The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender Individuals

1. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender Individuals 2011 Out and Equal Workplace Summit Zoe Kuznia October 27, 2011

2. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender Individuals The following is a compilation and personal interpretation of publicly available resources for educational purposes only and does not reflect the views of Genentech. Consult a medical professional before undertaking any course of treatment.

3. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender Individuals • Trans 101 (A Brief Overview) • Social Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Inclusive Workplaces as a Solution • Transition Policy • Inclusive Healthcare Benefits • Q & A

4. Trans 101 (A Brief Overview)

5. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsTrans 101 (A Brief Overview) • Gender • The set of behavioral, cultural or psychological traits typically associated with the sex assigned at birth • Gender Systems • Gender Binary • A two-component system of gender with designations of male OR female. • Gender Spectrum • A two-component system of gender with designations of male OR female. • Gender Models • Biological Gender • Gender based upon genitalia, reproductive organs, etc. (physical) • Gender Identity • Gender as one perceives oneself to be. (internal) • Social Gender • Gender as one presents oneself to the world, interacts with society as. (external) • Sexual Orientation • An individual’s preference for a sexual partner based upon the gender of that partner.

6. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsTrans 101 (A Brief Overview) Biological sex - Anatomy Male Intersex Female Gender identity – Internal sense of one’s gender Man (Genderqueer) Woman Social gender (Expression)– Presentation/ Perception Masculine Androgynous Feminine1 Orientation – Attraction to others To women Bisexual To men

7. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsTrans 101 (A Brief Overview) • Transgender • A person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from that person’s assigned gender at birth. • Cross-dresser/ transvestite • Drag Queen/ Drag King/ Impersonator • Intersex • Transsexual • Genderqueer • 0.3% of the US population is estimated to be transgender.

8. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsTrans 101 (A Brief Overview) • Transsexuality • Elements of Transition • Self Ideation • Therapy • Support • Coming Out • Family • Friends • Work • Hormones • Hair removal (Male to Female) • Voice training (Male to Female) • Real Life Experience • Surgery

9. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsTrans 101 (A Brief Overview) • Transsexuality • Surgeries Associated with Transition • Breast Augmentation/ Removal Therapy • Facial Feminization / Masculinization • Orchiectomy/ Hysterectomy • Genital/Sexual Reassignment Surgery

10. Social Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals

11. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Employment Discrimination • There are 35 states which do not offer employment protection for gender identity or expression (and 29 which do not for sexual orientation).

12. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Employment Discrimination11 • Unemployment Rate is twice as high amongst Transgender Individuals than in the general population (4 X higher in trans people of color) • 47% Experienced Adverse Outcome (Fired, Not Hired, Denied Promotion, etc.) • 26% lost a job due to being Transgender • 50% were harrassed • To cope with discrimination: • 71% tried to hide their gender/ gender transition • 57% tried to delay it. • 78% who transitioned from one gender to another felt their job performance improved.

13. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Healthcare Discrimination • When Healthcare for Transsexual Individuals is excluded from Insurance Coverage: • Individuals may turn to self-medication • Individuals’ care is not monitored • Individuals may not receive medically necessary care because it is cost-prohibitive • Other Healthcare concerns include: • Dual gender health issues • Stigmatization due to diagnosis

14. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Healthcare Discrimination • 19% have been denied care due to their transgender status • 50% of patients have had to teach their providers about transgender care • In a 4-year medical education curriculum, approximately 5 minutes is spent teaching about LGBT care12 • 28% have postponed care due to discrimination • 48% have postponed care due to an inability to afford it. • The Cascade • Unemployment/ losing a job due to bias and being unable to access medically necessary healthcare can lead to a series of debilitating negative outcomes.

15. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Homelessness3 • Twice the rate of the general population • Shelter discrimination • Coping Mechanisms • Drug/ Alcohol Abuse5 • 70% higher rate among unemployed TG individuals (to cope with mistreatment) • Sex Work • Twice as likely to work in the underground economy

16. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • HIV Issues • More than twice the rate of HIV infection • Modes of Transmission6 • Drug Injection • Injection of Non-Prescription Hormones • Silicone Injection • Unprotected Sex Suicide Prevalence8 41% had attempted it according to the NCTE study, 55% amongst those who had lost a job to bias (vs 1.6% in the general population).

17. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Identification Issues • Only 21% have been able to update all of their ID • 41% had not been able to update their driver’s license/ state ID • 40% have been harassed when presenting mismatched ID • Surgical Status Dependency • Lack of Agreement between State and Federal • Anti-Trans Violence7 • Transgender Day of Remembrance • Police/ Prison System Issues5 • 22% have been harassed by police • 85% higher incarceration rate among unemployed TG individuals • Housing with birth gender inmates • 16% report physical assault • 15% report sexual assault • Denial of medical care

18. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsSocial Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals • Facilities Usage • Restroom/ Locker room ordinances • Retaliatory campaigns • Media depiction • AP style guidelines9 • Divisiveness within the Community • G-L-B-T vs. GLBT • Transsexual Fundamentalism • Transwomen vs. Transmen

19. Inclusive Workplaces as a Solution

20. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution • The onus of providing Workplace Equality for Transgender Individuals falls upon the employer • The first step toward providing this is including gender identity and gender expression in your company’s non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity policies • This lets individuals belonging to these groups know that they are accepted at their workplace • Gender expression provisions also include expression of individuals already covered under sexual orientation policies • Policies help to increase the visibility of transgender individuals • Visibility helps to change the zeitgeist of what transgender is and isn’t

