To Be or Not to Be; and to See or Not to See: The Benefits of LGBT Identity Consciousness for Organizations and Employees

This chapter considers the current level of protection for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) employees in the workplace. It describes potential diversity ideologies that could be adopted in organizations. It also describes why it is important for organizations to see their LGBT diversity and support it, hence, to adopt identity conscious ideologies, particularly when it comes to diversity related to sexual orientation. Federal protection is afforded to United States (US) employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, and disability. Even in the absence of legal protection of any kind, many large organizations enact policies that protect their own employees. The chapter discusses how LGBT allies can serve as strong catalysts for promoting and supporting a diversity ideology of identity consciousness. Two dominant ideologies concerning group differences called colorblind and multiculturalism were examined primarily in the context of race relations. Identity blind policies ignore group differences while identity conscious policies celebrate group differences.