SWE - Spring 2008 - (Page 34) “You need to be so strong to just go for it and to withstand everything you have to put up with, including people with whom you’ve worked for 35 years turning their backs to you.” Isabel Echeverria, Ph.D., Six Sigma Black Belt, DuPont Another breakthrough is the positive roles LGBT people play in TV shows and motion pictures, she said. “It has been only in the last 10 to 15 years that openly gay characters appeared on TV.” Young people are particularly interested in LGBT-friendly companies, Dr. Young said, adding that everything from the media to state legislative policy can help make LGBT people feel welcome or unwelcome. Dr. Young recalled how proud she was when she and her partner got their marriage license in Vermont, which had legalized civil unions. “It was an amazing experience to file a joint income tax return and to know that if I were taken to a hospital, my partner could make decisions without requiring a healthcare power of attorney.” “It really boils down to those practical life experiences,” Dr. Young emphasized. “I appreciate that my employer offers healthcare benefits for my partner that will carry over into retirement.” Companies must ensure that top executives support such policies. “It requires a corporate culture that permeates down through the ranks so that people feel comfortable with their work group,” Dr. Young said. And it helps when employees step out of the closet, she said. “If someone in a work group is ‘out,’ you can bet it is more of a deterrent to someone making an anti-gay joke. It acts as a check or reminder that people don’t want to offend their co-workers.” Her family has been supportive and has encouraged her to speak out for improved LGBT company policies. She appreciates organizations that support the cause, including the Society of Women Engineers, Women in Technology International, and Out and Equal (www.OutandEqual.org). An Ally on the Factory Floor While corporate executives are proving better allies to the LGBT community, much work remains to be done on the factory floor, said Isabel Echeverria, Ph.D., a Six Sigma Black Belt at DuPont Co. The plant in Buffalo, N.Y., where Dr. Echeverria works, “is a pretty conservative environment,” she said. “There is an approach of ‘don’t ask/don’t tell.’” Dr. Echeverria discovered that many workers are in a “gray area” and are open to being fair to LGBT workers if they receive proper education. “They are more willing to listen than one might think,” she said. Dr. Echeverria joined the DuPont Women’s Network and the BGLAD network and helped create local chapters for both at her plant. She joined as an openly heterosexual ally of BGLAD, which stands for Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, Transgendered and Allies at DuPont. Workers can join BGLAD either as open or confidential members or as open or confidential allies. “Since I was very young, I have been very keenly interested in fairness,” Dr. Echeverria said, noting that her mother recalled that at age 4 she was questioning why she had to wear a uniform to school when her brother did not. Dr. Echeverria grew up in Spain, where she explained that differences between the treatment of boys and that of girls were very apparent. “I’ve always looked at the world and tried to think of ways to make it better — to make it fair for everyone,” she said. When Dr. Echeverria was hired at DuPont, she went through orientation with a man who revealed to her that he was gay. Together, the two started a local chapter of BGLAD that encouraged LGBTs and their allies to meet and talk about issues of importance to them. One of the chapter’s initial challenges was dealing with negative behaviors in the workplace toward two transgendered employees — two men who had decided to become women. Both had worked at the plant for a long time and are now retired. Dr. Echeverria initially encountered insulting comments. One of the transgendered employees was a mechanic, or what Dr. Echeverria called “the most manly-man position in a manufacturing plant” and the other was a lab anaIsabel Echeverria, Ph.D. lyst. “I give these [two employees] a lot of credit. You need to be so strong to just go for it and to withstand everything you have to put up with, including people with whom you’ve worked for 35 years turning their backs to you,” she said. Building Networks The local BGLAD chapter, led by the gay man with whom Echeverria was hired, started encouraging the plant’s managers to talk about “safe space” and think about how LGBT people might be treated unfairly. The Safe Space™ Program teaches people to be sensitive to the concerns of their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender co-workers, including treating the issue in a positive manner and inviting LGBTs’ partners to the same functions as one would invite a heterosexual colleague’s date or spouse. Dr. Echeverria said managers must support LGBT-friendly policies and enforce them if workplaces are to become more progressive. “There won’t be tolerance of disrespect- 34 SWE SPRING 2008 http://www.OutandEqual.org
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