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In the winter of 1992, in these pages, an article entitled “The Ghosts Among Us” appeared. Contrary to this publication’s policy, the author was allowed to remain anonymous. “Imagine what it would be like,” that person asked, “if your lifetime companion were deemed not to exist at all in the eyes of the Department. Would you abandon him or her?”
The article was both a commentary on the evolving realities of LGBT staff and an eloquent plea, in advance of the triannual review of Foreign Service Directives, to extend relocation benefits to same-sex partners. The substantial costs and administrative burden associated with their partners accompanying employees to posts were being routinely met by those couples themselves. And yet, absurdly, the Department would pay the cost of bringing your pet with you, but not your partner. By 1992, the dark days of the Cold War purges, mostly of gay men, were a thing of the past. As the article contended, the “plan for identifying and then firing gay personnel had to be abandoned after preliminary investigations revealed a significant level of gay staff, including some of the brightest and most prominent individuals of the time.” But a substantial economic burden remained which needed to be addressed and it eventually was.
The ensuing years saw a steady progression in recognition for the rights of gay and lesbian employees, thanks, in large part, to the courts, and to significant changes in social attitudes towards the LGBT community. Equality with respect to benefits was won in 1999, followed by recognized partnerships and finally marriage equality, in 2005. The Public Service adjusted, as did the Department. And as the battle for same-sex civil rights in countries like Canada appeared to wind down (though transgender rights continue to require attention), the issue emerged as a foreign policy priority in 8 the mid-2000s, as we 3 turned our talents and $ attention to the pursuit of 5 respect for rights in the many parts of the world that continue to criminalize and punish same-sex conduct, sometimes with the death penalty.
But three broad areas remain where the Department has been working to re-focus its attention on the rights of its LGBT employees and now has the opportunity to make real progress: (1) by acknowledging us officially as an identifiable group with unique needs and circumstances and providing a channel to address those needs; (2) by pro-actively augmenting posting opportunities for LGBT staff and their families and, by extension, ‘ allowing managers to The LGBTQ2 ! deploy the best people the Internation. available; and, finally, and Biphobia. (3) by confronting the legacy of the past and participating in the Government’s planned apology to the LGBTQ2 community.
While the Department has embraced the promotion of diversity and inclusion as a foreign policy and development priority in other parts of the world, in addressing it internally, we have the opportunity to catch up to our peer departments, many of whom view employment equity legislation not as a mandatory requirement, but as the minimum basis on which to build a thriving diversity policy. In recognition of this, the 2016 Public Service Award of Excellence was presented to the proponents of the “Positive Space Initiative”, which is aimed at creating safer and more welcoming environments for LGBT employees and client groups by providing training to volunteers who become champions of workplace inclusion. No less than thirty departments and agencies are implementing the initiative, and many have gone a step further to include those involved as departmental LGBT champions, alongside their statutory employment equity counterpart groups (women, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and visible
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minorities) as part of their regular corporate machinery to promote employee diversity and inclusion. This year, at the initiative of our thriving, employee-driven Pride Network, the Department is beginning to organize for “Positive Space”, which should see training roll out across our network, including in missions. This is important since for many locally engaged staff, this may be the only such safe space they have access to. Another recent and important visible demonstration of the Department’s growing commitment to LGBT people, including among its staff, was the decision to join our own missions around the world to fly the Pride banner from headquarters this year on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
The private sector has been leading the way for corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives, with the benefits to any organization’s bottom line of a diverse and engaged workforce becoming increasingly apparent. Initiatives across the talent pipeline, from recruitment and retention of specific groups including the LGBT community, to their mentoring, upward promotion and leadership development are moving forward across the country. Increasingly, in both the private and public sectors, the culture of authenticity as a leadership style is being acknowledged and, for the LGBT community, this means not leaving an important part of your
GAC LGBTQ2+ Pride Network Employees at Global Affairs Canada (GAC) recently launched a volunteer-run group to represent the LGBTQ2+ community within the Department, called the Pride Network. The Network aims to foster a workplace inclusive of employees of all sexual orientations and gender identities. It is open not only to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and two-spirit people, but to al/ GAC employees who support these objectives. Members of the Network share ideas and information, arrange social events and networking opportunities, discuss issues of concern, and promote equality in the department.
The current co-chairs Melanie Bejzyk and David Da Silva are available to answer questions and would be delighted to hear of expressions of interest.
identity at home — or back in Canada. Currently, the handful of brave Canadian HOMs who are visibly serving their country in partnership with their same-sex spouses are doing so of their own volition and not in response to any incentives; the all-too-familiar burdens on diplomatic spouses are often magnified and multiplied for same-sex partners and their families.
This brings us to a second identifiable need. The number of rotational positions abroad where staff and their families can serve while enjoying full recognition for their diplomatic status can be augmented, while also enhancing the quality of information available to them regarding conditions they will face. Our like-minded partners, including the European Union and the United States, clearly view their efforts to gain LGBT accreditation as filling a broader policy need and enhancing their overseas reputation. The State Department
As the stigma associated with
same-sex relationships lifts, we need to acknowledge that it cannot
be easy, or painless, for those whose lives were ruined generations
ago to relive such suffering once again in the telling.
annually instructs all of its missions to lobby to increase the number of assignment opportunities for gay and lesbian, as well as transgender, staff and has undertaken this advocacy in capitals, under successive administrations, and at the most senior levels. As a result, more countries offer accreditation and the diplomatic immunity it brings to U.S. diplomats than is available to their Canadian counterparts. As attitudes in many countries around the world slowly shift for the better, much of this distance can be covered simply by making regular, formal requests of host authorities. Some missions have taken the initiative themselves, or partnered with like-minded countries, but clear direction needs to come from headquarters and efforts are now underway to provide it more regularly.
Finally, the Department now has the opportunity to confront the legacy of its past and participate meaningfully in the Government’s planned apology, expected later this year. Before leaving office in January, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry issued a formal apology to LGBT staff “who were impacted by the practices of the past”, including discrimination against job applicants and forced resignations of employees on the basis of perceived sexual orientation, which “were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today.” Here in Canada, last November, the Government named Member of Parliament Randy Boissonnault as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues with a mandate to address current and historical discrimination against this community. In March, he announced that the Government would apologize to LGBTQ2 communities before the end of the year for actions it took, including those against thousands of workers in the Canadian military and public service, notably from our Department, during the Cold War era.
This presents an excellent opportunity for meaningful engagement and recognition of historical suffering, both of our colleagues at all levels, including among the best and brightest, and also of their partners and lifetime companions who, through the rotational nature of our work, were made to continue to live as ghosts, well after the arrests and firings had stopped. For this to be most meaningful, and so that future generations do not repeat the mistakes of the past, those affected may wish to share with us their stories — and even their names.
As the stigma associated with same-sex relationships lifts, we need to acknowledge that it cannot be easy, or painless, for those whose lives were ruined generations ago to relive such suffering once again in the telling. Only through confronting the past, however, and planning consciously and pro-actively for a better future, can we hope to exorcise every ghost once and for all.
Mark Allen has been Executive Director of Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs Policy at Global Affairs Canada since 2015. As a Canadian Foreign Service officer, he has served abroad in Rwanda and the United Kingdom. He has also served as Canada’s Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal.
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), pp. 17–18. Read the rest of this issue →
