Being Gay in California

Admitting you are gay is never a ticket for one to tease or discriminate you in any way.

Discrimination can be in several forms. It can be verbal or non-verbal. It could be through actions like imitating a “cat walk” whenever one sees a gay employee or leaving a tiara at his desk.

Whenever one feels that he is in a hostile environment, then he is being discriminated against.

The policy against gay discrimination is clear in California. Laws in California specifically protect homosexuals, heterosexuals and bisexuals from gender or sex discrimination. The protection even extended to transsexuals and transgenders.

In a 4-3 decision, California Supreme Court struck ban on gay marriage.The decision declared that no less than the fundamental law protects ones right to marry his or her choice. It furthered that state’s ban on same sex marriage would not be in keeping with its policy against gender discrimination.

Consequently, hundreds of couples in a same sex relationship grab the opportunity and wed before the ruling is overturned.

One thing is for sure, we have to live by this ruling of the Supreme Court. Even the governor said that he would not take steps to amend the constitution or support any movement to that effect.

Across Crossroads of Discrimination

I read an article entitled, “At the Crossroads of Gender and Racial Discrimination.”. It talks about the injustices and disadvantages suffered by victims of racial and gender discrimination. I shall discuss on the latter.

As the article mentioned, women have a long way to go before achieving equality with men. The female populace faces unjust treatment in almost every society around the world. They deal with discrimination issues in different aspects. Such issues include lower pay for work of equal value, high illiteracy rates, and poor access to health care.

The government is trying to address all these facets of discrimination. Laws and statutes are imposed to prevent or prohibit unlawful discrimination. An area protected by some of these laws includes sex discrimination in the workplace.

Sex discrimination laws vary from state to state. Federal and state laws differ on whether an employer may discriminate against employees or job applicants because of their sexual orientation or gender. In the state of California, sex discrimination law specifically protects heterosexuals, homosexuals, and bisexuals. It includes protection of transsexuals and transgender.

Laws also prohibit discrimination on the basis of identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics. Any adverse employment action taken because an employer or co-worker believed that a male or female employee did not conform to a certain gender norm constitutes gender discrimination, and is actionable under both state and federal law.

An example of an illegal employment action by an employer is when he or she fires a female employee because she failed to act like a lady.

As evident in today’s society, women have the ability to perform equally in virtually every endeavor engaged in by men including employment. Women are now competent and aggressive enough to participate in job activities that are once associated only with men. Hence, every woman has the right to receive fair treatment as anybody else, regardless of her gender orientation.