GLIFAA Letter Delivered!
On Monday afternoon,
GLIFAA President Michelle Schohn and former President Bob Gilchrist delivered a letter from more than 2,200 current and former employees of the State Department and other foreign affairs agencies to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's office, asking her to revisit policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) staff. In the letter, which many of you signed, the employees say "All of us are troubled that our families are not all treated equally and with the same respect... We question the logic of leaving same-sex partners to fend for themselves during an emergency evacuation of a high danger post. We are embarrassed when the Department will reimburse a variety of moving expenses, including the cost of transporting a pet, when an employee is assigned overseas, but will not do the same for a same-sex partner... We are uncomfortable that same-sex partners receive less compensation and fewer benefits for performing exactly the same job inside the mission as an opposite-sex spouse, that is, when same-sex partners are given a chance to work."
At Peace Corps, representatives personally presented the GLIFAA letter to the Acting Peace Corps Director on Wednesday, January 28th. The Director of Peace Corps warmly received the letter and stated she will watch the issue closely and was pleased they brought it to her attention. Others provided the letter to Department of Commerce and to USAID. Letters were also mailed to the MCC, USDA, and POTUS.
This is a time of tremendous support from the foreign affairs community and of tremendous opportunity for us.
A recent AFSA survey shows that 63% of Department employees favor AFSA working to extend benefits to same-sex couples. Additionally, our colleagues who signed the GLIFAA letter are of all ranks, from entry-level staff still in training all the way up to Ambassadors and Assistant Secretaries. The vast majority of them are not gay or lesbian, nor do they have unmarried partners. Our survey results show that 92% did not have a member of household and signed simply because they felt it was the right thing to do. While we are pleased with this support and with the gains we made under the last administration, including securing additional training opportunities for MOHs, we know that far more must be done and are confident we have a friend in the current administration.
Schohn, along with the presidents of the other Department affinity groups, has a meeting scheduled with Secretary Clinton for Friday afternoon, where she plans to bring up the letter and the issues facing GLIFAA members. We are optimistic that Secretary Clinton is interested in hearing our issues and addressing the inequities we face.