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Diego Sanchez
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Last week, we talked about trans man visibility and role models. Diego Sanchez is one of many trans men whose visibility and achievements are providing a model for others.
Sanchez is the first trans person to hold a senior congressional staff position on Capitol Hill, working for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and he has a long history of impressive achievements in the corporate and nonprofit worlds.
Sanchez is currently in the news with regard to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that is being considered in Congress. This version of ENDA would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A 2007 version of the bill, which included only sexual orientation, did not make it through Congress.
Rep. Frank, the longest-serving openly gay member of Congress, introduced the inclusive version of ENDA in the House this year.
And Sanchez’s presence and visibility is likely to sway some members of Congress as they consider the bill. Frank told the Associated Press that Sanchez’s face-to-face lobbying efforts have allowed some members of Congress to get to know a transsexual person for the first time.
“He interacts with a lot of people,” Frank told AP. “Prejudice is literally ignorance.”
In 2007, Frank and others, including some national GLBT representatives and organizations, had concerns about adding gender identity protections to the bill, fearing it would not receive enough support, even though it was likely to be vetoed by President George Bush had it passed. Frank told AP that he does not feel now that the bill will be voted against simply because it includes gender identity protections.
And while some conservative organizations claim that the bill is not needed, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) disagrees. NCTE's recently released survey of 6,500 transgender and transsexual Americans revealed that 91 percent had faced bias at work.
Activists are hopeful that ENDA will pass this time, allowing LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Americans to be judged on our skills, abilities, and contributions to the workplace rather than on sexual orientation or gender identity. Diego Sanchez has certainly demonstrated that trans status does not affect workplace achievement.
Comments
Diego is one of my personal heroes (along with you, Matt, love your book and this column :)). Part of his tremendous accomplishments for the community include his testimony on Capitol Hill prior to working for Rep Frank, when Congress was holding hearings about why gender identity is so important to be included in ENDA. With the current economic climate and businesses looking for any reason to cut jobs, ENDA remains a critical piece of legislation for the community. Thanks to Diego for being one of the important public ambassadors for this bill.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Molly, although I certainly can't measure up to Diego Sanchez, who is also a hero and personal role model for me. His accomplishments are so numerous and so important, and I would join you in saying thank you to him.
I am so like loving your postings here, i`ll be checking out weekly from now on, keep up the good work, a friend of my on our radiotalk sure is actively working to change things her name is Winnona she is a member of TEA TIME she offers us and all our listers trans information from a political POV with her segament on the show as well as her own video chat on YT called winnonachat check her out a very support transwomen that we are proud to know and associate with.
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