Ryan’s Story
Without notice I got pulled aside into a ‘catch-up meeting’ to be informed by my manger that just two weeks before the end of my probation that they were letting me go. Why? Because I ‘didn’t fit in’. A religious staff member from the adjacent department used to tell me ‘[my] kind was going to hell’, I was excluded from group conversations and deliberately not given help when needed.
Ryan, 24
Leece’s Story
I drive road trains for a living. I was the first in Australia to come out in road trains and to transition so I’ve had to fight all the way along since then to get jobs. I sometimes get sacked from jobs because I’ve only been there for a couple of weeks and they don’t want someone like me there. Some companies are great, some companies are not. You just have to keep on trying and be persistent.
Leece, 53
Fitting in at Work
Western Australia has one of the lowest rates of recorded complaints made about workplace homophobia in the country. Fewer than 20 complaints about sexuality-based discrimination in employment have been made in Western Australia in over five years. The WA Equal Opportunity Commission has received 17 complaints since 2005, according to EOC’s published Annual Reports. The number is lower than Victoria with over 200 complaints, New South Wales and South Australia which have more than 100 complaints and Queensland with almost 50 complaints in the same time frame.
This year marks a decade since anti-discrimination laws were introduced to WA for LGBTI people. Under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984, it is illegal to discriminate against anyone in the workplace because of their sexuality except in religious schools and universities. So it begs the question: do people know their rights at work?
In the early 2000’s, intense debate surrounded the introduction of laws to Western Australia that provided legal protection from discrimination for LGBT people. Western Australia’s Equal Opportunity Commissioner Yvonne Henderson says that the debate was important to informing LGBT people of their rights at the time.
‘There was a huge public debate and the changes got enormous publicity,’ the Commissioner said.
From surveying the community, the Commissioner said the longer a discrimination law had existed, the more aware people were of their rights.
‘So more people know about sex discrimination being unlawful than they do about age discrimination,’ she said.
‘But awareness of sexual orientation is probably higher than age discrimination because it seems to be much more controversial when it came in and it got a lot more publicity.
‘The other thing which I think does happen to some extent is that some employers are seen as more friendly who are gay and lesbian so I think people gravitate to employers who they see as more welcoming.’
‘So I think people tend, to some extent, be concentrated in particular industries with particular employers and that maybe why we get fewer complaints.
‘I’m not saying that’s a good thing, I’m just saying that that is the reality.’
‘It’s much better known among employers that it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexuality which doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, it would probably be less overt.’
Some of the most recent research on workplace discrimination was released in 2006 as part of the Private Lives study. Over 50 per cent of gay and lesbian employees surveyed then had experienced workplace homophobia and about one in six felt their job opportunities had been restricted because of their sexuality. Here in Western Australia, Gay and Lesbian Community Services (GLCS) has been providing training to companies and organisations with their award-winning Opening Closets program. Gay and Lesbian Community Services Chairperson Nadine Toussaint said people should be aware that employers had a legal responsibility to ensure people are not discriminated for their sexuality.
‘Some members of the community are very aware of these protections and are aware of what can be done if they find themselves being discriminated against in the workplace,’ Toussaint said.
‘Unfortunately too many people are either not aware that there are legal protections in the workplace whether it’s because they were not connected to the community during law reform or they were quite young when these laws can in to play.’
‘Often people put up with discrimination because they fear what will happen if they do try to do something about it.
‘I think it’s really important for people to remember and be aware that employers do have a legal responsibility and if you find yourself in this situation then contact the Equal Opportunity Commission to make a complaint or to just get some advice about your situation.
‘It is the responsibility of the employer to make sure that their workplace complies with Equal Opportunity laws for LGBTI people but unfortunately that is not always the reality.’
The Federal Government is currently reviewing the national discrimination laws in Australia with the hope of consolidating the federal and state laws. The new proposal also plans to introduce new protections on sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
However, WA Commissioner Yvonne Henderson has her reservations.
‘The most significant thing is that you wouldn’t want to see any national law that was weaker than any of the states,’ Henderson said. ‘If we had a national law that picked up every possible ground and area, that would be good but I don’t know whether that’s likely to happen. If we ended up with the lowest common denominator, no, I wouldn’t be in favour of it.’
Submissions for the Federal consultation close in February this year.
For more information about discrimination in WA, visit www.eoc.wa.gov.au. For information about GLCS visit www.glcs.org.au
Benn Dorrington
