At another career fair, once Cameron mentioned his gender fluidity, a recruiter offered a weeklong assignment only if Cameron promised to dress “consistently.” Cameron found that the only way to secure employment was to hide any mention of gender fluidity and try to pass as a cisgender man in the workplace, a compromise that got her a job but wreaked havoc on her mental and emotional well-being. At one career fair, while Cameron was dressed in feminine clothing, recruiters gave her a wide berth due to her appearance. You need to be comfortable, so you need to tell me.”Ĭameron, a gender-fluid person who used both he/him and she/her pronouns, had difficulty finding a job. When Sawyer mentioned that he was fine with either he/him or she/her, the interviewer refused to take that as an answer, saying, “You need to choose right now. Sawyer, a trans man who used he/him pronouns, applied to a company early on in his transition where his interviewer aggressively asked him his pronouns. Attempts at trans inclusion tended to classify individuals as either “male” or “female” and didn’t make space for those in between or outside the binary, and they didn’t address why such a question would be necessary in the first place. Hiring managers typically expect trans people to self-disclose during the hiring process. Hiring practices were one specific place where we identified the systemic failure of inclusive policy. De-gendering dress codes in favor of more specificity.Building gender-inclusive facilities, like bathrooms and locker rooms.Providing opportunities for individual self-identification beyond the binary “man” and “woman”.Respecting the pronouns individuals use for themselves.Not assuming individuals’ gender identities or pronouns.Reducing the amount of gender information collected unless absolutely necessary.When training individuals on company policy (especially recruiters, hiring managers, and people managers), explicitly state that acting in accordance with nondiscrimination policies requires: For example, gender transition policies often include company-wide emails to announce an individual’s gender transition, as well as company-wide trainings. Most organizations - including some of the most progressive companies - interpret this policy as, “If you identify as transgender, we will not discriminate against you.” This interpretation requires transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people to out themselves for their own protection, exchanging their privacy for support. Interpret Nondiscrimination Policies in a Way That’s Actually EffectiveĮxisting policies that ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression are usually worded as well as they should be, but they’re rarely enforced in a way that’s actually protective. Through our research, including the personal stories included in this article, we identified four ways company leaders can create policies that empower individual agency, make room for experiences outside of the gender binary, and ensure access to resources and quality of working life for people of all gender identities and expressions. The answer isn’t more policy, but better policy. In their efforts to create inclusive policies and practices for trans people, even progressive organizations can inadvertently entrench outdated and restrictive norms about gender. What became apparent over the course of this research was that even organizations that have some understanding of “transgender issues” are poorly equipped to respond to gender-nonconforming employees. This group included transgender men and women, gender-fluid people, nonbinary people, cisgender but gender-nonconforming men and women, and many others who challenged societal gender norms. Alison Fogarty and I analyzed similar stories of discrimination from dozens of people under the transgender umbrella. Transgender Survey revealed that one in six respondents who had ever been employed reported being fired, denied a promotion, harassed, or attacked because of their gender identity or expression. At Stanford University, Dr. The National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2015 U.S. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the attitudes of Millennials and Gen Zers, who are more likely to know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns and to embrace fluid and gender-nonconforming fashion.ĭespite this, our workplaces lag behind these demographic and cultural shifts. With transgender people on the cover of magazines, prominent celebrities challenging gender norms in fashion, and the mainstreaming of people who identify as neither men nor women, the last few decades of cultural trends have brought new ideas about gender to the forefront. We’re in the midst of a fundamental transformation in how society thinks about gender.
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