisco have been working hard to plan a Northwest Regional Summit where together we can discuss “What’s Next” – the challenges, the successful models employed by others, and how to get energized for the road ahead. We have 12 amazing workshops presented by innovative employers from Boeing to Accenture, Starbucks, Ernst & Young, and others. Keynote speakers from Alaska Airlines and Concur Technologies will provide us with executive perspective. Leading organizations in our community including Lambda Legal and Pride Foundation will help us understand the rapidly changing legal and civic landscapes.

I hope you will join us on Friday, June 28th to be part of the Regional Summit. Together, we can be “What’s next”.

Visit the Northwest Regional Summit website to learn more about event programming and to register. Connect with both the Out & Equal Seattle Affiliate and the San Francisco Affiliate on Facebook.

by Daniel Lawrence Smith, Senior Development Manager | This impassioned plea, by Harvey Milk, was recorded with the instructions that it be played upon the event of his assassination. Today, we honor Harvey’s legacy on the anniversary of his birthday, Harvey Milk Day.

Thirty-five years after his death, the voice of Harvey Milk resonates with resounding clarity and foresight. At Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, we believe that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) professionals must be able to come out of the closet to bring their most authentic and productive selves to work. That is why we are committed to ending employment discrimination for LGBT employees.

Harvey Milk envisioned a day when we all share the same civil rights in our lives and our workplaces. Please join us in honoring Harvey’s vision for equality by supporting the work of Out & Equal.

The reality is that millions of LGBT employees across the nation and around the globe are forced to conceal their sexual orientation and gender identity or risk putting their career on the line. In countries like Spain and France, workplace climates are so conservative that being “out at work” could mean being “out of a job“.

In the United States, it is still legal to fire someone simply for being gay, lesbian or bisexual in 29 states across the country and 34 states for being transgender. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which has, once again, been introduced to Congress, would create fully inclusive national legislation to protect LGBT employees.

Now more than ever, we must continue to educate, build allies, strengthen our Regional Affiliates and be a visible resource for those most at need against prejudice and unjust workplace treatment.

The voice of Harvey Milk lives on within each of us. We believe that Harvey would be proud of the many advances our community has made toward this vision, but he would also remind us not to be complacent – we still have a lot of work to do. And of course, we have hope!

Please join us on Harvey Milk Day with your generous gift of support. Together, we can share Harvey’s message of hope as we work to achieve a world free of discrimination for everyone.

P.S. For more on ENDA, listen to our Town Call Series recording Moving Forward on the Federal Non-discrimination Act. While you’re visiting the Out & Equal website, please honor the legacy of Harvey Milk with your tax-deductible donation.

By Brianna Nelson, Communications Associate | Just one week ago the Minnesota senate passed marriage equality, and Governor Dayton signed the measure into law, making Minnesota the 12th state where all citizens can enjoy full and equal marriage rights. Out & Equal is overjoyed for Minnesotans. We’ve had faith in their equality movement since long before the moment we chose to host the 2013 Out & Equal Workplace Summit in Minneapolis. We are thrilled to continue advancing LGBT equality together at the Workplace Summit, October 29-31.

Get to Know Minneapolis 

It’s not just for Mary Tyler Moore – Ellen Degeneres visiting the Mary Tyler Moore statue in downtown Minneapolis.

Now that Minnesota’s in the spotlight for their equal rights efforts and successes, why not take a minute to get to know the great city of Minneapolis a little bit better. There’s no time like the present to register for Summit (ultra early bird rates are still available!) and start your trip planning.

Minneapolis is not only a cultural hub of the US Midwest but also of the entire country. It houses countless art museums, including the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Minneapolis is second only to New York City in live theater per capita. (Recording artist Prince studied at the Minnesota Dance Theatre. And, more recently, Minneapolis has been home to the burgeoning Midwestern spoken word and hip hop scene.) The metropolis is certainly deserving of its nickname “The Minne Apple”.

If you’d rather be on the bleachers than in the museum, Minnesota boasts teams in all four professional leagues – Twins (MLB), Timberwolves (NBA), Vikings (NFL), and the Minnesota Wild (NHL). For our lucky Workplace Summit travelers, the US football season will be well underway, and hockey season as well as NBA regular season will just be starting – Who knows, perhaps you could catch a ga(y)me featuring the next out professional athlete.

