Literature

Since time immemorial, discrimination in terms of race, sexual orientation, age, education, or economic status has been widely observed and practiced in most countries. Indeed, people have the great tendency to isolate and discriminate individuals who belong to minority groups.

Aside from the issues brought by racial discrimination in the different countries, the world is also faced with homosexual discrimination, an issue which has been receiving much controversy as the population of gays in the workplace is alarmingly increasing. It can be observed that the issue on homosexual discrimination is evident in employment opportunities as society is considering whether the homosexual professionals will be given an equal chance as that of the straight men and women when it comes to job offerings and opportunities.

In some companies nowadays, there are a significant number of homosexuals who are competing in the professional workplace. This is in accordance with the belief that the government and private sectors should widely observe and practice the economic autonomy for all the genders and to let them have access to equal opportunities and equal rights (Gottfried  Reese, p. 44). As such, gender inequality and gender insensitivity should not be tolerated in the community. However, the debate on whether the government and private companies should hire gays especially in the office works still persists. For instance, if we will consider the promotion of the gender equality and fairness that most of the activists and feminists are advocating, the companies should not have gender bias on recruiting and hiring personnels who will work in their office. This is indeed beneficial to the people especially to those who belong to what they consider as third sex. While the right of this people to compete for employment or job is highly maintained, the right of these people for the elimination of discrimination and prejudice are as well granted.    

Nevertheless, there are some limitations with regard to the hiring of the members of this group especially in some fields especially the professional field. For instance, many are against the idea of allowing a gay who has undergone sex change or enjoys cross-dressing to become a teacher, a lawyer, or a public servant. It is for certain that moral and ethical concerns will emerge if a cross dresser would be accepted in the teaching profession. The Code of Ethics for Teachers states that the teachers should be a good role model not only in the school but also in the community. But a gay teacher cannot definitely serve as a good model to the students as well as to the people if he is wearing womens clothing, as it is regarded as a deviant behavior that defies the standards set by the community with regard to dress code. Similarly, a gay lawyer in a long gown cannot truly receive due respect from the people in the court room because what he is doing is against the pre-moral standard set in the mind of the people. The same holds true with the president of a certain country who is wearing dresses for an executive meeting. People will not surely agree with this idea as such is not in line with the standards of the community.

It is believed nowadays that in order to attain high success in the business world, traditional management practices should be changed into a more critical and realistic approach that deals with the crucial issue of gender sensitivity (Sastry  Pandey, p. 183). This means that the companies and agencies should strictly observe non-discrimination of the applicants and personnel in order to comply with the promotion of gender equality and sensitivity. However, if they will strictly observe this so-called promotion of equality and fairness in the society, there are some certain rules and code of conducts that they will violate with respect to professionalism and ethics. Likewise, by practicing gender equality, they will also break the norms and traditions set by the people in the society. On the contrary, if they will consider the standards of the society, they will then deprive the gays of their rights on equal treatment in the community. In this light, there are conflicting ideas between the conformity to the societys norm and the promotion of equality and fairness for all members of the society, including the homosexual individuals.

To resolve this issue, many companies now are really sensitive on the type and nature of job that they will offer to the members of the third sex. For instance, gays and bisexuals are often encouraged to pursue a career that will suit their sexual orientation better such as hair styling, dressmaking, fashion, and the like. In this job, issues on morality are less likely to arise as society accepts that these jobs are usually done by homosexuals. The same holds true with the lesbians. They are also advised to choose the best job that will fit their sexual orientation, although their case is not really controversial as that of the homosexuals because they can still do the work of both men and women without discrimination. This is because most of the lesbians are not really controversial whenever they cross-dress. Women can always wear a boyish style of clothing without being tagged as a lesbian. However, in the case of the gays, it is a big issue for the people in the society if they will wear the dresses of the women. This is the very reason why they are not usually hired in jobs that require professionalism and certain moral standards.

Furthermore, homosexuals are prohibited in the professional workplace in order to set a boarder on the issue of morality on the employee and the profession itself. Gays who are engaged to same sex relationships are faced with the dilemma of dignity and credibility (Diamant, p. 134). Homosexuals are also seen to give the impression that they are funny and playful, which negatively affects their credibility. They are not perceived as serious and credible individuals as what people have observed in their everyday language, way of living, type of companions, and the like.

In this manner, there should be careful distinction between the conformity to the set standard in the society and to the abidance to the promotion of gender equality and sensitivity. People should always take into consideration that while conforming to the norms of the society, the rights of the gays should not be deprived. The same holds true with respecting the rights of the third sex while not violating the standards of the society. The government and private sector should be sensitive in recommending and hiring personnel in a particular type and nature of job. The homosexuals should be given jobs that are suited to their inclination so that there would be less discrimination and violation of the norms. In some schools, for instance, open gays and lesbians, especially the cross-dressers, are not allowed to enter courses like teaching so that they would never experience discrimination from the students, parents, colleagues, and other stakeholders of education. Although this may sound inequality to the part of the gays, this is indeed a great step so that they would not encounter problems in the future. The school will only let them to take the course if they will dress properly or if they will act according to their biological sexuality.

Hence, the issue on the professionalism of gays and bisexual lies on the very hand of every person in the community. Members of the third sex should have the deeper understanding on the issue of morality, equality, and professionalism so that they would know when and how they will put themselves in the professional workplace. The same holds true with the companies and government offices. They should have the in-depth knowledge on the distinction between social norms and equality so that they would have their firm stand on the issue on gays place in the professional world.