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WILLIAMS INSTITUTE RESEARCH DIRECTOR LEE BADGETT TESTIFIES BEFORE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
Press Release
September 5, 2007 Click here to read a transcript of Lee Badgett's testimony. To view her testimony, click here. Professor Lee Badgett, Research Director at the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, testified before Congress today that the passage of HR 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal nondiscrimination law including sexual orientation and gender identity, would benefit both LGBT people and employers. Badgett summarized findings from a recent Williams Institute study, Bias in the Workplace, which reviews 50 studies over the last decade and demonstrates a disturbing and consistent pattern: sexual orientation-based and gender identity discrimination is a common occurrence in many workplaces across the country. In her testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor (Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions), Badgett stated that, “Each survey documents numerous experiences of being fired, being denied a job, or some other form of unequal treatment in the workforce that stemmed from these individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity.” Badgett’s testimony cited a study showing that LGBT people who work in companies with a nondiscrimination law are more likely to be out with regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Research shows that coming out yields less conflict between work and personal life, greater job satisfaction, more self-esteem, and better physical health. In outlawing discrimination in hiring and other employment decisions based on sexual orientation and gender identity, ENDA would make it easier for LGBT people to be open about their lives, benefiting both employees and employers alike. As Badgett pointed out, “Discrimination hurts, but nondiscrimination laws appear to help.” Professor Badgett, who is also the director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has conducted extensive research on economic and policy issues related to sexual orientation, and has published two books and numerous studies on this topic, including Bias in the Workplace, which was published in June. The Williams Institute is a national think tank dedicated to sexual orientation law and public policy. It advances law and public policy through rigorous and independent research and scholarship.
Click here to read the Williams Institute study, Bias in the Workplace.
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