Of course, before you can be on the bleachers, you have to get to the game. There’s no shortage of public transit options in this city – with your choices ranging from light rail to bike trail, commuter rail to cab hail. However, if you’re staying downtown (like Out & Equal for the Workplace Summit at the Minneapolis Convention Center), the chances of needing to do more than walk across the street – by crosswalk or skywalk – are slim. Walk Score ranks Minneapolis the ninth most walkable city in the United States.

You’ve been waiting to hear about the gayborhood? I thought you knew, this whole town’s been painted purple. In 2011, the Advocate announced Minneapolis the number one gayest city in America. For further reading, check out these LGBT Minneapolis guides – Autostraddle’s Queer City Guide, the official Diverse Minneapolis guide, or get the insider’s view with Lavender Magazine.

Please visit Out & Equal’s website for more information about the opportunities available at the 2013 Workplace Summit, October 29-31. P.S. Corporate partnerships available.

Image Source: TravelDirectors.com

by Rhonda Smith, Reporter, Bloomberg BNA | A small but growing number of large employers have begun implementing policies that offset the additional taxes employees who have same-sex spouses or domestic partners enrolled in company health benefit plans must pay.

‘‘July 2011 is where this took off and became a bigger issue,’’ attorney Todd Solomon, a partner in the employee benefits practice at McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago, told BNA Nov. 1. ‘‘Before 2010, this was on people’s radar screen as an issue, but nobody was doing it.’’

Today, Solomon said that about 50 companies have adopted policies to provide tax gross-ups to workers to help cover their costs tied to having a same-sex spouse or partner enrolled in the employers’ medical, dental, or vision plans. Grossing up the income of the affected employee involves the employer paying to the worker the approximate amount he or she must pay in taxes for the partner’s coverage.

Citing information from the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay civil rights organization in Washington, D.C., and a New York Times blog that keeps track of this trend, representatives at consulting firm Marsh & McLennan Companies noted Oct. 31 that employers that provide this benefit include Accenture, American Express, Apple, Cisco Systems Inc., Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, Yale University, and McDermott Will & Emery, among other law firms.

Solomon was scheduled to discuss the ‘‘Life Cycle of Domestic Partner Benefits’’* at the 2012 Out & Equal Workplace Summit, held in Baltimore Oct. 29-Nov. 1, but was unable to attend because of weather conditions on the East Coast.

‘Domestic Partner Tax Equalization.’ During the conference, the Marsh & McLennan representatives announced that the firm will begin providing ‘‘domestic partner tax equalization’’ in January 2013. The benefit will be available to all of the firm’s married lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees, they said, as well as those who live in states where they cannot legally marry.

‘‘The biggest issue we had to deal with was cost,’’ said Kathryn Komsa, vice president, chief diversity officer, global human resources, at Marsh & McLennan.

Komsa and her co-presenter, James Campbell, an actuary and partner at Mercer, said during a human resources leadership breakfast at the conference that the average medical plan cost per employee is $9,385, according to Mercer’s 2011 national survey of employer sponsored health plans. Mercer is a Marsh & McLennan subsidiary.

An employer’s expected projected cost of tax equalization is $2,500 to $3,500 per employee, they said, though costs will vary based on an employer’s actual plan costs and coverages included. ‘‘You can design the benefit to manage that cost,’’ Campbell said, noting that there are different ways to do this.

Solomon said that, on average, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender employee will pay $1,069 a year in federal taxes for a same-sex spouse’s benefits, according to HRC data.

‘‘This is primarily an issue of pay equity—equal pay for equal work,’’ he said of the benefits-related tax employees with same-sex partners must pay. ‘‘More and more companies are saying, ‘We don’t like that result.’’’

Reproduced with permission from Human Resources Report, 30 HRR 1202 (Nov. 5, 2013). Copyright 2013 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033)

*A recording of “Life Cycle of Domestic Partner Benefits” will be available April 22 as part of Out & Equal University’s Virtual Summit Series bundle, which includes six webinar recordings of the highest rated Workplace Summit workshops. For more information, please contact Q Wilson, Senior Training Associate.

This was an Out & Equal monthly Town Call that was held on March 28, 2013. Information on viewing the archived version is contained in this blog. Out & Equal’s Training Department hosts a free monthly webinar Town Call on a current Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) topic. These calls cover a wide range of issues and are based on feedback we receive from our webinar participants. You can find past Town Calls and register for upcoming Town Calls on our website. Each month we post links to Town Call recordings here once they are done for you to use as a resource and to give you the opportunity to lend your voice to the conversations with comments below.

Moving Forward on the Federal Non-discrimination Act
Thursday, March 28, 2013

Bill Hendrix

Stacey Long

Tico Almeida

Over the past several years, the LGBT community has witnessed some meaningful progress in United States Federal laws and policies. The last US Congress passed hate crime legislation covering both sexual orientation and gender identity, and they repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The current Administration has provided guidance for the inclusion of LGBT citizens on a number of important fronts, and the US Supreme Court is currently considering the constitutionality of both Proposition 8 and the DOMA in its first time taking on marriage equality cases. A fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, however, has remained out of reach. This panel of experts – featuring Tico Almeida, Executive Director, Freedom to Work; Stacey Long, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, Task Force; and Bill Hendrix, PhD, Business Partner, Coastal States, Dow Agro Sciences LLC – from legislative, activist and corporate arenas discusses the work being done to advance ENDA and why it needs to remain a top priority for the LGBT community as well as the broader business community.

Watch our podcast!
Download the presentation slides [pdf]
Download the audio recording [mp3]

Mark your calendar for our next town call, April 25, 2013. LGBT Parenting: Our Children Speak, with Paul Perry, Zach Wahls, Shirley Edwards, and Chris Crespo. Register now.

This was an Out & Equal Virtual Summit held on March 19, 2013. Information on viewing the archived version is contained in this blog.  During the 2012 annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit, we experienced Hurricane Sandy and although over 1400 were able to attend; our featured panel and workshop sessions were disrupted.  Many presenters couldn’t get to the Summit and many who wanted to attend were not able to get to Baltimore and missed the workshops that were held.  We also know that during the Summit, there are many choices and some of the sessions, attendees just couldn’t make it to all the sessions they wanted. Through the Virtual Summit Series, we’re hoping to provide you with another chance to join our workplace equality discussion. Lend your voice to the conversation with the comment box below.

Helping ERGs Embrace the B and T  
Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Amy Clements

Brielle Darynn

Heidi Bruins Green

Does your Employee Resource Groups (ERG) alphabet begin with G and end with L? While your ERG may have the best intentions, it could be accidentally excluding others. Even the best ERG can become more inclusive. This workshop – facilitated by Amy Clements, Deloitte Consulting LLP; Brielle Darynn, Deloitte Consulting LLP; Heidi Bruns Green, Chair of Out & Equal’s Bi Advisory Council and Consultant; and Jamison Green, Jamison Green & Associates – will include a forum to share ways to make your ERG more inclusive of sexual and gender diversity while helping to build equality. Greater ERG diversity can help your company attract and retain top talent.

*This link will only be active through April 19, 2013.
After April 19, 2013 the Virtual Summit Series will be available as a bundle through Out & Equal’s Training Department.*
Watch the Podcast!

Marriage Rights are Employee Rights Oral arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States for both Hollingsworth vs. Perry and United States vs. Windsor have put LGBT rights advocates in the spotlight. While responses from the Supreme Court justices have not lead to any definitive predictions for the outcomes of Hollingsworth or Windsor, we know that history is on the side of equality for all. We also know that marriage rights are employee rights; more than three hundred top corporations and employers agreed with us when we filed an amicus brief in Windsor last month. Ways to Get Involved Start a conversation. Invite friends, family members, and colleagues to learn about LGBT issues and discuss equality concerns on Facebook and Twitter. Share your story. Write, record, or simply speak out about your experience as LGBT or allied. Paste your story into Out & Equal at Work: From Closet to Corner Office, and give copies to the important people in your life. Donate. No movement advances without the help of many hands, and whatever you contribute is vital to our success. With your commitment to support equality, we can maintain the momentum we have gained both in and out of the office.

Formal research suggests that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) employees are a motivated and highly qualified group. Out & Equal’s constituents are that and more. Of course, we’ve always known this, but we want employers to know as well, so Out & Equal’s LGBTCareerLink has been conducting an ongoing, informal poll. Here are a few highlights from our recent results:

Strong work experience with a healthy number of new-comers

• 51% are managers and senior individual contributors with at least 10 years in their current occupations.
• 8% are executives.
• 24% are entry level, no more than three years of professional level work experience.

