Transgender: is there still fear in the workplace?

Lucy was nervous about how her colleagues would react. In her late twenties, she had decided to undertake gender transition, involving hormonal therapy. “I was born a different gender to who I am. I knew this would have to change and that time came when I was an adult, working a full time job,” says Lucy.

Transgenderism is being portrayed more widely and sympathetically in the media than ever before. One only has to look at Bruce Jenner or Chelsea Manning to see that the media and public focus more on their actions than their gender. But have our workplace attitudes caught up and is a more collaborative approach needed from employee and employer?

Bernard Reed, co­-founder of the Gender, Identity, Research and Education Society (GIRES) explains that around one in 100 people experience gender variance and the number who are willing to reveal this is growing at 20% a year. Among those under 19, the number is growing at 50% per annum.

In the UK we spend on average more than 10.2 years of our lives at work. If you’re suffering from discrimination, 10 years can feel like a lifetime. Pace, an LGBT mental health charity, reported that 48% of transgender people under the age of 26 have attempted suicide. This figure is startling considering the figure is 6% for all adults under 26.

In the end Lucy, who feared a negative reception from her colleagues, decided to sidestep the office awkwardness and moved from her sales jobs to become a freelancer. “I certainly felt down at times, mainly because the process was taking so long and [I was worried about] how I was going to survive working freelance.”

She accepts that she self-discriminated when deciding to leave her job, but also acknowledges that there was a “fear of the unknown”, something that needs to be addressed in her workplace. “It wasn’t that there was any immediate threat, it was just the fear of the unknown.”

In the UK’s Gender Recognition Act of 2004 and the 2010 Equality Act, discrimination on the basis of gender identity is officially recognised as unacceptable. Many large companies are starting to develop zero-tolerance approaches to discrimination.

David Shields, head of diversity and inclusion at Herbert Smith Freehills, says: “We position transgender as a visible and important part of our overall commitment to diversity and inclusion. We have an active LGBT network and the network aims to raise awareness of the range of issues within LGBT.” The company also has a scheme in place for those who are transitioning or undergoing surgery. “Our approach is to develop a plan with the person transitioning, which includes the time-off arrangements and how and to whom this is to be communicated.”

Leo, who transitioned 15 years ago, says his boss was “fantastically supportive” when he announced his intentions. Although he worked as a lawyer then, Leo now works as a freelance designer. “This was before being transgender was well known but, still, I think how I handled it worked wonders.”

Leo simply took his boss for a pint after work and explained what being transgender meant at a time when transitioning genders wasn’t so common. “I told him why I wasn’t happy and how the company should think about handling it. I remember him nodding at me – he never denied me a single request off work and, quite rightly, was thoroughly decent about the whole thing.”

Leo acknowledges that some people might not feel as comfortable doing that, which is why workplaces need to work on becoming more inclusive. Lucy says her boss was very supportive but she’s not sure she had the mental strength at the time to deal with potential challenges from clients or colleagues.

Reed says the 2010 Equality Act has helped tackle discrimination in the workplace against transgender people. “It’s reducing, at least anecdotally, especially in larger organisations. However, it still occurs too frequently. Especially as there’s more guidance around now for employers on how to support those identifying as transgender.”

GIRES publishes a handbook for employers and employees, which gives pointers to businesses on how they can develop work policy to prevent discrimination at work. The booklet suggests that businesses create a strong LGBT group, and that managers update the workplace absence management policy to ensure that those who transition can take time off to do so.

As well as creating an open environment, Leo says employees also needs to be proactive. “That’s what I did – maybe I was lucky, but honesty and transparency on both sides [were] certainly the best policy for me.”

The social impact hub is funded by Anglo American. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here.

Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox