Working while transgender or gay

Life journeys often begin with secrets, ones that children sense they mustn't share for fear of ridicule — or worse.

For Vandy Beth Glenn, the secret was an "overwhelming awareness" growing up in Atlanta of being a girl inside a boy's body.

That certainty didn't change in early adulthood, when she served as a lieutenant in the Navy, nor when she landed her dream job four years ago of editing bills and resolutions being introduced in the Georgia General Assembly.

What did change was her sense of the possible. Or, as she puts it, "I finally began to imagine a life where I could at last be myself."

That magical but scary jumping-off place should be a cause for celebration for anyone blessed to be a citizen of a country that values individual liberty and happiness. But, instead, as all too many transgender Americans well know, such a courageous step can threaten a transgender worker's ability to earn a paycheck.

Vandy Beth recently told the House Education and Labor Committee she was fired after informing her department chief that she was transitioning genders.

She testified that he told her "people would think I was immoral. He told me I'd make other people uncomfortable, just by being myself. He told me that my transition was unacceptable. And, over and over, he told me it was inappropriate. ...

"I was escorted back to my desk, told to clean it out, and marched out of the building. My editorial skills had not changed. My work ethic had not changed — I was still ready and willing to burn the midnight oil with my colleagues, making sure that every bill was letter-perfect. ... The only thing that changed was my gender — and because of that, the legislature I'd worked so hard for no longer had any use for my skills. I was devastated," added Vandy Beth, who is suing to get her job back.

Congress is being asked whether it's acceptable any longer for the Vandy Beths of this country to have to fight individual court battles to simply be able to work.

It's legal to fire a worker for being transgender in 38 states. And 29 still permit workers to be fired over their sexual orientation.

Mounting evidence of job discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation underscores the urgent need for congressional action:

— The Williams Institute reports that a survey of 640 transgender workers found 70 percent suffered discrimination.

— One in five lesbian, gay or bisexual public-sector employees reported in the General Social Survey they experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation.

— A dozen studies reveal that gay men earn 10 percent to 32 percent less than heterosexual men with similar qualifications. (Lesbians' earnings are comparable to straight women's but less than those of gay or straight men.)

Two years ago, the House wisely voted to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, a step that failed in the Senate by just one vote in 1996. The current bill laudably adds gender identity, a new issue to many in Congress and one not yet tested in a floor vote. Congress is being nudged in the right direction by Stuart Ishimaru, whom President Obama appointed acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

And, fortunately, leading House Democrats aren't shying away from educating colleagues by spotlighting transgender workers. Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., movingly explained why transgender workers deserve protection: "These are our fellow human beings. They are not asking you for anything other in this bill than the right to earn a living. Can't you give them that?"

Congress needs to answer that challenge affirmatively and quickly — for all the courageous, hard-working Vandy Beths of America as well as for those of us who're gay.

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues. To find out more about Deb Price and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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