Gay and Transgender Issues in the Workplace

     The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had, as of the first of the year, 31,676 employees of which nearly 13,000 are special agents. Several years ago, my friend Mary Lee Tatum told me that she was at a Washington D.C. dinner party at which an FBI agent stated with full conviction to a room full of politicians and other capitol insiders that there were no homosexuals in the FBI. “Everyone at the table laughed,” she said.

     During the 48 years in which J. Edgar Hoover was the director of the FBI, there were probably no openly gay or transgender people in the organization. But today, there are, of course, out and proud gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who work for the agency, as well as many, many men and women who are our strong allies there. One such outspoken ally is the cherished big brother of a dear lesbian friend, Kim Cromwell.

     Though he has recently retired from the FBI, Bob Cromwell was for many years one of the strongest voices and most influential leaders on our behalf. Every gay person at the agency who I know speaks of Bob with great respect. When I told Kim this week that I planned to write about Bob and the FBI, she replied:

     “Bob has been a wonderful ally in so many ways.  You might ask him about his work supporting transgendered people and about when he introduced Barney Frank at the Department of Justice.  While there are ‘big’ issues he’s championed, I must say that it’s probably the ‘little’ day-to-day conversations that Bob initiates which will change the world.  I frequently hear from people about Bob discussing our civil rights — our right to marry, the very dignity of our lives — with straight people he knows. Many of those people, I suspect, have never heard from a straight man who holds these issues so close to his heart.  I couldn’t ask for a better big brother.  He’s one of my best friends, and a true champion for equality.”

      I started thinking about Bob Cromwell and the FBI when he wrote me this week in response to last week’s blog.

     “Your blog is excellent.  As I have roamed through them, I have yet to be disappointed.  Your comment in your recent post concerning the brave transgender person reminded me of an agent in the FBI.  He was 10 years on the job, with a wife and two children, the best shot in the office, and the leader of his division’s SWAT Team; we’re talking a poster-child for Soldier of Fortune magazine.  After years of therapy, he concluded he was born a woman in a man’s body.  He went through the steps recommended for someone in his situation and announced to his friends and colleagues his intent to change gender.  It was not well received.  A request was even made to headquarters for a ‘lack of effectiveness’ transfer.  We found as a man, he was an aggressive agent doing work appreciated by the U.S. Attorney’s office and as a woman, nothing had changed.  She was an aggressive agent doing good work appreciated by the U.S. Attorney’s office.   And, I think it fair to say, she’s one very brave person. (I ended up putting together a Power Point with background provided by HRC on transgender issues and one of our Assistant Directors went out to the Division to educate them and lay the matter to rest.)”

     The FBI officially welcomes gay people to its ranks. The agency director, Robert Mueller, has stated:

     “We believe that the diversity of American society should be represented at all levels of the FBI…Today’s FBI demands that we become more diverse and we are working harder than ever to be more inclusive – for all people, regardless of ….sexual orientation.”

     Though I haven’t done any diversity work with the FBI, I suspect that like their sister organization, the National Security Agency (NSA) with which I have done training, it seeks to create an environment in which all employees feel not just accepted but valued so that they might attract and retain the best and brightest people. “Gender Identity and Expression” is not yet in the government’s Equal Opportunity statement but I believe that within the next couple of years, both gay and transgender people will be protected from discrimination on a national level by the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

     Nevertheless, despite the assumption of an agent who probably has since retired that there were no homosexuals in the FBI, the agency seems to have done a good job of making sure that talented transsexuals aren’t lost despite the lack of legal protection, and that gay people and their strong allies like Bob Cromwell have the ability, through their own lives and words, to educate their colleagues on the issues. I want to believe that would ultimately have pleased J. Edgar Hoover. It has made it a stronger, more effective FBI.  

     (To learn more about Brian’s work and his educational resources, please go to www.brian-mcnaught.com.)