Columbus, Ohio. December 19, 1997.

It's Time, Ohio! is pleased to announce that Lucent Technologies, the leading producer of telecommunications products, has adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity policy statement that includes protection for transgender and intersex employees.

In the EEO policy statement, Rich McGinn, president and CEO of Lucent Technologies, said
"Demonstrated commitment to equal opportunity is an investment in our people and our future growth. Consequently, a company that attracts, selects, develops and retains the best will remain the industry leader. Lucent's ongoing efforts in this direction will provide us with a critical, competitive advantage in the marketplace."

Lucent is leading the way in the creation of an open workplace. Lucent's new EEO policy contains specific language to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, characteristics, or expression. Lucent's wording creates a separate, but equal, status for transgender employees, next to the protection for sexual orientation. To our knowledge, Lucent Technologies is the first large company to provide specific language in its EEO policy to protect transgender employees.

Lucent's wording protects transsexuals ("gender identity"), intersex ("gender characteristics") and crossdressers ("gender expression".) The wording goes beyond these three narrow categories, protecting people whose gender presentation is nontraditional, including masculine women and feminine men.

Lucent's wording goes beyond a promise not to hire, fire, or promote based on gender issues or sexual orientation. Lucent also prohibits any discrimination or harassment of our employees.

Lucent's policy is to: ... prohibit unlawful discrimination or harassment because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, one's status as a special disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era, or because of a person's sexual orientation, gender identity characteristics or expression, in any employment decision or in the administration of any personnel policy;

It's Time, Ohio! would like to encourage other organizations and companies to follow Lucent's example, and add specific transgender language to their policy statements. To that end, we are making available the text of the Lucent Technologies EEO policy and the text of the glossary, specifying the meaning of these terms.

EQUAL! at Lucent Technologies is the Employee Business Partner diversity group for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered employees of Lucent Technologies. Its web site is http://www.equal.org/.

It's Time, Ohio! is the Ohio chapter of It's Time, America!, a transgender lobbying organization. Its web site is http://www.tgender.net/itoh/. The web site of It's Time, America! is http://www.tgender.net/ita/