New Object

by Leslie Power

Four speakers gave a presenta-
tion on being gay and lesbian in the
workforce at Tuesday's Collection,
sponsored by BGALA (Bisexual,
Gay, and Lesbian Alliance). Three
men, all Haverford graduates, had
careers in criminology and statis-
tics, law, and medicine, and one
woman, the director of career plan-
ning and placement at the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, gave personal
experiences and tips on being gay
and lesbian in their, and other,
> sae Aurand, Haverford Class
of 1978, started the panel discus-
‘gion. Aurand is a criminologist
and statistician who is also co-
chair on the Commission on Sex-
ual Minorities in Philadelphia, a

board member of the Philadelphia

Lesbian and Gay Task Force, and
statistical consultant for the Na-
tional Lesbian and Gay oe
He began his speech as a “State 0
the Nation with regard to lesbian
and gay people, [because] the se
rence of discrimination plays arore
in weather you're going to se
out on the job or not. Auran
stated that one-third of US ine
have sodomy laws “on the bDOOKS,
which prohibits you to have one
sex practices in these states. :
two states, according to Auran :
have laws prohibiting discrimina-
tion on the basis of sexual orienta-
“tion. et
“A vast majority Oo
do allow discrimination on

f US states
the basis

of sexual orientation,” he said.
“Which means you can fire some-

one, refuse to hire them, or refuse

to promote them on the basis of
their sexual orientation,” he said.
Aurand gave statistics compiled
by the Philadelphia Lesbian and
Gay Task Force, stating that one-
fifth of study participants in Phila-
delphia and one-fourth of partici-
pants in the state of Pennsylvania
have experienced discrimination
in the workplace for being gay.

Aurand then quoted specific
cases from the Lesbian and Gay
Task Force’s hotline of discrimi-
nation in the workplace. In one
case, a gay man was harassed by
his co-workers so much that he had
to take time off the job to deal with
the psychological trauma. He was
then fired. In another instance, a
lesbian was harassed by her male
co-workers, who told her, said
Aurand, “‘all you need is a good
fuck.’ They put centerfold pic-
tures and semen-covered women’s
underwear in her work area.”
Aurand did not say whether the
woman remained at her workplace.
Another gay man was discrimi-
nated against by his department
store co-workers, who placed a
sign in his work area: “Caution:
Receiving Manager is a Faggot.
Beware of AIDS.” The man was
physically injured when a co-
worker threw a broom handle in
his eye.

According to Aurand, in the

Lesbian and Gay Task Force’s
study, “Seventy per cent of gay
men and eighty per cent of lesbian

Gay Professionals Speak at Collection

women reported that they fear they
could be discriminated against, and
that’s despite the Fair Practices
Act [of the state of PA] which
prohibits discrimination. _

“The situation appears to be
getting worse,” Aurand said, “one
reason being AIDS.” Aurand
admitted that “I’ve painted a fairly
bleak picture here,” and then
stressed that many industry unions
had formed for the protection on
gays and lesbians, and that many
employers had implemented anti-
discrimination policies.

Pat Rose, Director of Career
Planning and Placementat the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, spoke
next. Rose has previously spoken
on the topic of being gay and les-
bian in the workforce through her
position in career planning, and
said she often likes to leave a “very
positive and very upbeat message.
I’d like to tell you that there are gay
and lesbian men and women in
every Career, every field, every line
of work. There is nothing you
can’t do,” she said. Rose admitted
that sometimes in choosing a line

of work, a gay or lesbian will have

to make “some choices” because
the nature of some jobs may not be
as receptive to a gay or lesbian
sexuality. Rose cited a career in
the military as an example.

“You never stop coming out,”
Rose said. “You think you do it —
when you’re a sophomore or a jun-
ior here, but you always go to new
places and meet new people and
think, ‘do I or don’t I?’ [come

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