McDonald's Refuses To Hire Transgendered Teen
Like nearly every one of us did way back when, 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy applied for a job at McDonald’s. Lots of teens appreciate the free food, the experience, and, most of all, the money that comes with the job. Unfortunately, Zikerria wasn’t hired. That wouldn’t be of much interest were it not for the reason she was turned down — Zikerria is transgendered. And if that weren’t bad enough, one of the managers of the restaurant actually called her and left a voice message saying “We don’t hire faggots.”
I must admit that I am somewhat surprised by this story. When the morning DJs on radio station KRXQ in Sacramento, California made some very hateful remarks regarding transgendered people, including advocating violence towards transgendered kids, McDonald’s was among the companies that quickly pulled their advertising from the station. Furthermore, the chain received a respectable 85 out of a possible 100 points on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. Ironically, however, the company lost points for not including gender identity in the non-discrimination policy in the employee handbook.
The company has since stated that McDonald’s does not allow discrimination based on gender identity and that the manager in question has been fired. I suspect that this is a case of employees acting on their own prejudices and, as a company spokesperson explained, “is not reflective of the employment policies in the organization.”
Nonetheless, this underscores the difficulty transgendered teens face in the workplace and in general. “Americans should have the chance to earn a living and provide for their families without being refused a job or fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund. “Zikerria should not have been denied a job just because she is transgender. Like everyone else, she deserved to be judged on her ability to do the job and not on who she is.” I couldn’t have said it better.
Photo: cohdra
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Good for corporate firing that manager.
That’s exactly why we need projects like this one: http://bodyimageproject.com/ Teens need to be reassured in their own body image and sense of self worth. Also, maybe one way to combat such prejudice is for all people to come to peace with their own body image and self worth, then maybe they will be less threatened by those who are different from them. You know the old theory we’re all told as kids, people who are mean and tease are really very insecure about themselves. Let’s try and contribute positively. Check out the site.
Good for McDonalds for clearing that trash out.