LGBTQphobia Report #8

Work and Employment LGTBQphobia

“My supervisor has turned me into the office’s joke, for a long time purley because of my sexual orientation. He’s been doing it behind my back, constantly making fun of me, jokes at my expense, making explicit remarks about my sexuality. It’s been done in the presence of other employees and customers. I feel so hurt and embarrassed, I just don’t know what to do”... N, Center Israel According to the Report Center’s data, 4% out of all reports in the past year were about work related discrimination and LGBTQphobia events, compared to 3% in 2019. The reports show a wide cross country spread: 11% of all reports are from the south of Israel, 11% from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria regions, 28% from Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan region and 28% from the north of Israel.16.5% of reports were made by women, whereas 55.5% were made by men. 22% of all reports were made by individuals on the transexual spectrum. One of the cases we have dealt with was of a nurse who was asked to remove the LGBTQ flag from her desk, after some of the professional staff had complained that the flag hurts their feelings. When she had tried to talk to her supervisor about it, she was told that it won’t make any difference and she still had to remove it. Needles to say the nurse had felt humiliated and at the management board’s mercy. 2020 was a year of growing LGBTQ presence in the diverse employment environment. LGBTech is the only organisation in Israel which deals with work-related LGBTQ issues. In 2020 much work has been done by LGBTQ organisations and LGBTech specifically to increase LGBTQ visibility in the employment environment as well as the public discourse relating to it. Additionally, LGBTech has performed for the second year round, a one of a kind, thorough survey about LGBTQ’s in the employment environment. 906 LGBTQ respondents have answered it. The survey looked, among other things, at LGBTQphobic occurrences and discrimination in various places of work, raising very interesting trends in relation to perceptions and LGBTQ work practices: The vast majority of the LGBTQ are “out of the closet” at work - 86% according to the survey. A quarter of the respondents, who claimed they were not “out of the closet” declared that the reason was fear of being discriminated against/ harassed. This behaviour suggests more of a general concern rather than experience. It also teaches us that employers can take significant steps to relieve the fear and make LGBTQs feel more accepted and comfortable at work. Community Support: LGBTech together with the Israeli Forum for Diverse Employment and 15 other partner organizations have led the “Diversity Employs Me” campaign, to which another 500 organizations have also joined. The campaign’s goal was to promote the much necessary message of diversity in all places of work. Moreover, the organization believes that the Pride cells model it activates around 50 employers, is used as a significant motivator for changing positions of and towards LGBTQ’s work conditions. This proves that the community as a whole has the ability to make the necessary changes it requires for itself - more Pride cells at more places of work, will eventually lead to a deeper change. Another point worth mentioning is that when it comes to gender discrimination between men and women at work in general, LGBTQ women suffer as well ,thus LGBTECH is initiating a plan for LGBTQ women work equality rights in 2021. LGBTQ organizations have brought forth a change in employment - raising employer’s awareness, guidance and a greater presence in decision making points.

LGBTQphobia Report