15 Challenges Transgender and Queer Employees Face at Work
Transgender and non-binary employees experience obstacles cisgendered do not.
In recent years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights at the workplace have seen progress in countries worldwide.
For some LGBTQ professionals and employees, being open about gender orientation and gender identity on the job no longer have the same stigma and repercussions as they might have in the recent past.
However, many challenges remain for LGBTQs, including whether to “come out” at work, how to respond when a manager, colleague, client, or customer makes homophobic remarks, how to respond when being treated as “different” or “strange,” how to deal with negative office gossip, how to deal with workplace bullying and harassment, and how to cope with inadequate or no employment health benefit coverage for LGBTQ significant others and dependents, to name just a few examples.
In particular, for transgender and non-binary (gender-queer) employees, there continue to be significant difficulties regarding how to conduct themselves in various workplace environments. There may be heightened stress and anxiety over scenarios that may lead to rejection, ridicule, hostility, or institutional persecution.
Here are fifteen challenges transgender and non-binary/genderqueer employees often experience in the workplace. Depending on the individual and her/his/their circumstances and environment, the number and degree of difficulties differ.
1. When meeting or being introduced for the first time, how to deal with managers’, coworkers’, clients’ or customers’ surprised, often automatic and disconfirming verbal and nonverbal social cues (i.e., starring incredulously, avoiding eye contact, etc.).
2. How to respond when identified and called with the incorrect pronoun, either mistakenly or deliberately, by managers, colleagues, staff, clients, and/or customers.
3. How to fill out employment and human resource documents (i.e., healthcare, marital status, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement, other benefits) which allow only “male” and “female” designations. Relatedly, whether they will receive gender-affirming healthcare, life, and disability insurance coverage.
4. How to deal with professional exclusion at the office (i.e., not called on during meetings, not engaging in eye contact, not asked for input, not invited to join projects and task groups).
5. How to deal with professional exclusion from meeting clients, customers, or visitors due to transphobic/queerphobic discomfort and embarrassment.
6. How to deal with transphobic/queerphobic comments, stereotypes, or questions (i.e., “YOU want to have children?”) whether such utterances are made innocently or maliciously.
7. How to deal with transphobic/queerphobic micro-aggressions and passive-aggressions on the job (i.e., teasing, sarcasm, avoidance, incompliance, procrastination, excuse-making, project sabotage).
8. How to deal with social exclusion at the office (i.e., excluded from “watercooler talk,” informal office conversations, an invitation to coffee, lunch, or other employee social activities).
9. How to deal with transphobic/queerphobic negative gossip at work and on colleagues’ social media.
10. Potential complaints from coworkers, clients, and/or customers who do not wish to work with/be serviced by a transgender/queer staff.
11. Whether to use the “women’s” or “men’s” restroom at the office due to lack of gender-neutral facility or inadequate signage. Relatedly, how to deal with potential complaints from coworkers, clients, and/or customers not comfortable with the transgender/queer employee using gender-specific public restrooms.
12. Whether they will be allowed to participate in networking and professional development opportunities intended for “women professionals.”
13. When well-qualified (or best qualified), deal with rejection from promotions, advancement, and other opportunities due to possible transphobia/queerphobia.
14. How to deal with openly transphobic/queerphobic bullying, hostility, aggression, and abuse from coworkers, customers, or clients.
15. How to deal with demotion or layoff from employment due to potential transphobia/queerphobia, with inadequate legal employment protection against gender orientation and gender identity discrimination.
