The Supreme Court Made It Illegal to Discriminate against LGBTQ Employees. It Didn’t Guarantee LGBTQ Inclusion.

Welcome to my weekly Q&A roundup. (Scroll down to find the Q&A.)

If this is your first time here, welcome. I spend a fair amount of time speaking at events and conferences. At the end of my presentations, I leave space for audience members to ask questions — tough questions, brave questions, you name it. The level of candor and curiosity always inspires me, and I want to share that sentiment with you. So each week, I pick one question that I believe others would find most instructive and publish my response to it here.

The purpose of this weekly tradition is transparency and inclusivity.

• Transparency: a behind-the-scenes look at my day-to-day.
• Inclusivity: bringing others along in the journey.

Be Brave™

The Future of LGBTQ Inclusion

Less than a month ago, you could legally be fired for your sexual orientation or gender identity in 26 US states. All that changed on June 15th, 2020.

In the middle of Pride month, on the heels of a global pandemic, as renewed calls for racial justice echoed in cities across the country, the Supreme Court made history by ruling that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act applies to LGBTQ individuals.

In other words, employers cannot fire workers for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Doing so is in violation of existing civil rights laws.

-Overdue? Yes.

-Commendable? 100%.

-Mission accomplished? Not quite.

Let’s look at how the recent Supreme Court decision impacts the future of LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace.

Question:

Besides making it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ employees, what else (if anything) does the Supreme Court’s June 15th ruling mean for companies, employees, and civil rights in general?

Answer:

The two main takeaways from the Supreme Court’s decision boil down to this: