OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Workplace discrimination

Publicly-Funded University Forbids Gay Staff Members

June 4th, 2012

A man rejects a gay job applicant: "I'm sorry, but hiring you would be in clear violation of our human rights violations."

Crandall University, a school located in Moncton, New Brunswick, is under fire this month over its discriminatory hiring policies. The school, which is publicly funded, does not allow any gay staff members—and proudly announces so.

The “no gays” policy is almost certainly in violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so Crandall University seems to be begging for a lawsuit or tribunal case. There’s even Canadian legal precedent for exactly this situation from back in 1998, so I imagine the only reason the administrators aren’t reversing the policy themselves is for the attention.

Incidentally, I refer to the school as Crandall University only because that’s what they call themselves. Neither the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, nor the Canadian Association of University Teachers recognize the institution as a university. I’m not even sure the school does itself, since they certainly don’t seem to be interested in attracting the research talent for which real universities and colleges compete quite vigorously.

Well, either that, or they’ve discovered that gay people are lousy researchers…

Sincerely,
Mark From Slap, M.Sc

Homophobia In The Workplace Not Completely Gone Yet

November 23rd, 2011

A gay man sits at his desk looking sad: "Why did I accept a job at the Foundation for the Elimination of GLBT Rights?"

A new poll released by Angus Reid this month suggstes that anti-gay discrimination is still a reality for some people in the GLBT community.

While 90% of GLBT employees in Canada indicated that their current bosses and coworkers are tolerant of their sexual orientation, just under 50% indicated that they’ve experienced discrimination at some point in their careers. Basically, gay people are smart enough not to remain in jobs where they are actively discriminated against, but about half have found themselves at exactly that kind of job at some point in their professional lives. The most worrying statistic: half of the respondents who found themselves faced with job discrimination said they wouldn’t do anything to address the problem (other than look for new work, I imagine).

Still, with 90% of GLBT respondents currently working discrimination-free in Canada, things are getting better.

U.S. University Requires Staff To Pledge Their Heterosexuality

November 2nd, 2011

Jack is crestfallen to discover he is unable to join the "We Hate Gays" club.

Shorter University, a small university in Rome, Georgia that you’ve likely never heard of before today, has announced that it will now be requiring each of its employees sign a “pledge of personal lifestyle.” The pledge is an assertion that the employee is not gay, and does not “engage in all sexuality not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality.”

Employees who fail to sign the pledge face termination of their contract.

If you’re wondering whether this is legal, wonder no more: It is. Since Shorter University doesn’t receive any federal funding, it doesn’t have to adhere to federal nondiscrimination regulations.

Well, you know what they say: When in Rome, Georgia… don’t do as the Romans do or you’ll be fired.

Canada’s Pink, Frosted Glass Ceiling

June 5th, 2009

Hand it in with your TPS report.

A study on gay employees in Canada has shown that there are still barriers when it comes to advancing one’s career.

The Catalyst study, sponsored by the Bank of Nova Scotia, found that less than half of gay workers felt their coworkers were very comfortable with gay employees, and fewer than ten percent felt coworkers were informed about the issues gay employees face. The study also revealed a gender discrepancy when it comes to being closeted at work. While only about five percent of men are completely closeted at work, the figure is more than doubled for gay women at twelve percent.

Combined, these attitudes have resulted in gay people being passed over for promotions, and exclusion from business networks.

Of course, gay workers will always be welcome here at InterSlap Enterprises, Inc..

Gay Firefighter Says Enough Is Enough

April 20th, 2007

Gay Firefighter

David MacKenzie, a gay firefighter from Pemberton, B.C., has filed a human rights complaint against his fire chief, Russell Mack. The claim asserts that Mack had repeated homophobic jokes, created an intolerable work environment, and passed David over for an “acting chief” position primarily because he’s gay.

Hmm… A homophobic fireman joke, eh? It would take an awfully clever wordsmith to come up with one of those…

Incidentally, this is not Russell Mack’s first human rights complaint. A female firefighter brought him to court last year over discrimination charges.

Regardless of what becomes of this case, Canada still has its share of workplace homophobia. A survey performed last year said that 60% of Canadians think being out in the workplace is harmful to one’s career, and 28% had witnessed workplace gay bashing personally.

Canada’s Anti-Gay Workplace

May 19th, 2006

Water cooler talk

According to a survey released to coincide with the National Day Against Homophobia last Wednesday, over 60% of Canadians agree that coming out in the workplace is harmful to one’s career. As if that’s not discouraging enough, 28% of respondents then went on to state that they’ve personally witnessed gay bashing at the office. Quelle horreur!

Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to apply to bosses, as 75% of Canadians think a gay or lesbian boss would get just as much respect from their employees as a straight one.

So… Basically, if you’re gay, and out at work, and manage to avoid outright gay bashing—let alone hit your head on the glass ceiling—only 25% of your employees won’t respect you. Hooray?