Post by benson on Jan 9, 2017 14:55:20 GMT
Vast majority of transgender workers face discrimination in workplace, study says
Nearly 80 percent of the nation’s transgender workers say they’ve experienced employment discrimination, harassment, or mistreatment, according to a report from a pair of think tanks.
Michaela Mendelsohn, a franchise owner of six El Pollo Loco restaurants in Southern California and a transgender woman herself, can tell you all about it.
“I do some mentoring at the Los Angeles LGBT Center and there was this girl from Honduras who had a great job history,” Mendelsohn said. “Things were going well in all of her job interviews until she finally had to show her ID and it showed a different gender. No one would hire her, but I did and she’s done great and is now on a management track at one of my restaurants.”
That’s one of the success stories. But Lee Schubert, author of “Women Incognitio: Transsexual Without Transition,” said it’s not uncommon for employers or fellow employees to pose rude and inappropriate questions to transgenders.
After years of internal anguish, Schubert, 74, of Morristown, New Jersey, opted to shift her gender identity from male to a female while in her 50s — but without hormones or surgery. As a “non-transition transsexual,” her journey toward acceptance of her true gender has been decadeslong, difficult and yet remarkable.
“Some people’s curiosity about transgenders will lead them to ask questions they wouldn’t ask other people,” she said. “One of the chief ones someone might ask is if you’d had transition surgery. That’s like asking a man if he’s been circumcised. And questions about your sexuality, like whether you are gay or straight, aren’t good questions to ask either. People shouldn’t be asking about your sex life.”
The study, “Paying an Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being Transgender,” shows that as many as 47 percent of trans workers report being unfairly denied a job. And 78 percent report being harassed, mistreated or discriminated against at work.
www.whittierdailynews.com/social-affairs/20170106/vast-majority-of-transgender-workers-face-discrimination-in-workplace-study-says
Another issue employers and coworkers grapple with is pronouns. How do you refer to someone — as he or she?
“You should simply ask what pronoun someone wants,” Schubert said. “The answer might be he or she, but some will want to be called ‘they’ because they don’t identify with either male or female. It can get confusing.”
These issues are uncharted waters for many employers. But the challenges transgenders face are just as real.
A 2015 report from the Center for American Progress and the Movement Advancement Project reveals that employment discrimination is a fact of life for trans people. And it has serious economic consequences.
Nearly 80 percent of the nation’s transgender workers say they’ve experienced employment discrimination, harassment, or mistreatment, according to a report from a pair of think tanks.
Michaela Mendelsohn, a franchise owner of six El Pollo Loco restaurants in Southern California and a transgender woman herself, can tell you all about it.
“I do some mentoring at the Los Angeles LGBT Center and there was this girl from Honduras who had a great job history,” Mendelsohn said. “Things were going well in all of her job interviews until she finally had to show her ID and it showed a different gender. No one would hire her, but I did and she’s done great and is now on a management track at one of my restaurants.”
That’s one of the success stories. But Lee Schubert, author of “Women Incognitio: Transsexual Without Transition,” said it’s not uncommon for employers or fellow employees to pose rude and inappropriate questions to transgenders.
After years of internal anguish, Schubert, 74, of Morristown, New Jersey, opted to shift her gender identity from male to a female while in her 50s — but without hormones or surgery. As a “non-transition transsexual,” her journey toward acceptance of her true gender has been decadeslong, difficult and yet remarkable.
“Some people’s curiosity about transgenders will lead them to ask questions they wouldn’t ask other people,” she said. “One of the chief ones someone might ask is if you’d had transition surgery. That’s like asking a man if he’s been circumcised. And questions about your sexuality, like whether you are gay or straight, aren’t good questions to ask either. People shouldn’t be asking about your sex life.”
The study, “Paying an Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being Transgender,” shows that as many as 47 percent of trans workers report being unfairly denied a job. And 78 percent report being harassed, mistreated or discriminated against at work.
www.whittierdailynews.com/social-affairs/20170106/vast-majority-of-transgender-workers-face-discrimination-in-workplace-study-says
Another issue employers and coworkers grapple with is pronouns. How do you refer to someone — as he or she?
“You should simply ask what pronoun someone wants,” Schubert said. “The answer might be he or she, but some will want to be called ‘they’ because they don’t identify with either male or female. It can get confusing.”
These issues are uncharted waters for many employers. But the challenges transgenders face are just as real.
A 2015 report from the Center for American Progress and the Movement Advancement Project reveals that employment discrimination is a fact of life for trans people. And it has serious economic consequences.
