2. FINDINGS
   4. Anti-Discrimination Measures
      3. Few legal workplaces make a deliberate effort to make gay and lesbian lawyers feel comfortable in the workplace, e.g., through diversity training

Gay and lesbian lawyers generally are in the minority in their workplaces. Sometimes, openly gay and lesbian lawyers are a minority of one in their workplaces. Thus, as one such respondent commented:

In sum, I think I experienced significant discrimination as a woman at my firm, discrimination that my heterosexual female colleagues also suffered. As an openly gay attorney, however, I think that my experience was even worse because I was a minority of one, which made the whole environment even more uncomfortable for me. I cannot quantify the discrimination in terms of such things as dollars, but there is no question that the quality of my life and my work experience was lessened. App. C, Comment 304 (lesbian respondent)

Nonetheless, few employers appear to engage in any focused efforts to make their gay and lesbian lawyers feel comfortable in their workplaces. For example, the responses to the Lawyer Survey reveal that while nearly one-fourth of the law firms where the respondents work are reported to offer diversity training (i.e., training intended to foster a better work environment by educating and sensitizing lawyers and staff about the differences among individuals), fewer than half of those that offer such training are reported to include sexual orientation in the training. (Lawyer Survey, Table 18.) Similarly, although nearly 60% of the government offices and nearly half the corporate offices where the respondents work are reported to offer diversity training, only 35.4% and 50% of those employers, respectively, are reported to include sexual orientation in that training. (Id.) The only exception is the “other” category of employers, including public interest organizations, where a substantial majority of the employers who are reported to offer diversity training are also reported to include sexual orientation in that training. (Id.) Only 30 of the 117 respondents to the Employer Survey reported that they had undertaken diversity training in their workplaces; of those, just over half (16) have included training with respect to sexual orientation. (Employer Survey, Table H.)

Similarly, although the Lawyer Survey indicates that many of the respondents' legal employers have a discrimination committee, ombudsman, or EEO officer, it appears that a number of those committees and individuals do not have the authority to hear complaints regarding sexual orientation discrimination. (Lawyer Survey, Table 17.)