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Coming Out at Work: Personal Stories, Professional Lives
By Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr.
August 11, 2006
This article originally appeared on DiversityInc.com on June 13,
2004
Being open about sexual orientation and gender identity for gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender (GLBT) professionals often is a challenge. Whether to
come out at work and when to make an announcement are personal decisions many
GLBTs think about considerably. To commemorate Gay Pride Month, DiversityInc
will post every Friday during June personal stories about coming out at work.
Each vignette will focus on the results of when and how one person made the
decision to be open in his or her professional life.
Barbara Ellen Allen Technical Assistant,
Entergy
Born as Robert ("Bob"), the road to coming out at work as transgendered for
Barbara Ellen Allen has been a life-long process. "I remember at the age of 5
being dressed as a girl for Halloween," said Allen. "I felt quite normal. I
still have the picture." Allen was married in 1968, while
attending Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa. She was a pre-med student
and a devoted member of the swim team. During the first year of marriage, her
wife discovered her transgendered feelings when she discovered women's clothing
among Allen's possessions. Instead of immediately getting a divorce, they went
to psychotherapy. Despite her personal turmoil at that time, Allen completed a
bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. She even represented her
college at the national diving championships. Her marriage endured the initial
problems, eventually producing two daughters. Both daughters now are married and
one has children of her own.
After graduation, she chose not to pursue a career in medicine. Instead, she
took a job testing water chemistry in 1970 for Metropolitan Edison Company in
Reading, Pa. That company merged in 1972 with other utility companies to form
General Public Utilities (GPU). As a result, Allen became part of the GPU
chemistry department.
When the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which was owned and operated
by GPU, had its infamous partial meltdown in 1979, Allen was assigned by GPU the
day after the accident to a team of chemists to determine the extent of the
damage.
During these years, Allen was struggling with her gender identity in private
without much support from anyone, including her wife. Her daughters were not
told about her transgendered feelings until 1999. This isolation created a
difficult existence for her, especially on the job. "There's definitely a macho
environment [in the energy industries] that inhibits people from coming out [at
work]," said Allen.
Allen took her extensive work experience to New Orleans-based Entergy in
1984. She was hired as manager of the chemistry department at its Waterford 3
nuclear-power plant, about 30 miles north of New Orleans. She now is a technical
assistant at Waterford. Her duties include researching codes and standards for
procurement projects.
When her marriage ended in 2000 after her wife filed for divorce, Allen
finally felt that she could move forward with her life. By the end of that year,
she had revealed her transgendered status at work.
"Entergy has been totally accepting [of me]," said Allen. She attributes this
acceptance to many factors, including Entergy's diversity initiative.
"The CEO is very progressive. I evaluated whether to stay and reveal myself
or go somewhere else and do it. In the end, I knew that here I would have the
most support," she said.
Although she has had a good experience at Entergy, Allen did encounter
resistance. Objections from a few women precluded her use of all women's
facilities. She was forced to use the urinalysis facility as her bathroom and
locker room, which required her to walk to another building that was open only
during specific working hours. This situation did not change until her gender
reassignment surgery in 2002.
Allen never has made it her goal to have everyone know about her personal
history, but she also no longer feels the need to hide it from people. "A secret
like that is very hard to keep," said Allen. "When employees are allowed to be
themselves, it plays a big part in getting the best out of them
professionally."
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