Sexual Orientation

Within the United States, our commitment to the principle of equal opportunity has proven quite flexible, frequently expanding to provide coverage to groups that hadn't before been regarded as deserving of protection. There is much research within this field examining whether formal guarantees of equality are delivering meaningful protection against discrimination and bias.

Discrimination

To what extent do employers take sexual orientation into account in their hiring decisions? Has discrimination of this sort become less common? Or simply more covert? Does standard employment law suffice in providing protection to gays and lesbians?

Public opinion and sexual orientation

Are most gays and lesbians experiencing prejudice and intolerance on a daily basis? Do long-standing prejudices live on in deep and concealed form even as people adopt a veneer of socially accepted attitudes? Can intolerance be successfully rooted out among people who have been exposed to intolerance from early on?