Here is the first hearing on ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), 5 November 2009
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Here is the first hearing on ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), 5 November 2009
Well, not really testimony, since the committee chose not to include a trans* person in the official testimony. But she gets her chance in this news conference before the committee met.
Politico, 11/4/09
The federal government would be banned from funding sex change operations and other services for transgender individuals if social conservative activists get their way.
There’s no sponsor yet for an amendment to the health care overhaul – and it may remain in the dustbin of unrealized wedge issues – but culture warriors are shopping the proposal to Republican senators.
The language is written: “None of the funds authorized or appropriated under this act (or an amendment made by this Act) shall be used to cover any part or portion of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of” any sex or gender reassignment procedure, surgery related to such a sex change, hormone therapy for a sex change or pre- and post-operation treatments for a sex change.
read it all at Politico, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29164.html
From the Chronicle of Higher Education. If you’re a subscriber, you can read it online, along with the comments. Otherwise, here it is:
October 11, 2009
Changing Genders, Changing Policies
By Greta W. Schnetzler and GayLynn Kirn Conant
A significant number of students and faculty and staff members who openly identify themselves as transgender are appearing on college and university campuses.
In fact, nearly 300 colleges and universities have policies that recognize the rights of transgender people to be free from discrimination and harassment. Case law under federal nondiscrimination statutes has also recognized some degree of protection for expression of gender identity, as have some states, counties, and municipalities.
As medical understanding of gender variations has increased, and as treatment and support for people who wish to change gender has become more widely available, it seems natural that the visibility of transgender people on campuses should also increase. But that may depend on the extent to which individual colleges have created a welcoming environment where transgender individuals feel that they belong and know that resources are available to them when difficulties arise.
Perhaps the first step in sending a signal that individuals will be welcomed and respected on your campus, regardless of their gender expression or gender identity, is to explicitly prohibit discrimination against and harassment of students and faculty and staff members for any reason. Posting such policies on the college Web site will help assure transgender people that your administration is committed to equal treatment for all.
Here are additional areas that colleges can address to make their campuses more welcoming to transgender people:
Diversity training. Incorporating concepts of gender diversity and respect for gender identity into more-general diversity and nondiscrimination training is crucial. As with other institutional values, respect for gender identity and diversity begins at the top. Administrators, faculty members, and campus health-care providers should all be familiar with the rights and needs of this community.
Paperwork. One of the first contacts an individual has with a college or university is filling out forms for admission and matriculation. Administrators should consider whether is it really necessary to request information regarding gender on applications and other standard forms. When possible, omitting such questions or offering “gender neutral” options may help people whose gender expression or identity does not neatly fit into the standard choices of “male” or “female” to feel more comfortable in applying.
Names and name changes. Name changes or the use of preferred names that are different from legal names is another area to be aware of and sensitive to. Wherever state and federal laws allow, transgender individuals should be permitted to use or change their names to their preferred names on college documents, including identification cards, even if they have not yet obtained court orders for changes in their legal names. College forms should provide a space for individuals to give their preferred names and pronouns. When a person is making a name change, it is important that relevant campus offices be made aware of the campus policy on name use and changes.
Health insurance. While it may not always be feasible, colleges should explore providing health insurance that includes at least some coverage for the specific health needs of people who wish to change gender. Such coverage is becoming more available, as are medically and culturally competent treatment options for transgender people.
Handling gender transitions. The most difficult cases related to transgender discrimination seem to arise when a student or employee who has already been on the campus for some time announces an intention to change gender. For the transitioning employee or student, that is usually one step in what is already a long process of self-acceptance and understanding. The transitioning employee or student may feel vulnerable and apprehensive about the reactions to such an announcement, while co-workers or fellow students may be confused or even hostile to the anticipated change.
Transitions poorly handled can certainly set the stage for a disruptive or hostile atmosphere. A trained facilitator can emphasize the institutional expectations of respect and equal treatment while creating a safe place for colleagues or fellow students to ask questions, express fears, and receive accurate information.
Restrooms. The point at which a transitioning person changes which restroom he or she uses may give rise to complaints from co-workers or fellow students who are not comfortable with the situation. Some administrators, assuming that the transitioning person has no right to make that change until after gender-reassignment surgery, may demand to see medical proof of a person’s right to change which facility he or she uses. But many transgender individuals shift fully into their adopted genders long before undergoing surgery, or they may decide to forgo some or all surgery related to the transition. The first principle should be respecting the right of transitioning people to use the restroom of the gender with which they identify, regardless of surgery status.
Single-occupant restrooms for anyone who feels uncomfortable or would like to have more privacy can defuse such situations. When facilities are remodeled, colleges can look for opportunities to adapt existing restrooms to single occupancy or add whatever is needed.
Housing. A related issue is providing safe and comfortable housing for transgender students while remaining sensitive to and respectful of all students. An important part of the process is ensuring that a transgender student has the ability to disclose his or her gender identity to the housing office as early as possible, to facilitate planning and an appropriate housing assignment. In addition to the traditional “male” and “female” gender choices, many housing applications now allow students to describe their gender identity and housing preferences in a narrative format.
Several colleges have addressed the need for housing that goes beyond the traditional dorm designations of male, female, and co-ed. Some colleges handle transgender-housing needs case by case. Others have created theme halls and houses for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. More recently some institutions have designated gender-neutral halls or suites with students of different genders sharing the same room, suite, or apartment, or have adopted a gender-neutral housing policy that, in addition to better serving transgender students, offers more choices to students who want to live with friends of the opposite sex. Establishing policies and procedures to handle housing issues and/or disputes is critical, as is providing training to housing-staff members.
Resources. Many colleges already have affinity groups or centers that advocate for and serve as a resource to transgender as well as lesbian, gay, and bisexual students. While their interests do not always align perfectly, such groups can be a good campus resource, not only for transgender students but also for administrators and managers who have questions or concerns, or who wish to provide training or information to groups of co-workers or fellow students in the broader campus community. Several colleges’ lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender centers make use of “out lists” or similar Web-based spaces where people voluntarily identify themselves and signal their willingness to be contacted by others who are considering coming to the institution as a student or faculty or staff member.
Finally, there is a wealth of information and resources on Web sites, including those hosted by the Transgender Law Center (http://transgenderlawcenter.org), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (http://www.nclrights.org), the Human Rights Campaign (http://www.hrc.org), and the Transgender Law and Policy Institute (http://transgenderlaw.org). Some of those organizations provide education and training to employers and other organizations. And a list of transgender education and support resources specific to colleges is available at http://www.trans-academics.org/trans_studies.
Establishing supportive policies and resources for the transgender community is important, not only with respect to antidiscrimination and harassment principles but also to ensure that your institution recruits the best and the brightest students and faculty and staff members, regardless of their gender identity.
Greta W. Schnetzler is deputy campus counsel at the University of California at San Francisco. GayLynn Kirn Conant is a partner in the law firm Lombardi, Loper & Conant, in Oakland, Calif.
Intersecting Variance: Reading Gender & Gender Identity Politics
sponsored by Texas Tech’s Women’s Studies Program
This conference will highlight feminist research on gender and gender identity, exploring meanings of movement and change as connected to, created by, and/or caught up in the presence of women’s, gender, and identity issues, in both contemporary and historical frameworks.
It’s still in the planing stages, but you’ll want to mark your calendar:
Oct 2, 2009 at Texas Tech University, Student Union Bldg, 8:00 – 3:00
The program has created a Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107797537897
See also the Texas Tech Women’s Studies Program @ http://www.depts.ttu.edu/wstudies
Sex Discrimination, Gender Identity and Title VII:
No Limits, or New Boundaries?
[read it all at http://www.sgrlaw.com/resources/trust_the_leaders/leaders_issues/815/824/]
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment “because of … sex.”1 Webster’s Dictionary defines “sex” as “either of two divisions of organisms distinguished respectively as male or female.” Likewise, courts have interpreted Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination to mean discrimination against men because they are men and women because they are women. That relatively straightforward idea typically has conjured up some traditional and distinctive images when discussing sex discrimination: a male manager subjecting a female employee to some type of unwanted sexual advance; a woman forced to endure sexual jokes and jeers from male co-workers; a woman denied a position or promotion because she is female.
However, the evolving issue of discrimination based upon “gender identity,” which refers to a person’s internal psychological identification as a man or a woman, is challenging both societal and legal concepts of sex discrimination. As many state and local governments pass legislation for the protection of individuals with gender-identity issues, the federal notion of what constitutes sex discrimination appears to be similarly expanding as a result of judicial interpretation of Title VII.
