6 Ways to Support Your Transgender & Nonbinary Employees

Transgender Remembrance Day is this Saturday. It honors the lives of those we lost in acts of anti-trans violence. WorkVision Consulting recognizes the importance of this day and is saddened by the enormous loss of life to this preventable death. According to PFLAG, 2021 “has already seen 45 transgender or gender non-conforming people die by violent means.”

The fight for trans-rights has always been challenging, iconic activists such as Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Monica Roberts, Lorena Borjas (Pictured above), and more all fought for the inclusion of transgender and non-binary individuals. They were dedicated to advocating for them and made tremendous strides and progress over the past few decades. In addition to honoring these revolutionary figures who have died, we believe it is incredibly important to continue advocating for transgender and non-binary people, especially in the workplace. 

According to HBR, a 2015 study of 27,715 transgender people showed, “a staggering 77% of those who had held a job in the year prior took active steps to avoid mistreatment at work, such as hiding their gender identity, delaying their gender transition (or living as their true selves only after work and on weekends), refraining from asking their employers to use their correct pronouns (he, she, they, ze), or quitting their jobs. Sixty-seven percent reported negative outcomes such as being fired or forced to resign, not being hired, or being denied a promotion.”

There are many ways that society has normalized the gender binary and gender norms that harm all of us. Here we address some of the ways it creeps into our policies and procedures and the changes we can make.

How to Support Transgender & Gender Nonbinary Employees

1. Share Pronouns

Sharing pronouns has become a more common practice in recent years and many people are choosing to do it on their social media platforms or when they meet new people. But how can you support this behavior at work?

First, having an optional place for employees to include their pronouns in their email signature. Encouraging people to do it if they want to, is a great place to start. This practice should always remain optional as you don’t want to force people to out themselves when they are not ready to share their gender. 

When discussing or asking for pronouns ensure that you eliminate the word ‘preferred’ from the conversation. Simply put, these are someone’s pronouns, it’s not a preference. 

Additionally, encourage leadership to share their pronouns when introducing themselves at company or team meetings. Others may join in by sharing their pronouns too.

2. Eliminate “he or she” language from all of your policies

Review your employee handbook and other policies, and change all language from “he or she” to “they”. Additionally, review policies like maternity leave and nursing mother policies. These should be gender-neutral too since nonbinary folks and transgender men can have babies. Change maternity leave to parental leave to be more inclusive and instead of assuming a lactating employee is a mother, say parent or employee.

Changing a maternity leave to a parental leave also benefits women at work. It helps to normalize the idea of male partners taking time to care for their children when men generally take less time off to care for a new child.

Also, ensuring that transgender employees are protected in your anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies is crucial.

3. Look at your dress code

Dress codes and uniforms have often been focused on the gender binary having specifics for men and others for women. Instead, ensure your dress code fits all employees. 

4. Bathroom access

If you work in an in-person environment, ensure that any single-use bathrooms are gender-neutral. If you don’t have one, consider adding one to the space. And check out the Book: Gender Ambiguity in the Workplace for more best practices on bathroom access and more.

5. Don’t assume gender

Leadership and HR should be trained on inclusive and gender-neutral language. Avoiding phrases like “ladies and gentleman” when addressing a crowd and avoiding assigning someone a pronoun before they have given theirs should be included. 

6. Host diversity trainings that address gender inclusion 

Host diversity trainings with transgender or non-binary speakers that address gender inclusion. This is a great way for employees to learn more about supporting their transgender and nonbinary coworkers. Training can educate them on a range of topics including pronouns, intersectionality, inclusive language, and more. Check out programs from the Equality Institute including their Transgender Awareness Week Programming and Blurred Lines. They also have digital learning options where employees can learn at their own pace.

Ensuring that your policies, procedures, and culture are inclusive of transgender and nonbinary employees is a crucial way to support everyone in the workplace. Allowing everyone to be their authentic selves regardless of their gender identity or expression, allows them to do their best work. 

If you need help assessing your workplace policies and procedures to ensure they are inclusive of all gender identities, reach out to info@workvisionconsulting.com for a free discovery call.