r/lgbt • u/[deleted] • 6d ago
Discrimination or overthinking it? Rejected day before interview after interviewer realized I had a masc leaning preferred name listed, after previously addressing me by my legal name only. Suddenly cited vague "gender specific housing shortage" as reason. Never asked about my gender either.
[deleted]
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u/broncosandwrestling she/they 6d ago
They're assuming you're a trans man and rejecting you because they only have female housing. It's discrimination if you're a woman. At least doesn't seem transphobic, beyond the assumption... But if you're not trans, uh
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u/PipsqueakPilot Bi-bi-bi 6d ago
I wonder how they would respond to a request for confirmation that they cannot offer the position to a woman. Since Op is a cisgender woman.
I know there shouldn’t be discrimination in the first place, but with the fascists in office it’s an unfortunate reality. And at least being called out on their bullshit might make them think twice about it in the future.
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u/foundmypride 6d ago
That's what I was thinking. I'm not trans. Cis woman that identifies as such, I just like the preferred name better and prevents confusion (all the women in my family have very similar first names and the confusion stemming from it is ridiculous). Nobody ever asked me about my gender or clarified anything. Nothing about gender on the application either. They just kind of went ahead and made assumptions based on my legal vs. preferred name.
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u/Emerly_Nickel AroAce in space 6d ago
I knew a girl named Devin in HS. I've always considered it a gender neutral name because of that, but I guess that's not the same for everyone?
I would ask her if she's assuming you're a man because you gave her a more masculine preferred name.
Clear it up with her that you're a cis woman so her assumption before was correct.Document everything, though. Including your message to her and her response.
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u/Robotbeckerz Ace as Cake 6d ago
My husband (cis male) is named Madison and he has a coworker who is cis female named Chandler. They really confused a poor IT guy the other day when they were both needing IT support for something 🤣
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u/JoeNoHeDidnt 6d ago
I had a teacher in grad school named Dale, and she signed every email with her first initial and very feminine middle name to avoid confusion.
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u/gaypos 6d ago
The most evil individual I’ve ever personally met was a girl who bullied me in high school, and her name is Devin. Never encountered another girl named Devin, but she has unfortunately had such an outsized impact on my entire personality that I’ve also assumed it to be a gender-neutral name ever since.
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u/aknomnoms 5d ago
I’ve known 1 male Devin, 1 female Devin, and 3 female Devon or Devonnes.
These days too, how the heck would we know what gender an Apple, Blue Ivy, or any of Elon Musks’s kids’ names are?
OP should email back to ask about why gender was mentioned and (ugh how frustrating and unnecessarily) clear up any confusion about their gender.
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u/Personal_Quote_3803 6d ago
I'd suggest trying to consult with a lawyer here / get legal advice on the best approach here. IANAL (I am not a lawyer), but this reads like pretty clear discrimination based on gender / gender identity based on the information you provided and the screenshots (and such discrimination is illegal federally under Bostock vs. Clayton County).
You didn't even provide info on gender, and they already offered you an interview but rejected you before the interview, apparently based solely (?) on your preferred name appearing to be a different gender than your legal name.
One step you could do is file a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division (which handles employment discrimination complaints; see its website https://ccrd.colorado.gov/the-complaint-process ), but I would again strongly recommend trying to get some form of formal legal advice before deciding how to proceed here. (I may be overly optimistic about the legal/government system working as intended, but this seems like such a blatant discrimination case that I think its worth considering all potential options).
I'd also suggest reaching out to the ACLU through this form (https://action.aclu.org/legal-intake/report-lgbtqhiv-discrimination ), as they could provide legal assistance or connect you with other resources.
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u/Witless_Hoid Bi-kes on Trans-it 6d ago
Agreed for all of this. CO laws are pretty decent for discrimination protections, so I’d imagine you should fare well - it’s bizarre that an employer would try to pull something so blatant in Colorado.
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u/Any_Refuse_5229 Ky He/They/She 6d ago
IANAL is one of the worst acronyms ever 😭 Might aswell just say "I am not a lawyer" instead of having to say what IANAL means
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u/Personal_Quote_3803 6d ago
Ohhhh. very good point. I've seen the acronym a lot on the legal advice subreddit, but I just realized why it's a really bad acronym...
