Two-thirds of trans people in England prefer to hide their gender identity at work

Two-thirds of trans people in England prefer to hide their gender identity at work.

TO understand the challenges and opportunities for the trans workforce to belong in the workplace, Totaljobs Research and Sparkle – The National Transgender Charity – compared their 2021 trans employee experiences survey findings with the results of the original 2016 survey, to highlight how workplace experiences have changed for trans people in the past five years.

In 2016, around half (52 per cent) of trans people didn’t reveal their gender identity at work – in 2021, the number is closer to two-thirds (65 per cent) a survey carried out by Totaljobs has found.

“Many from the LGBTQ+ community simply don’t want to be out at work, and it’s not getting better for trans people,” said the research company.

“Facing discriminatory treatment by colleagues and suffering a lack of understanding of their identities by colleagues, trans workers are not able to bring their whole selves to their jobs. There’s work to be done to build truly inclusive and welcoming workplaces,” it added.

People’s main concerns centre around finding a job and how being out might affect their career progression.

Some 56 per cent of trans people believe it’s harder for them to find a job, while 53 per cent think they experience more barriers to progress to senior positions than non-trans people.

Around a third (33 per cent) of those surveyed said they have experienced discrimination in job interviews and applications.

When asked what they look for when considering a new role, a third of those who took part in the survey said they want to know if a company has trans-specific policies in place.

Some 53 per cent of trans people said they are interested in learning, 51 per cent said the company culture is important and almost half (43 per cent) look for company reviews.

In 2016, 38 per cent of trans workers said they’d experienced discrimination from their colleagues – in 2021, that’s down to 25 per cent – “so, there have been some improvements over the last five years,” said Totaljobs.

However, feminist author and trans campaigner, Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir, stressed: “Until trans people can feel 100 per cent confident to be themselves at work, we have work to do.”

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