by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

The law protects the gainfully employed against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, but many gay workers still go to great lengths to maintain a dark shroud around their true identities. So UQÀM sociologist Line Chamberland is overseeing a major study to probe the gay experience in the workplace. “We want to have portraits of homophobia or more subtle forms of intimidation at work,” she says. “Also, we want to know if gays and lesbians feel at ease or secure enough to be open about their sexual orientation. Some people like to talk about their private life and others don’t. But there’s a difference between choosing to be discreet about your private life and feeling forced to be.”

After conducting 200 interviews, Chamberland has learned that many homosexuals still feel that they have to play it straight at work. “One guy in Sept-Îles had a partner die. So he had the right to three days off work. Instead he took personal days off because he was afraid everybody would learn of his sexual orientation,” she says. “Plus he received no support. Even when you’re not intimate with your colleagues, if somebody dies in your intimate circle they’ll support you in one way or another, send you a card or say a few words.” Some employ other strategies to keep their secret from their colleagues. “Some just change the subject when somebody asks, ‘What did you do last weekend?’”

Laurent McCutcheon, the president of the Gai Écoute hotline, says office worries still plague Montreal gays and lesbians. He says they often find the workplace “excessively difficult. They worry that their sexual orientation could lead them to be fired, so I understand those who don’t discuss it. In situations where there’s a union and job security, it’s considered safer, but outside of that there’s still the law of silence. Yet overall there’s been an improvement.”

Chamberland says many closeted workers are pleasantly surprised when they reveal their orientation to colleagues. “Very often reactions are positive. Sometimes the gays and lesbians say they were fearful when telling others about it, but when they did, the consequences were not so bad.”

But there are some disaster stories, such as that of a couple of native lesbian welders who were given dangerous work assignments when a workplace discussion over gay marriage blew their secret. They eventually left the company and received an out-of-court settlement.

Being gay in traditionally macho jobs is sometimes more difficult, Chamberland says, and small-town gays also find it trickier to keep the lid on their sexuality. “They don’t have the anonymity like they would in the big city. It’s harder to separate the different areas of your life,” she says.

“We don’t feel that everybody should do a coming-out at their workplace but keeping it secret is very hard,” continues Chamberland. “It means you can’t talk about your private life, leisure activities, sex life, your family. People often think homosexuality is just a matter of sexuality that you can keep in your bed, but it’s much larger than that.”

Chamberland is trying to recruit more volunteers for her study. For info consult www.homosexualiteettravail.uqam.ca.