LGBTQ+ on Andy M Mallon - AM²

Tech Community Equality Index

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 05:00:19 -0400

Over the last weeks & months, I’ve had an increasing number of conversations with folks on the topics of diversity, inclusion, equality, and justice. These discussions we have with coworkers, members of the data community, family and friends are all valuable, and help us look at life in a different, more inclusive way.

Hi, I'm Andy. My pronouns are he/him.

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 05:01:47 -0400

Forget what you learned in school-- "they" is singular

Lots of folks want to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, but don’t know where to start. One great way to be an ally is relatively low-friction.

List your pronouns. Everywhere.

Put your pronouns in your social media profile & your email signature. Edit your LinkedIn profile. Put it on your business cards. Make your pronouns part of your introduction. “Hi, I’m Andy. My pronouns are he/him. Nice to meet you.”

Pride is a riot

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 08:30:10 -0400

Marsha P Johnson, LGBTQ rights activist & Stonewall instigator. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which mark the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the US. In the subsequent half century, the queer community has made significant strides in our march towards equality. Sodomy laws were struck down by the courts (but only as recently as 2003), same-sex couples can be married (state-by-state, starting in Massachusetts in 2004, and only with Federal recognition in 2015), and 21 states have enacted employment laws to fully protect employees from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. (As of today, 29 states still don't protect LGBTQ folks in the workplace: 12 states provide no protection, and 17 states provide only partial protection).

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bostock v Clayton County, GA that employment discrimination based on sexual orientation (including transgender folks) is a protected class under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This adds employment/workplace protections for LGBTQ folks in the 29 states where states had previously failed to enact protections. This ruling does not affect other aspects of queer lives, as this ruling is specific to workplace protections.

One of the key instigators of the Stonewall riots was Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson, a founder of the Gay Liberation Front, a devoted member of ACT UP, and co-founder of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries).

Supporting the LGBTQ #SQLFamily

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 22:54:39 -0400

I won’t be at PASS Summit this year, so unlike last year, I won’t be organizing an LGBTQ Meetup at PASS Summit. I’m hoping that even without the meetup, all my LGBTQ #SQLFamily friends will still get together for some fun and networking.

#LGBT channel on SQL Slack!

Tue, 14 May 2019 09:00:34 -0400

Last night while having dinner with my husband, I had a thought and messaged Chrissy LeMaire (blog|twitter) on the SQL Server Community Slack.

Thoughts on an LGBTQ channel here? I doubt it would be very active... But I'd love to have a spot for the data queers to find each other. Especially if anyone ever has a gay in the workplace question or whatever.

It was super duper late at night in Chrissy’s timezone, but I sent the message so I wouldn’t forget. Chrissy is one of the admins on the SQL Slack workspace, and fellow member of Team Gay, so I was really looking for validation that it was a good idea, and help getting it created.