Ohio resident, Shari Hutchinson has been fighting and lobbying on Capitol Hill on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) individuals that have ever been denied a professional opportunity or job because of their sexual orientation.
Her endeavors have recently come back into the limelight as she just joined forces with Freedom to Work, a national organization that is committed to ending career discrimination.
“I traveled from Cleveland to our nation’s capital to let our senators know that anti-gay workplace discrimination hurts real people and our family members in places like Ohio,” said Hutchinson in a recent interview.
With this Constitutional reinforcement, Hutchinson recently fought back against the discrimination being waged upon her by her place of employment.
Hutchinson, a Cleveland native and lesbian, began her employment at a local child support enforcement agency in 2002. In 2008, after working there for 6 years, Hutchinson claimed she was denied promotions because of her sexual orientation.
Although Hutchinson has a master’s degree in business administration, she was repeatedly passed over for promotions to higher paid positions. The recipients of her desired positions were evidently less qualified straight individuals.
Time and time again, Hutchinson was denied promotions; naturally, Hutchinson concluded the child support enforcement agency was discriminatory.
As if the agency for which she worked took offence to the claim, Hutchinson’s superiors responded to her complains with an expensive lawsuit. However, after years of tireless legal quarreling, Shari Hutchinson received a six-figure settlement from her former workplace.
In April 2011, U.S. District Judge James Gwin of the Northern District of Ohio ruled that Shari Hutchinson’s claims of discrimination were Constitutionally legitimate, under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
This paramount decision has the potential to affect millions of LGBT Americans in all places of employment.
This issue of LGBT rights has become quite a pressing affair. Not only has President Barack Obama come out in support of gay marriage, but North Carolina came out in opposition to it. North Carolina recently deemed same-sex marriage illegal through a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment.
As a result of North Carolina promulgating this new amendment, Hutchinson’s crusade to eliminate discrimination has escalated past just the workplace.
All over the country, grassroot LGBT activists and advocacy groups have rallied together to not only eliminate the glass ceiling that plagues the professional world, but also the societal restrictions implemented against the LGBT community.
The ongoing controversy and struggle regarding LGBT rights – especially same-sex marriage – is becoming has become a timely issue: One that floods news media.
As this struggle rages onward, more and more people are getting involved in the debate – from the LGBT community and the straight community alike.
On the subject of LGBT discrimination in the workplace, students said the following:
“I’m sure it’s an issue in factories,” said a student that wished to remain anonymous. “It’s been an huge issue since Magic Johnson announced that he had AIDs and then stood up for homosexuals.”
Dean Blanzy, a senior Anthropology major said, “Men have always been in control and have had the dominant power; it’s unfortunate, but that’s just how the world has worked. In the workplace, minorities are still going to face discrimination.”
He said, “If you hide your sexuality, regardless of what it is, you’re more likely to get hired into a position of authority.”
“30 years from now,” Dean continued, “there’s going to be someone else oppressed, and we’re going to look back and think, ‘Oh my God! I can’t believe we did that to gay people.’”
Another student, Jacob Wilson, a freshman math and physics major said, “Of course there’s a lot of workplace discrimination. But I feel like our generation is a bit more accepting of different lifestyles. It’s still an issue, but one our generation is moving past.”
Julius Eason, a freshman international studies major, further speculated on the notion of LGBT discrimination.
“I think that, while homosexuality is becoming more and more mainstream in popular culture, it’s still largely seen as deviant behavior and discriminated against,” said Eason.
“I just think it’s funny that we as a country feel the need to challenge everything different that comes our way, and at the same time pride ourselves on being a country of great diversity and civil liberty.”
