Dive Brief:
- On Sunday, May 17, the international community marked International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT).
- According to a Fact Sheet released by the White House, the U.S. takes daily steps to promote respect for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons both at home and around the world, including in the workplace.
- In February 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the appointment of Randy Berry as the first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons. Special Envoy Berry joins USAID Senior Coordinator Todd Larson in leading the U.S. government’s efforts to advance the human rights of LGBT persons, and there are currently six openly gay U.S. Ambassadors serving at embassies around the world. And, this year, the Peace Corps also created a position devoted to training staff to support LGBT Peace Corps Volunteers.
Dive Insight:
The global/diplomatic initiatives coming from the White House on LGBT issues should speak loudly to U.S.-based employers who do busines both domestically or globally, or both.
As an example, the U.S. State Department revised its Foreign Affairs Manual to allow same-sex couples to obtain passports under the names recognized by their state through their marriages or civil unions, and in 2010, the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs announced new procedures for changing the sex listed on a transgender American’s passport, streamlining the process and simplifying requirements to ensure greater dignity and privacy for the applicant.
