Proud at Work: How Living as Your Authentic Self Doesn't End When You Enter the Workforce

For some finding your way out of the closet can come naturally This has become especially true as time has passed and laws guaranteeing the protections of gay lesbian bisexual and transgender people have become more commonplace as high as the federal level However these protections weren39t always around nor do they currently exist in all states In the past and presently in several states the closet can serve as a suit of armor It39s protection against the LGBT workplace issues that sometimes lead to hate and discrimination that is far too often experienced by members of our community As a queer transgender woman that39s something I know far too well even living in a state with laws that offer me protectionThe most discouraging experience after coming out of the closet is when you find yourself being pushed back in Nothing has broken my heart more than hearing students who are preparing to graduate from college say they believe their ability to be out and proud must end after graduation The perception of successful LGBT people to these students is that there aren39t any in their desired field of business They don39t see enough examples of thriving families and successful careerdriven individuals Today I39m here to offer what I hope will be a life changing truth Being who you are doesn39t have to stop at graduationThat doesn39t mean that life as an out and proud individual is easy We still face road blocks We still face discrimination Sometimes we even face glass ceilings As the colead of one of the largest business resource groups BRGs dedicated to LGBT employees in North America I can assure you that there are many of us who are thriving as we live our truth We are thriving as we fight for the rights of future generations We are thriving as we plan programming for our colleagues to help educate them on everything from queerness to same sex couples in work environments to the usage of pronouns and gender neutral bathrooms What has been our experiences we hope will soon be yoursKnowing all of this there39s still a lot of work that must be done As recently as 2018 the Human Rights Campaign HRC Foundation released a survey suggesting that nearly half of all members of the LGBT community are closeted at work You aren39t the only ones with fears Our friends colleagues and even our bosses share your fears as well Only by living as our authentic selves can we knock down road blocks legislate against discrimination and shatter the glass ceilings that may sometimes hold us back Only by being out and proud can we force changeAs a transgender woman who didn39t come out until she was 34 I39ll never shame someone who chooses the closet over their happiness I can definitively say however that you39ll never be happy or feel fulfilled working at a company where you can39t be yourself We shouldn39t have to put on an act to come into our workplaces We shouldn39t have to focus on code switching to maintain our jobs and ensure we don39t face abuse and harassment We shouldn39t have to focus more on hiding who we are than the job we were hired to doIf you39re unsure how to find these companies look at the HRCs annual Corporate Equality Index While it isn39t perfect only 767 of the more than 10 million companies in the US had perfect scores in 2021 it can offer a compass to help you find a place where you39ll likely find support and acceptance I39m very privileged to say that I currently work for one of those 767 companies and even more proud to say it was the work of our BRG that fought for our LGBT rights in the workplace That could be the work that you do at your first company That could be the kind of work that you do to help support the generations of queer folx still to comeToday I39m lucky to live outwardly as myself Tomorrow I39m hoping you39ll realize that you can do the same If you don39t think that could ever be you find me on LinkedIn While I can39t promise to help someone get hired I can work to get your resume in front of the right people You deserve to be out as LGBT in the workplace The only reason to be in your closet is to select the outfit you39ll wear for your first day living as your authentic self at workClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Proud at Work: How Living as Your Authentic Self Doesn't End When You Enter the Workforce

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Jenn Renoe

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Proud at Work: How Living as Your Authentic Self Doesn't End When You Enter the Workforce

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