M.V. Lee Badgett will kick off the Five College Queer and Sexuality Studies Lecture Series on Tuesday, September 25 at 4:30 p.m. She will present a talk titled “Assessing the Case for Diversity: The Value for LGBT Workers and for Employers.” The lecture will take place at the UMass Stonewall Center, located in Crampton Hall.
Badgett, director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration and professor of economics, is an internationally recognized authority on civil rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Last June she testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Using research and statistics, Badgett showed that lesbian, gay and bisexual people are nearly as likely to file discrimination complaints as those already protected by federal anti-bias laws.
In her lecture next week, Badgett will make the case for diversity policies related to LGBT workers in the United States by considering perspectives from two different groups: employers and employees. More specifically, she will explore whether policies that promote diversity help the corporate bottom line and how such policies affect employees.
This lecture series marks the launch of the Five College Queer and Sexuality Studies undergraduate certificate program.