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Pride

June 27th, 2008
By CareerBuilder blogger in How to search, Work/Life
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June is almost over, and we’re now truly into the summer season. Late June brings us some of the longest days of the year, with lots of sunshine, increasingly muggy weather, and a syndrome where many workers experience a desire to ditch work and spend the day at the beach!

Historically, late June is also a time of year where many cities hold Pride festivals to celebrate their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people and the cultural diversity of those communities.

Career opportunities for LGBT people is increasingly a topic of debate, discussion and research. Recently, Harris Interactive published a summary of data compiled from LGBT workers that they surveyed.

Half of the LGBT employees surveyed said that their sexual orientation was common knowledge.
Two-thirds of those who had come out at work said it did not appear to impact their performance or career.
One out of every seven LGBT employees said that they had, at some point, received a lower performance evaluation because of their sexual orientation.

There are a number of resources for LGBT workers who are looking to find welcoming workplaces, or companies that may offer domestic partner benefits.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) releases a report every July that provided a detailed assessment of workplace issues, and lists the best companies for LGBT employees to work for.
Lambda Legal provides an “Out at Work” toolkit, which approaches the coming out process at work from a legal perspective, and discusses possible issues as well as solutions.
Many universities have dedicated resources for LGBT students and graduates that include career resources. These resources can connect job seekers to LGBT-friendly companies.

We’d love to hear about your experience with diversity at your workplace.

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