PAYING AN UNFAIR PRICE The Financial Penalty for LGBT People of Color in America April 2015 Updated June 2015 Authors Partners This report was authored by: This report was developed in partnership with 2 the following organizations: Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a think tank Center for Community Change dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through Center for Popular Democracy ideas and action. CAP combines bold policy ideas with League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) a modern communications platform to help shape the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund national debate. CAP is designed to provide long-term (MALDEF) leadership and support to the progressive movement. National Action Network CAP’s policy experts cover a wide range of issue areas, National Association of Social Workers and often work across disciplines to tackle complex, National Black Justice Coalition interrelated issues such as national security, energy, National Education Association and climate change. National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance Movement Advancement Project See pages 36-37 for more information about these The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) is an organizations. independent think tank that provides rigorous research, insight and analysis that help speed equality for LGBT people. MAP works collaboratively with MAP thanks the following funders, without LGBT organizations, advocates and funders, providing whom this report would not have been possible: information, analysis and resources that help coordinate and strengthen efforts for maximum impact. MAP’s David Bohnett Foundation policy research informs the public and policymakers David Dechman and Michel Mercure about the legal and policy needs of LGBT people and Ford Foundation their families. David Geffen Foundation Gill Foundation Esmond Harmsworth Jim Hormel Contact Information Johnson Family Foundation Amy Mandel and Katina Rodis Center for American Progress Weston Milliken 1333 H Street, NW, 10th Floor The Palette Fund Washington, DC 20005 Mona Pittenger 202-682-1611 H. van Ameringen Foundation www.americanprogress.com Wild Geese Foundation Movement Advancement Project (MAP) 2215 Market Street Denver, CO 80205 720-274-3263 www.lgbtmap.org TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 SUMMARY GRAPHIC ........................................................................................................................i INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................1 Who Are LGBT People of Color? ................................................................................................................................. 2 Increased Economic Insecurity for LGBT People of Color .................................................................................. 2 LEGAL INEQUALITY AND RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION PENALIZE LGBT PEOPLE OF COLOR ................................................................................................6 Failure #1: Lack of Protection from Discrimination ............................................................................................. 9 Employment Discrimination .................................................................................................................................................9 Housing Discrimination ..........................................................................................................................................................15 Healthcare Discrimination .....................................................................................................................................................16 Credit Discrimination ..............................................................................................................................................................20 Obstacles to Obtaining Identity Documents That Reflect the Gender of a Transgender Person ................20 Failure #2: Refusal to Recognize LGBT Families .................................................................................................... 22 Unequal Marriage Laws ..........................................................................................................................................................22 Unequal Parental Recognition Laws ..................................................................................................................................22 Failure #3: Failure to Protect Students ..................................................................................................................... 24 Unsafe School Environments ...............................................................................................................................................24 Barriers to Higher Education ................................................................................................................................................26 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................29 ENDNOTES ........................................................................................................................................32 ABOUT PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ...............................................................................................36 SUMMARY GRAPHIC i 3M LGBT PEOPLE OF COLOR SUMMARY GRAPHIC LGBT AND TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR HAVE HIGH 1 IN 3 RATES OF POVERTY 2 IN 5 55% LGBT PEOPLE IDENTIFY LGBT WOMEN OF COLOR AS A PERSON OF COLOR 34% ARE RAISING CHILDREN 28% LATINO BLACK NATIVE TRANSGENDER TRANSGENDER AMERICAN PEOPLE PEOPLE LGBT PEOPLE ARE FOOD INSECURE INCREASED RISK OF ECONOMIC INSECURITY BECAUSE OF... LEGAL DISCRIMINATION LACK OF FAMILY LACK OF SAFE EDUCATIONAL RECOGNITION ENVIRONMENTS LGBT people of color face a lack of Lack of marriage and unavailability of Bullying, harassment, and violence protection from discrimination in second and stepparent adoption combined with difficulty accessing employment, housing, healthcare, and mean many LGBT people can’t be financial aid mean LGBT students are credit; transgender people face barriers legally connected to their loved ones. unsupported at school. to getting accurate identity documents. THE IMPACT SUMMARY GRAPHIC THE IMPACT ii IMPACTS OF LEGAL DISCRIMINATION LGBT PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT TO HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE IN RATES FOR LGBT PEOPLE 1 4 OF COLOR 79% 82% LGBT OLDER ADULTS OF COLOR 71% 61% HAVE EXPERIENCED HOUSING 14% 15% DISCRIMINATION 11% 8% GENERAL ASIAN/PACIFIC LATINO AFRICAN LATINO ASIAN/PACIFIC BLACK WHITE POPULATION ISLANDER LGBT AMERICAN LGBT ISLANDER LGBT LGBT LGBT ADULTS ADULTS LGBT ADULTS PEOPLE LGBT PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE IMPACTS OF LACK OF FAMILY RECOGNITION $3,658 $2,525 $3,760 IN ADDED HEALTH INSURANCE LOST IN SAFETY-NET IN ADDED INCOME COSTS FOR PARTNER PROGRAMS TAXES IMPACTS OF UNSAFE SCHOOLS HARASSED AT SCHOOL LOWER COLLEGE COMPLETION RATES 47% 42% 39% 35% 31% 15% 17% ASIAN/PACIFIC AFRICAN LATINO LATINO AFRICAN GENERAL ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN LGBT YOUTH LGBT ADULTS AMERICAN ADULT ISLANDER LGBT YOUTH LGBT YOUTH LGBT ADULTS POPULATION LGBT ADULTS iii INTRODUCTION Three key failures of the law financially penalize LGBT people of color in the United States: 1 Data show that the U.S. economy is slowly recovering from the Great Recession. The unemployment rate is • The law fails to protect LGBT people of color from declining and consumer confidence is rising.1 But the discrimination based on their sexual orientation recovery hasn’t been felt evenly by all people. People of and/or gender identity, compounded by the added color in particular have struggled with unemployment, impact of racial and ethnic discrimination; lagging wages, and a dearth of jobs, leaving many • The law refuses to recognize LGBT families; LGBT worried about the future and about making ends people of color are more likely to be raising children meet.2 A 2014 poll of Latino registered voters found than other LGBT people; and that 53% are worried that someone in their household • The law fails to protect LGBT students, in particular may lose their job and face unemployment; 50% of the LGBT students of color. respondents had, on multiple occasions in the past year, worried about being able to pay basic bills.3 This report is a companion to a larger report, Paying an Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) LGBT in America, released in September 2014. This people of color face added worries because of the companion report summarizes research about the impact of outdated and discriminatory laws at the local, economic insecurity experienced by LGBT people of state and national levels. In addition to the economic color compared to their white LGBT counterparts and toll that racial and ethnic discrimination already take on non-LGBT people of color. The report outlines the ways their economic security, LGBT people of color are forced in which the three legal failures noted above, combined to pay an unfair price for being LGBT. INTRODUCTION Glossary • Economic security and economic insecurity. This report uses the terms economic security and the lack thereof, economic insecurity¸ to refer broadly to an individual or family’s economic wellbeing. Economic security means that an individual or family has the financial resources to provide not only for basic necessities but also to weather unexpected events that