In the fall of 2007, many of us in San Francisco and elsewhere in the country lashed out against Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) when transgender Americans were excluded from the final version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We felt deeply betrayed by Frank, other elected officials, and the Human Rights Campaign for agreeing to move forward with a non-inclusive bill. In response to the transgender community being thrown under the proverbial bus, hundreds of national and regional LGBT advocacy groups and thousands of individuals rallied to our cause, committing themselves to righting this injustice and vowing to continue to fight for a bill that truly represents us all. ENDA addressed employment discrimination faced by many LGBT individuals throughout the United States. It is well documented that transgender individuals face astronomical rates of employment discrimination and are protected in only a handful of states. One study suggested up to 70 percent of all openly transgender people are unemployed, at the very least, under-employed.
Frank, though, recently made a bold and unprecedented move, hiring an openly transgender man, Diego Sanchez, as his newest legislative assistant in Washington, D.C. We stand and applaud Frank for hiring the first openly transgender individual to work in a congressional office and one of only a handful of people from the transgender community to work for any elected official. Even here in San Francisco, there are still no transgender department heads in city government; only one or two elected officials have hired transgender individuals; and there are still none working in the mayor's office, for members of the Board of Supervisors, or any of our elected officials in Sacramento or Washington, D.C.
Frank is quoted in the Advocate as saying, "The best antidote to prejudice is reality, and Diego [Sanchez] will be a very real presence." We take this as Frank's commitment to an inclusive ENDA, as he is now not only talking the talk but also walking the walk, something we hope more gay, lesbian, and straight elected officials will do. . As long as you continue to demonstrate this visible level of support for transgender Americans, transgender Americans will show their political support for you.
We also hope there are going to be opportunities for transgender-identified Americans in the new administration in Washington, D.C. Prior to the inauguration, the presidential transition team actively worked with many LGBT community organizations seeking recommendations of qualified individuals for appointments within the incoming Obama-Biden administration. Thousands of LGBT people applied for positions through the Presidential Appointments Project of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund's LGBT Leadership Institute, along with similar projects sponsored by other national, regional, and local advocacy groups.
To date, a growing number of lesbian and gay individuals have been appointed to key positions in the administration, but a transgender-identified person has yet to be nominated. We are heartened that prominent lesbian and gay members of our community will be involved in making policy within the Obama administration, but believe it is critical that qualified transgender applicants be seriously considered for appointments as well. The Senate confirmation hearing alone of a transgender-identified individual would be groundbreaking. We have individuals within our community who would be eminently qualified for senior positions at the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, State Department, and White House Office of Urban Policy, to name just a few.
We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the many LGBT and straight elected officials, hundreds of organizations, and thousands of individuals who have supported, and continue to support, our fight for basic civil rights, including employment non-discrimination. In San Francisco, nearly every one of our elected family continues to actively work with us to eliminate discrimination against transgender people in health care, education, public accommodations, law enforcement, as well as employment. We just hope that more of our leaders will follow the lead of Representative Frank and fill at least some positions in their organizations with qualified candidates who openly identify as transgender.
Theresa Sparks is the president of the San Francisco Police Commission. Others who signed this piece are: Cecilia Chung, chair, San Francisco Human Rights Commission; Nikki Calma, commissioner, San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women; JoAnne Keatley, director, UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender HIV Prevention; Alexandra Byerly, EL-LA Program Para Trans-Latinas; Mason Davis, executive director, Transgender Law Center; and Clair Farley, Transgender Economic Empowerment Project.