Speak out for equality We live in an unequal world. We’ve grown up in societies that expect us to adopt traditional male and female gender roles, which dictate how we should dress and act, what sort of jobs we should go for, who we should have relationships with. Many of us challenge these gender norms, but we also learn how to survive at work and on the streets. We are so used to not being equal that we sometimes barely notice the inequality. One of our survival techniques is keeping our heads down and avoiding trouble, if we possibly can. We surveyed activists in 2003, just before the employment regulations protecting workers from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation came into force. Of those reporting discrimination, just over 52% had been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. 24% said they took no action, with 8% leaving their job to escape the situation. In 2006, Press for Change surveyed trans people for the government’s equalities review. They found that 42% of people not living permanently in their preferred gender role were prevented from doing so because they feared it might threaten their employment status. We are concerned that this pattern is not changing. We know that workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people continues to be a serious problem. The cost of this discrimination is not only paid by the person at the receiving end. It poisons the whole workplace and has a clear impact on our ability to do a good job. Earlier this year, Stonewall surveyed over 100 lesbian, gay and bisexual workers on how they felt their performance was affected by whether or not they were able to be out as LGB at work. The report Peak Performance is on the Stonewall website www.stonewall. org.uk. It makes interesting – if unsurprising – reading with participants almost universally reporting a positive link between workplace climate and their own productivity and performance. So discrimination is alive and well. Yet few of us complain. We don’t underestimate what it takes to challenge prejudice and discrimination. But the point about being in a trade union is that each one of us has the collective strength of the whole union behind us. Don’t put up with it – speak out for equality.
Find information about your right to work free from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender reassignment on our website: www.unison.org.uk/out or available from Carola Towle, UNISON national officer for LGBT equality – contact details on page 11. If you are experiencing discrimination, contact your branch. If you’re not out in your branch, contact your regional office – details on page 11. Details of a survey seeking views on how to increase requests for legal advice on sexual orientation discrimination are on page 2.