Through City’s exclusive job fair, LGBTs get a shot at employent
FOR the first time in Cebu, a job fair that caters solely to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) community was organized by the Cebu City Government.
Nine companies joined the job fair, most of which are business process outsourcing firms (BPOs)
The two-day activity at the Active Zone of Ayala Center Cebu was spearheaded by the City’s LGBT Help Desk.
“We are doing this LGBT-focused job fair because we want to make a statement that we want to promote zero discrimination in the recruitment process. We also want to promote economic equality among the members of our community here. If a straight person can get a job, why not a member of our community?” City Tourism Officer Punky Oliverio said in a press conference yesterday.
The LGBT job fair, he said, is the first to be held in the country.
Oliverio said they want to promote anti-discrimination in the hiring process since there are still LGBTs who cannot get a job because of their sexual orientation.
He said he himself experienced this when he applied for a job in one of the top accounting firms in the country several years ago.
There are also BPOs that don’t accept transgenders, he added.
Former councilor Alvin Dizon, who authored the Cebu City Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, also said there is one university in Cebu, which he refused to name, that does not accept teachers who are members of the LGBT community.
“As the principal author of the ordinance, I am very happy that the City is starting its implementation by institutionalizing programs and projects for the minority sectors. After all, the spirit of the ordinance is to protect the rights of all citizens regardless of sexual orientation, age, ethnicity and religion,” he said yesterday.
Judy Ann Urdaneta of the LGBT Help Desk said the companies that joined the job fair are Convergys, SupportSave Solutions, ePerformax, Teleperformance, Accenture, Dunkin Donuts, Watsons, Rulls Cellphones and Accessories Inc. and McDonalds.
The positions offered at the job fair include customer service representatives, technical support representatives, sales representatives, financial service experts, warehouse staff, sales staff, cashiers, audit staffs, sales and marketing manager, finance manager and training officers, among many others.
Oliverio said the job fair is also one way of documenting the LGBTs in the city and knowing what barangays they are from.
In a related development, Dizon disclosed that the City will convene on or before Dec. 10 the Anti-Discrimination Commission, as required by the ordinance.
The commission, he said, will lay down activities, including job fairs, to promote anti-discrimination among LGBT members.