There was news out of two local colleges this week that illustrated some of the next steps toward LGBT equality.
Bryn Mawr College on Monday announced it was expanding its admissions policy to welcome transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming students. The all-women’s college had been the subject of a petition by faculty, staff and students to clarify its policy; while not outright exclusionary, advocates said the school’s rules did not explicitly state that trans women were welcome to apply for admission. The move to revise the policy came after the school undertook “months of study and consultation.”
Also this week, University of Pennsylvania’s LGBT Center announced it has launched an LGBTQ Diversity Taskforce to address community inclusion in the university’s overarching Action Plan for Faculty Diversity. The university-wide initiative aims to ensure faculty-hiring practices take diversity into account; however, some critics said factors such as sexual orientation and gender identity were not being given equal attention in the plan. The taskforce also created a group for new faculty members to connect with LGBT campus resources.
Perhaps what’s most significant about both of these developments is that they’re taking places at institutions long thought of as having affirming, inclusive environments for LGBT people. Both Bryn Mawr and Penn rank high on lists of LGBT-friendly colleges, offer LGBT resource groups and areas of study and are involved in local community organizations and efforts. So that progress is still being made at already-progressive places is heartening.
Both of these issues may signify some of the overarching challenges coming down the pike for the LGBT-rights movement. While mainstream America is rapidly understanding who LGBT people are, just garnering acceptance that community members exist is not the end game. In many cases, work needs to be done to ensure full and equitable inclusion, fend off vestiges of discrimination and assuage decades of institutional homo- and transphobia. Progress begets progress; with each step forward our community takes, the next few steps become illuminated.
We applaud both Bryn Mawr and University of Pennsylvania’s LGBT Center for taking those steps.