LGBT workplace equality is a priority

• 76% place significant importance on an employer’s LGBT-related equality policies and practices when evaluating potential career moves.
• 40% will not accept a job offer unless they are certain they can be “out” in the workplace and treated equally.
• 77% are “out” at work to co-workers, managers, executives alike.

Education much higher than the general workforce

• 89% hold at least a B.A. or B.S. degree.
• 37% hold advanced degrees, professional degrees and doctorates.

Read the rest of the survey results here.

Have you taken the survey? Add your voice and show employers why you’re an ideal job candidate. While you’re at, you can upload your resume for free to Out & Equal’s LGBTCareerLink, the only online career board specifically for the LGBT community. If you are an employer interested in reaching this quality talent group with your employment brand, check out the opportunities available specifically for you.

by Rhonda Smith, Reporter, Bloomberg BNA | Erica M. Deuso holds two jobs at Johnson & Johnson: lean deployment analyst for strategic business improvement and gender transition liaison, an unpaid, though equally important, role.

As the liaison, Deuso volunteers as the ‘‘go- between’’ to assist line managers, human resources, and all other employees—about 129,000 worldwide—when a coworker transitions from one gender to another.

Deuso herself underwent a gender transition, with her first day at work as a female on Nov. 1, 2011. ‘‘I facilitate meetings with other people and guide the transitioner through the process,’’ she explained Oct. 31, during the Out & Equal Workplace Summit in Baltimore.

‘‘There’s a process you go through in communication, telling other people and working through different problems that arise.’’

Companies such as Boeing and Google have gender transition liaisons, Deuso said. For a majority of employers, however, it is a relatively new concept.

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, an organization based in San Francisco that focuses on ending employment discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees, sponsored the conference.

Gender Transition Guidelines. Deuso, who is based in Radnor, Pa., is updating Johnson & Johnson’s Workplace Gender Transition Guidelines, a 17-page document that outlines what is involved in the process, what health benefits are available through the company, and definitions of various terms. The guidelines, which have not been released publicly, are geared toward employees who are undergoing a gender transition as well as those who are not, but might have questions.

Jenna R. Cook, a manager in Johnson & Johnson’s regulatory medical writing division, began working at the company in 2005, and decided to transition from male to female in 2009. Cook told a human resources representative about her plan in early 2011.

‘‘My immediate manager, a member of the company’s Gay and Lesbian Organization for Business and Leadership (GLOBAL) affinity group, introduced me to Erica,’’ Cook said during her presentation with Deuso. ‘‘We started following Erica’s transition guidelines.’’

Meetings, Followed by Announcement. After Cook and Deuso met, various meetings took place with other managers at Johnson & Johnson, which operates 250 companies in 57 countries. The company, based in New Brunswick, N.J., makes consumer products, prescription medicines, and medical devices.

‘‘Working with management and HR, plans were made for staged announcements,’’ including to Cook’s colleagues in various countries. With assistance from her managers and HR, Cook made the grand announcement to her immediate co-workers Jan. 25, 2012.

‘‘I introduced myself as being transgendered and then illustrated why I was transitioning,’’ Cook said. ‘‘The response and support I received was unbelievable. I didn’t get chastised—no hate mail or anything.’’

Some of what Deuso and Cook experienced was similar, they said.

‘‘We both started out with HR being our ally,’’ Cook said. ‘‘We both told management long before actually transitioning.’’
But their experiences were not identical.

‘‘I did face a little bit of dissent from people I knew on a casual basis,’’ Deuso said. ‘‘There are three distinct groups: those who immediately accept, those who are indifferent, and those who are against it.’’

Nonetheless, neither Deuso nor Cook seemed to have any regrets.

Deuso noted that New Jersey’s law against employment discrimination includes protection against bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Also, she said, Johnson & Johnson provides transgender employees with comprehensive medical coverage, through Aetna and Cigna, for care related to their transitions.

‘‘Every transition is different and entails different challenges,’’ Deuso said. ‘‘The key to a successful transition is not disrupting the business and keeping your end of the bargain.’’

Also, she said, ‘‘The most important facet to any transition is open, continuous, and visible management support.’’

Reproduced with permission from Human Resources Report, 30 HRR 1202 (Nov. 5, 2013). Copyright 2013 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033)

For more resources regarding gender transition in the workplace please check out Out & Equal’s online resource listing and feel free to contact our Training & Professional Development Department.