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"Queer & Career" conference addresses workplace hurdles

by Tara Cavanaugh

LANSING-
Michigan State University's LGBT Resource Center and Career Service Network will hold a "Queer & Career" conference on Saturday, April 2 from 12:30 to 6.
The conference will help "prepare LGBT persons for what they might experience in the workforce," said Deanna Hurlbert, MSU's LGBT liaison. "Although the focus population is students, almost everything will be applicable to every LGBT person in the workforce."
Hurlbert said the conference was just announced on March 3 and it's already attracted an "unbelievable amount of interest." She has received e-mail inquiries from people from other states who want to attend and speak, and said the conference is now seeking sponsors in order to raise more money to accommodate more attendees.
Hurlbert thinks the conference has become so popular because it addresses the tough issues LGBTs face on the job. "They have additional stresses that perhaps their heterosexual or cisgender counterparts wouldn't have," she said. There are no federal or state laws that protect LGBTs from being harassed or fired in the workplace due to their sexual or gender identity.
The conference will feature keynote speaker Ronald Moore, a MSU alum who was the director of Hewlett-Packard's human resources for 23 years. Moore, who is also a gay man and African American, is recognized as a "world class diversity and issues expert," Hurlbert said. Riley Folds of Out for Work will also speak about coming out in the workplace.
Hurlbert said the conference also features workshops and panel discussions on gender identity in the workforce, LGBT advocacy as a career, queer persons of color, and the "less friendly" professions such as childcare, K-12 education, police, fire and military. The sessions will be followed by a "light and informal" networking session, but Hurlbert stressed that the conference is not a career fair.
Sarah Glassman, a graduate student who is also the conference coordinator, said having these kinds of discussions is particularly important on campus.
"For a lot of students, the first time they come out is in college, and it's been a really supportive environment," she said, "so whether they want to come out on the job is the big question. Figuring out a place you can work in line with your personal values is really hard. And students are already feeling pressure to find a job in the first place."
"Graduating students find they have to totally renegotiate identity when they leave campus," Hurlbert said. "Whether or not they're willing to move for a job may depend on if they can get married or adopt in that state.
"They really are faced with a major existential crisis in deciding how to negotiate their identity when they're trying to keep a roof over their head and feed themselves," she said.
Conference registration will be available online March 11. Until then, those interested in attending, speaking or sponsoring may contact Glassman at [email protected].

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