21. Transition Policy

22. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution –Transition Policy • Crafting a Transition Policy will allow for streamlined operations with a minimum of disruption to employees • It is far easier to proactively establish a policy before it is needed than to be scrambling in reaction when an employee transitions. • A Transition Policy should: • Be designed to assist a transgender employee rather than present a series of obstacles to them • Have a framework, but be customizable based upon a TG individual’s needs • Should be used to respectfully, discretely, and confidentially inform affected employees of a coworker’s transition • Gender transition is confidential medical information • The transgender employee and HR should agree upon the scope of who should be told about their transition and the timing of this disclosure. • Due to the easily shared nature of electronic communications it may be appropriate to disseminate information via confidential hard copy or verbally. • Communication should reinforce the company’s ND/ EEO policies

23. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution – Transition Policy • Educating HR personnel, management, and affected coworkers about transgender issues is an appropriate part of a transition policy • The transgender employee should be allowed to articulate their transition to their coworkers as part of the process. • A number of employer-facilitated changes may be necessary for a transitioning employee. • Name/ Gender Marker change • In corporate systems • With Payroll • With Benefits • On ID, placards, name tags, uniforms • Photo ID change • Log-in/ Unique Corporate ID • Uniform changes

24. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution – Transition Policy • Facilities Usage (Restroom, Locker Room, Change Room) • There are a number of ways to address this: • Transitioning Employee is allowed to use the Facilities of their target gender when they begin reporting to work consistently presenting as that gender • Transitioning Employee is allowed to use certain designated facilities of their target gender, some facilities are not-accessible until after gender reassignment surgery. Non-trans employees are made aware of which facilities they may use if they are not comfortable sharing facilities with transgender individual. • Creates an environment of Inequality • Violates medical confidentiality of trans employee • Gives license to discrimination • Gender Reassignment Surgery is not Clinically Indicated for all TS individuals • Transitioning Employee is not allowed to use the Facilities of their target gender until they undergo Gender Reassignment Surgery • Creates blatantly Inequality • Discrimination in Corporate Policy • Violates Medical Confidentiality • Gender Reassignment Surgery not Clinically Indicated for all TS Individuals • Forces someone with one social presentation to use the facilities of another while meeting requirements for surgery (may be a year or more).

25. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution – Transition Policy • Transition Policy (continued) • Non-trans employees should have someone available to talk to about questions or concerns. • This person should be educated on the issue or receive proper scripting to deal with situations. • The trans employee should be informed of the appropriate channels through which to report discrimination.

26. Inclusive Healthcare Benefits

27. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution • To truly establish an environment of Equality for Transgender Individuals you should not discriminate against them in your healthcare offerings. • If you are not already offering a healthcare plan which covers transgender care this sends the message that your transgender employees are different/ have less merit/ worth than your non-transgender employees.

28. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution Basic Suite of Transgender Healthcare Benefits (former HRC CEI recommendations)

29. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution Additional Benefits from HRC CEI v 3.0

30. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution Other Practical Benefits that Bear Coverage Consideration

31. The Role that Workplace Equality Plays in the Life of Transgender IndividualsInclusive Workplaces as a Solution • General Inclusion • If you have an LGBT ERG, be sure to include the T • Offer Transgender Education topics • Invite Transgender Members to join • Include Trans Events/ Groups in your Agenda (Drag is not per se a Trans Event) • Be prepared to let go • For many being trans is a circumstance of becoming oneself and is not per se a celebrated identity. Understand that a trans person may not want to participate in an LGBT group and may prefer anonymity.

32. References

33. Beyond Transition: Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals and the Need for Inclusive WorkplacesReference 1 The Intersection of Medical Science, Health, and Civil Rights. Kate O’Hanlon, PhD. Stanford Queer Medicine Series. April 3, 2009. 2 Suicide Prevention Current Trends - Risk Factors and Intervention Strategies for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. http://helpstartshere.org/LGBTYouth/tabid/886/language/en-US/Default.aspx. Social Workers Help Starts Here.2009. 3 State of Transgender California. http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/pdf/StateofTransCAFINAL.pdf. Transgender Law Center. March 2009. • 4 H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009. http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/2009/09/hr-3017-employment-non-discrim.shtml. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. September 23, 2009. 5 Counseling Lesbian, Gay, Transgender Substance Abusers: Dual Lives. http://books.google.com/books?id=I32nHF_gaTsC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=percentage+of+drug+use+transgender&source=bl&ots=qOzKLs8g8d&sig=yeBkcdae9vd-EJN6_5OEjqqDkmM&hl=en&ei=E9C2SqOiOpOmsgOQpu3RDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=percentage%20of%20drug%20use%20transgender&f=false. Dana G. Finnegan. Emily B McNally.2002.

34. Beyond Transition: Issues Faced by Transgender Individuals and the Need for Inclusive WorkplacesReference 6 Trans Community Service Needs. JoAnne Keatley, MSW. Jae Sevelius, PhD. Center of Excellence for Transgender HIV Prevention. 2009. 7 How Do Transgender People Suffer from Discrimination? http://www.hrc.org/issues/1508.htm. Human Rights Campaign. 8 Suicide Risk and Prevention for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth. http://www.sprc.org/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf. Suicide Prevention Resource Center. 2008. 9 Press Inquiries: Style Guide for Covering Transgender People http://www.transgenderlaw.org/press.htm. Transgender Law and Policy Institute. 11/07/06. 10 Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act Becomes Law!. http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/gwen/. Transgender Law Center. 11 Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey http://www.transequality.org/PDFs/Executive_Summary.pdf 12 Med Schools Fall Short On LGBT Education http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/09/07/140246309/med-schools-fall-short-on-lgbt-education