What to Do If Your Employer Is a Homophobe
Equal rights and freedoms at work are guaranteed to everyone by law and by the Constitution (Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine; Article 2-1 of the Labor Code of Ukraine). Yet many LGBTQI+ people (especially those who are open about being part of the community) face discrimination at work because of their sexual orientation. It often starts as early as the job search.
How can you tell that an employer is discriminating against you specifically because of your sexual orientation, and how can you push back?
Signs that point to discrimination by an employer:
- The employer’s job posting explicitly lists requirements regarding sex, age, orientation, appearance, and so on — things that have nothing to do with professional qualities and skills.
Keep in mind that companies compete with each other, and the methods of these “wars” are not always legal — so always verify the source of the posting: it should be the employer’s official website and/or a site where the company can be identified.
- At the interview, an employee or representative of the employer asks questions about your family or your sexual orientation, or comments on it (none of which has anything to do with your professional knowledge, achievements, and skills).
For example:
“You look gay/lesbian, other people on the team might not like that”
“You’d better not talk about your sexual orientation here”
“So you’re not planning to have children, then”
“Our team socializes as families, so you’d probably feel uncomfortable at our events”
- While doing your job, you constantly hear discriminatory jokes from management and/or coworkers about you personally and/or the group you belong to. When you say publicly that this is unpleasant to hear, no one reacts, management does nothing to address it, and the situation only gets worse.
- You are paid less than a colleague who does the same work as you and/or less of it. The only difference between you and them is sexual orientation (something that has no bearing on professional qualities and skills). Management offers no explanation.
- You are excluded from ceremonial and/or presentation events. You may be the lead expert on a project, but when international partners visit, someone else presents it instead of you. Management explains this by saying that “the company has a reputation for supporting traditional values, so it’s better this way.” Or offers no explanation at all.
These are just some examples of what workplace discrimination can look like.
HOW TO FIGHT IT?
- If you are still job hunting and come across postings with signs of discrimination, file a complaint with the administrators of the site hosting the posting, citing Article 2-1 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Job sites are required to make sure postings do not violate the law, so they should react quickly and take the posting down.
- If you are going to an interview, play it safe: bring a phone or a voice recorder to record the conversation.
IMPORTANT: you are not required to warn the other party that you are recording, because this is official public communication.
- If you hear any sign of discrimination based on sexual orientation at the interview, you have the legal right to make the recording public (on social media and elsewhere). The employer may suffer serious reputational damage as a result and reconsider the company’s policy toward LGBTQI+ people.
- If you already work for such an employer and cannot change jobs for now, you can turn to the following institutions for help:
- The Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on Equal Rights and Freedoms — Viktor Ivankevych. Tel.: (044) 298-70-64, email: [email protected].
- The government hotline of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Tel.: 1545.
- The State Labor Service of Ukraine. Phone for consultations: (044) 288 10 00, website: https://dsp.gov.ua/
- You can also reach out to any media outlet. In some cases, publicity creates public pressure that forces the employer to behave more lawfully. If you do not want your personal details made public, you can do this anonymously.
Discrimination should always be fought. But keep in mind that fighting for your rights, like any fight, is a stressful process. So we recommend getting the support of people close to you and/or seeing a psychologist if you need to.
Author: Liliia Virovkina, lawyer and expert at Insight NGO
Author: Liliia Virovkina