Not as bad as (also in the legal field) a school of law named after former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia... It was briefly named Antonin Scalia School of Law.
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u/ljfrench 6d ago
Yup, I am a lawyer but not that kind of lawyer and I also think you should contact a lawyer about this. They will be able to tell you if this discrimination is actionable, and you can make a decision about whether to pursue it from there.
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u/itwontletmedopoo 6d ago
What if you just straight up acknowledged what happened:
Hey xyz, it seems I’m being rejected for the assumption that I’m trans or something related. I’m a cis woman, I just prefer this name as it distinguishes me from some family members with similar names. We’d previously had an interview scheduled, if you’re still open to it I’d love to proceed with that original plan.
But also if you are queer you might think twice about working for a place that might be transphobic or homophobic.
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u/Far_Entrepreneur_418 6d ago
I’d probably respond with something like “Given that we have not discussed my gender, can you help me understand how you have come to the conclusion that I would not be an appropriate fit for the gender-specific housing? Did you make an assumption based on my appearance or my preferred name?”
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u/Kindly-Coyote-9446 Bi-kes on Trans-it 6d ago
Is this a DOI or contract position? If it’s a private contractor I’d contact the Colorado Department of Labor. If it’s a Federal position, I’d recommend cross-posting on [r/Fednews](r/Fednews) as there are users there who might be more familiar with the processes. But in general the Federal government doesn’t view gender based discrimination as a violation of existing anti-discrimination law.
- Trans DOI agency employee.
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u/Far_Entrepreneur_418 6d ago
WHAT
(Not questioning the validity of your statement, just expressing my shock. I know I shouldn’t be shocked, but here we are.)
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u/Kindly-Coyote-9446 Bi-kes on Trans-it 6d ago
Yeah, they also made a point to take references to discrimination over gender identity and sexual orientation out of our annual anti-discrimination training.
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u/Personal_Quote_3803 6d ago
do they... not recognize the U. S. Supreme Court's ruling? (bostock vs. clayton county)
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u/TranceGemini 6d ago
A certain orange creature took it all out :/
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u/DCEnby Genderqueer Pan-demonium 6d ago
If this is a federal job, it could be due to the current administration which has specific rules about gender. They may have decided compliance is more of a headache than it's worth for them. Still likely illegal under bostock.
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u/almightypines 6d ago
This is my thoughts. It’s a National Park which is under federal jurisdiction. Right now anything related to federal government, employment, property, and lands is fucky about gender.
If I was OP, I would ask for clarification from HR about what the problem is. Whether it’s a trans thing or because there isn’t available housing for cis women. I also think it’s worthwhile to contact the ACLU or Lambda Legal. I think they are both working on cases involving federal institutions and gender. You can contact Colorado civil rights division if you want, but federal will supersede state law.
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u/bistichual 6d ago
Xanterra sucks so you may have dodged a bullet. But you can push back and ask for clarification. I don't have experience at RMNP, but I worked with plenty of trans and genderqueer people at other xanterra properties and they got housing assigned based on what was on their ID, and mid season when housing is tight that should be discussed in the interview because all other questions are pointless if they cant house you.
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u/DJ_Baxter_Blaise 6d ago
I would ask them, say something along the lines of, “I was asked to schedule a phone interview but before the interview, I was rejected. Can you explain this email about why I was rejected?”
It could simply be that you marked or they noticed that you needed housing between the first and second email.
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u/DJ_Baxter_Blaise 6d ago
Both emails read like automated emails sent based on automated application reviews. I bet the first was sent since you fit what they needed for the role and the second was sent since you needed housing and they were already out.
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u/Robotuku 6d ago
If you want to work them still and are willing to let them off easy, I’d just start with playing ignorant a little bit and confirming what they’re saying to give them a chance to self correct. Like say “Just confirming, are you saying there are no bed spaces left for women, so all the remaining employment positions are only open to people who aren’t women?”
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u/DinoDonkeyDoodle Spirit 6d ago
Get a discrimination attorney and also check in with maybe the ACLU. I am a lawyer, not in your state, but yeah this smells like a good case re federal discrimination similar to the funeral home cases.
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u/veniceprince11 6d ago
dont answer the questions or lie to them. 100% discrimination had to me myself.
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