SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Assembly Bill 677, a proposal by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) that would help ensure California public policy meets the needs of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) communities, Wednesday passed unanimously out of the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.
“We need real data to better understand the obstacles facing LGBT communities and to inform policies to eliminate educational and employments disparities,” said Assemblymember David Chiu. “Good information will move us closer to full equality.”
Assembly Bill 677 builds on data collection best practices by requiring education and employment-related government agencies to collect voluntarily provided sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data when collecting other demographic data. Aggregated SOGI data collected pursuant to this bill should be reported to the Legislature and made publicly available.
LGBT communities face disproportionately high rates of poverty, suicide, homelessness, isolation, substance abuse, and violence, and low rates of health insurance. These issues are more prevalent for youth and seniors, communities of color, and transgender and undocumented communities.
“Collecting this data is the crucial first step to reducing disparities, ensuring that educational programs are responsive to the needs of LGBT youth, and improving access to employment for LGBT workers,” said Rick Zbur, Equality California Executive Director. “We thank Assemblymember Chiu for his continued leadership to further the effort to ensure the LGBT community counts and is counted in California.”
In 2015 the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 959, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Disparities Reduction Act, also authored by Asm. Chiu. This law requires state agencies that provide health and human services to collect voluntarily provided information about SOGI in the regular course of collecting other types of demographic data.
An existing but limited pool of SOGI-related data has identified significant problems within the LGBT community, including educational attainment and workplace discrimination.
“In recent years, with little fanfare, school districts and other entities have begun collecting LGBT data along with other standard demographic information,” said Lisa Cisneros, LGBT Program Director for California Rural Legal Assistance. “Not all school districts or government agencies collect LGBT data, but where it exists the information has been incredibly helpful in informing policies and practices to foster LGBT equality. Codifying LGBT-inclusive data collection in the education and other contexts will help us detect and address disparities, while also identifying communities that are models for ensuring equal opportunity for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,”
AB 677 now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
I understand your efforts but the fallacy is that I am applying for a job and I’m not going to do ANYTHING to risk me not getting it. And so therefore you are only going to get a small amount of data that you are attempting to accumulate. I would guess, as in my case, that trans people will never give up that info. It’s hard enough as it is without adding fuel to the fire. BTW, I was fired from a company I worked for go 10 years when I came out as trans. It took 3 years to find a job well below my last position and 1/3 of the pay. No way will I ever admit to an employee that I am in any way LGBT!!