Workplace

How to make transgender employees feel valued at work.

“Most of my stress that comes from work is related to just anxiety and worry [about interactions with coworkers], just constantly wondering about things that have happened and what might happen.”

Link: https://hbr.org/2020/03/creating-a-trans-inclusive-workplace

Change the culture of professional and social spaces to be more welcoming for your peers, and for everyone who comes after you.

Trans people deal with hiring discrimination and harassment in the office environment, such as deadnaming and misgendering. Additionally, transgender people who are undergoing gender transition in the middle of their employment have to manage legal name changes, medical changes, coming out to coworkers, concerns about when to disclose gender identity to hiring managers, supervisors, coworkers, and clients, and more.

Link: https://esteamane.medium.com/how-to-make-your-workplace-safe-and-inclusive-for-trans-and-nonbinary-people-c336c542cf21

This model policy and guide will clarify the law and help your company welcome and include transgender, gender non-conforming, and transitioning employees.

This policy sets forth guidelines to address the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming employees and clarifies how the law should be implemented in situations where questions may arise about how to protect the legal rights or safety of such employees.

Link: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/resources/employment/modelpolicy

Trans Can Work (TCW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California and is committed to advancing workplace inclusion through innovative training strategies and workforce development.

When thinking about younger generations, we know that in the year 2025, millennials will represent 75% of the workforce. And millennials are more than 2xs as likely to identify as LGBTQ and more likely to identify as non-binary or genderfluid than previous generations. For employers, it is no longer a matter of what to do if they have transgender employees, but a matter of preparing for when they have transgender employees.

Link: https://transcanwork.org/

Transgender Inclusion & the Business Case

From supportive Human Resource leaders to transitioning employees, we heard a loud and clear request to create a guide helping make these critical policies real in the day-to-day workplace environment.

Link: https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/Transgender_Inclusion_in_the_Workplace_A_Toolkit_for_Employers_Version_10_14_2016.pdf

Content Warning: This book contains outdated and medicalized language.

Common workplace issues, such as pronoun usage, dress codes, restroom use, employee transfers, and health insurance, are addressed. A wider concept of transgender is also introduced as it pertains to crossdressers, transgenderists, intersex people, post-transition transsexuals, and others. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Transsexual-Workers-Employers-Janis-Walworth/dp/0966548825

Consider strategies to make language as gender-inclusive as possible, including using gender-neutral endings or nongendered terms. Avoid reinforcing gender stereotypes or bias and only specify gender when it is relevant or necessary and known. For example, use chairperson instead of chairman; use police officer instead of policeman; use congressional representative or legislator.

Link: https://www.aap.org/en/about-the-aap/american-academy-of-pediatrics-equity-and-inclusion-efforts/words-matter-aap-guidance-on-inclusive-anti-biased-language/

Content Warning: This book contains outdated and medicalized language.

Working with a Transsexual is a short, easy-to-read source of information for people who have a transsexual in their workplace. It conveys a basic understanding of transsexualism and transition and answers questions that coworkers typically ask. The book includes photographs of transsexuals who work in a variety of professions, and it has a resource list for readers who seek further information on this issue.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Transsexual-Coworkers-Janis-Walworth/dp/0966548817

Guidelines should be made accessible for employees, supervisors and human resources professionals as needed.

In the absence of a [gender transition plan]… managers don’t know what to do, and that can lead to grievances and lawsuits.

Link: https://www.thehrcfoundation.org/professional-resources/workplace-gender-transition-guidelines 

A grassroots organization supporting gender and sexual civil rights in Washington state.

We work for a state where transgender and gender diverse people come together to create healthy, safer and engaging ways of life, free from discrimination at the institutional, systemic/structural, and social levels of our society.

Link: https://www.genderjusticeleague.org/

A non-profit organization with great web resources regarding state by state queer and gender rights. They also have a legal help desk you can email or call to discuss your concern.

Lambda Legal, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

Link: https://www.lambdalegal.org/

Call: (510) 587-9696

Helpdesk Link: https://www.lambdalegal.org/helpdesk 

I write to help cisgender people understand that all trans people want is to be simply understood, accepted and treated as a normal person. We are.

I will no longer feel any guilt nor will I let anyone make me feel guilty. This is not a choice for me. They can choose to leave me but I can’t. It is who and what I am. Everyone else will need to accept it.

Link: https://medium.com/prismnpen/my-transgender-manifesto-revisited-a2f376068b90

Paid Family and Medical Leave is a new benefit for Washington workers. It’s here for you when a serious health condition prevents you from working or when you need time to care for a family member, bond with a new child or spend time with a family member preparing for military service overseas.

Paid Family and Medical Leave lets you take paid time off when you need it most, offering stability and peace of mind so you can focus on what matters.

Link: https://paidleave.wa.gov/ 

Guidelines should be made accessible for employees, supervisors and human resources professionals as needed.

In the absence of a [gender transition plan]… managers don’t know what to do, and that can lead to grievances and lawsuits.

Link: https://www.thehrcfoundation.org/professional-resources/workplace-gender-transition-guidelines