Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI)
The Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity (SOGI) leads the American Bar Association's commitment to diversity,
inclusion, and full and equal participation by all LGBTQ+ persons in the
Association, legal profession, and society.
Your Gift Matters
Your gift to SOGI -- of $10, $100, $1,000, or more -- helps us continue to fight for LGBTQ+ individuals. These are but a few of our impactful offerings made possible by donors like you:
- ABA LGBT Public Interest Scholarship provides multiple yearly scholarships that empower law students to pursue the promotion of civil and human rights of LGBTQ+ persons and help secure full and equal treatment in the legal profession and justice system
- ABA Troubled Teen Industry Advocacy has been instrumental in raising awareness to the abhorrent issues teens, especially LGBTQ+ teens have and continue to face when placed into residential youth treatment facilities. SOGI has spearheaded ABA policy, educational programming, and lobbying to pass federal oversight legislation.
- LGBTQ+ Webinars feature Combatting LGBTQ+ Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession, Title VII US Supreme Court Decision, Sexual Orientation: The Legal Case for Coverage Under Title VII and more.
- Ally Toolkit provides everything needed to host programs and discussions on being an Ally to LGBTQIA+ persons.
- Annual Stonewall Awards recognize contributions by the Award recipients to the advancement of LGBTQ+ individuals in the legal profession, and/or to LGBTQ+ legal issues.
The ABA SOGI Commission exists
help protect and advance the rights and liberties of LGBTQ+ individuals and your generosity today is
instrumental to keeping this free service available for those needing legal
assistance.
Our Impact
The
SOGI Commission has greatly impacted the lives of many LGBTQ+ individuals since
its creation in 2012. SOGI has recognized 51 individuals with the ABA Stonewall
Award since 2013 including Lawyers, Judges, Professors, state and federal
politicians, and more. With the support of donors like you we can present these
outstanding individuals with awards in person at the ABA midyear meeting.
The Commission created the ABA LGBTQ+ Public Interest Scholarship Award in 2019 has awarded over a dozen $5,000 scholarships since then. All these scholarships were made possible by donor support. Many of our scholarship recipients have gone on to become instrumental in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Hear what a few have had to say over the year:
“Receiving the ABA Public Interest Scholarship has been one
of the affirming experiences for my personal and professional growth. Thanks to
this scholarship, I was able to develop a polished National Science Foundation
grant proposal with the Research Institute for Structural Change (RISC) for a
legal database project that helps anti-discrimination advocates” –Taylor Mills, 2023 recipient
“I’m incredibly grateful for the ABA LGBTQ+ Scholarship. The
award has helped make possible my summer public interest internship and my
legal education. With the ABA’s support, I have been able to further advance my
commitment to protecting LGBTQ+ rights in the South.” - Jordan Crosby, 2024 recipient
“The ABA SOGI Public Interest Scholarship has been instrumental in helping me fund the cost of moving to Atlanta and pursuing my work advocating for education justice on behalf of marginalized Black and Brown students in the Deep South…This scholarship has allowed me to do this incredibly important work without increasing my student debt, cementing the future viability of my career as a public interest attorney.” –Harry Chui, 2022 recipient
Volunteer
If you are interested in learning more about the SOGI Commission and its work, please contact the Commission director Skip Harsch at: skip.harsch@americanbar.org