Advocating For California Employee Rights

Are sex and sexual orientation discrimination the same thing?

On Behalf of | Dec 5, 2022 | Discrimination

Employees have the right to a safe work environment. Not only does that mean free from physical danger but also free from discrimination, sexual assault and workplace retaliation. 

One confusion many people have is the difference between sex discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination. The main thing to remember is that both forms of discrimination violate employee laws, but you can see exactly how these look in the workplace:

What is sex discrimination?

Women have fought for equal rights in the workplace for decades. While this has caused many revolutionary movements, it’s far from eliminating every difficulty women have at work, especially sex discrimination. Many people, despite what women have been able to achieve, believe that the workplace isn’t for women and that women are somehow lesser than men, causing many women to earn less than men – this is one side of sex discrimination.

However, men aren’t shielded from sex discrimination because of how women are treated. Some men may be seen as oafish, slow or unemotional, causing them to be overlooked at work.

Additionally, people who have transitioned genders may be looked down upon. Their decisions may seem unorthodox to others, causing people to judge and discriminate against someone who’s transitioned. 

What is sexual orientation discrimination?

While a person’s sexual preference is their own, some people don’t believe that – which can cause discrimination at work. Discrimination over sexual orientation is a subtype of sex discrimination since it applies rigid standards of what an “acceptable” partner is for another person based on their gender.

A person’s gender or sexual orientation doesn’t affect how they perform their work obligations. However, workplace discrimination can be impeding on someone’s job, causing difficulties finding employment or scaling the corporate ladder.

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