Brody's Notes... Massachusetts Governor Signs Executive Order To Protect Transgender State Workers

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signs executive order with Trans Equality Rights activists looking on.

By Mark Singer (Washington DC) FEB 18 | During a private ceremony held in his office on Thursday, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, (D) signed an historic executive order that prohibits discrimination based on the gender identity/gender expression of state employees. Advocates for transgender equality applauded the governor’s action, and are hopeful that this executive order will underscore the need for similar protections throughout Massachusetts in commercial and private businesses. 

“This is going to make a real difference in the lives of transgender state workers and their families,” said Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition immediately after the ceremony. “No one should have to work in fear that they could lose their job simply because of who they are.” 

Scott noted that there is already a proposed “Transgender Equal Rights Bill” pending in the state's legislative branch that endeavors to prohibit employment discrimination based on gender identity across the Commonwealth. 

Governor Patrick's order applies to all state agencies in the Executive Branch, as well as businesses and organizations that contract with the Executive Branch.

In a recent national survey of 6,450 transgender people jointly released earlier this month by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force & the National Center for Transgender Equality, the data collected showed that Transgendered respondents had twice the rate of unemployment as the general population. Other findings reveal that:

• 90 percent of those surveyed reported that they had been harassed on the job;
• 47 percent said they believed they had been fired, not hired or denied a promotion because of being transgender; and
• 26 percent said that they had lost a job due to being transgender.
• Of the 283 respondents from Massachusetts, 76 percent reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job; 20 percent said they’d lost a job; 17 percent said they had been denied a promotion; and 39 percent said they had not been hired for a job because of their gender identity.

“These statistics show the stark need for a statewide bill to prohibit employment discrimination based on gender identity,” said state Rep. Carl Sciortino, a lead sponsor of the “Transgender Equal Rights Bill,” along with state Rep. Byron Rushing and state Sens. Ben Downing and Sonia Chang-Diaz. “No one should work in fear of being fired from their job for reasons that have nothing to do with job performance.”

When asked to comment on the Governor's actions yesterday, Kara Suffredini, executive director of MassEquality, Massachusetts’ statewide LGBT-advocacy organization said:

“Governor Patrick is a true champion for the LGBT community, and we applaud the critical first step he has taken with this order toward creating a Commonwealth where all hardworking people, including transgender people, have the opportunity to make a living and provide for themselves and their families.”