FINAL 72 HOURS

Running head: TRANSGENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE 1

TRANSGENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE 2

Transgender Equality in The Workplace

February 14, 2021

Transgender Equality in The Workplace

It is not a secret that every day transgender people face barriers at their places of work that make it hard for them to perform their jobs. Most of them are forced to hide or deny their true gender identity, because of the challenges that come with its open expression (Robinson, 2014). Therefore, it is essential to research, study, and report on the issues of transgender equality in the workplace. Taking information and ensuring that all the facts are presented to make the most logical conclusion is critical. Part of the research process on the issue of transgender equality includes reviewing literature that is available on the topic. Carrying out literature review is important because it provides a description of how the current research relates to previous research in the topic, its originality, and relevance.

Literature Review

Collins, McFadden, Rocco, and Mathis (2015) explain that there is undervaluing of the dialogue about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in human resource development. They explain that most of human resource development research relating to LGBT has put focus on sexual orientation, hence giving little attention to the transgender group. The authors explain that to create a diverse and inclusive workplace in the organization, the issues facing transgender people like transgender equality must be effectively addressed. Collins, McFadden, Rocco, and Mathis (2015 explain that there is lack of understanding about what exactly it means to be transgender. The purpose of the article was to depict experiences of transgender people as important and relevant issues for human resource development. They provided suggestions of critical actions that human resource development should employee to ensure a workplace environment that provides equality for transgender people.

In his study, Davidson (2016) used the national transgender discrimination survey to perform the evaluation of employment outcomes of non-binary transgender people. He explains that nonbinary transgenders issues are not widely known or understood. According to Davidson (2016), transgender people have reports of hardships in securing and maintaining employment because of their gender identity and open expression. Trans gender inequality is witnessed in the article because Davidson (2016) explains that the rate of unemployment for transgender people is approximated to be twice as high as cisgender people. This is supported by Davis (2019). He explains that creating awareness of issues involving transgender people is what will help managers, employees, and the human resource development to create a transgender equality environment.

In their research, Dietert and Dentice (2015) focused on the experiences of transgender service member in the United States military. Little was known about the transgender group even though studies had been conducted on other groups such as the lesbian and gay groups. The two argued that transgender people are as capable as anyone else in serving their country. They used a combination of snowball sampling, telephone interviews, and questionnaires as well as collecting data from transgender personnel active in service to develop the discussion, conclusion, and recommendation. They concluded that transgender people in the military one not treated equally and there was need to battle for their rights at the workplace. The fact is that people do not really have a normalcy for the people that decide to be transgender. There is no feeling of acceptance because it is something that is different and has recently been dramatized by those that are transgender.

The lack of transgender equality at the workplace is what is supported by Zheng and Fogarty (2018) in their article. The two authors performed an analysis of the relationship between performance and gender identity in the workplace in their book. While carrying out their research, they considered the economic and emotional survival of the employees that identified as transgender. The authors claim that issues of transgender identity are mostly ignored in the workplace, and transgender employees are often discriminated (Zheng & Fogarty, 2018). They argued that the performance of transgender employees decreases with the lack of transgender equality at the workplace because they cannot effectively carry out their duties. This is because they are already worn out by carrying around the emotional baggage of having to hide or suffer from their open expression of their gender identity.

The revelation is supported by Kollen (2016) as he describes how transgender issues have remained marginalized topics in the discussion of diversity and inclusion at the workplace. Kollen (2016) explains that to improve the performance of transgender employees, organizations should rethink their goals of workforce diversity, transgender equality, and structure of diversity management programs. There should be independent organizations that come up with methods that the workplace can implement into the workforce to ensure that everyone is treated fairly no matter of the issue.

In his other book published in the same year, Kollen (2016) describes how there is shortage of literature on issues relating to bisexual, homosexual, and transgender employees. He explains that there is need for emphasis to be placed on the equal consideration of transgender issues both in research and practice. He explains that to achieve transgender equality at the workplace, it is essential to understand the unique experiences, stressors, and related needs of transgender employees (Kollen, 2016).

McFadden and Crowley-Henry (2016) reviewed academic literature relating to the workplace experiences in careers of transgender people to determine the issue of transgender equality. The focus was to determine whether there were sufficient relevant articles that examine the issues faced by transgender people in the workplace in their career. The authors concluded that transgender employees face inequality issues in the job search, pre-career issues, career issues, and during transitioning in the workplace (McFadden & Crowley-Henry, 2016). They explained that it is the job of human resource practitioners and line managers to promote diversity and inclusion in organizations, to provide transgender equality in the workplace.

Philip and Soumjuya (2019) explain that best practices and policies should be suggested basing on the viewpoints of human resource managers, transgender employees themselves, and activists. These activists are who champion for transgender equality in the workplace. They suggest that interviews and responses from these groups should be analyzed to provide insights into the well-being of transgender employees in the workplace. This will help the organization to create an environment that ensures transgender equality (Phillip & Soumjuya, 2019). This discussion is seconded by Robinson (2014). He suggests that examining areas where transgender employees face the hardest difficulties and drawing on them for increased engagement is what will achieve effective transgender equality in the workplace.

Sawyer, Thoroughgood, and Webster (2016) explained that while the term LGBT focuses on sexuality and gender-based discriminations, more unique challenges are reported to be faced by transgender employees. This is in comparison to other bisexual gay and lesbian employees. The authors stipulate that highlighting the statistics on transgender inequality in the workplace and both in society is the first step to achieving transgender equality. The second step is analyzing interventions and making recommendations based on the information gathered from the steps above.

Conclusion

Transgender equality in the workplace is an issue that must be treated with high concern as it affects the well-being of transgender employees and their performance. There is need for research to focus on transgender equality in the employees because most focus in the past has been placed on general LGBT discussions. However, as seen from the discussion above, transgender employees face unique challenges that are often marginalized and overlooked. If they are not overlooked, they are noticed but nothing is done to remedy the situation.

Additionally, there is need for focus on why transgender inequality persists because most research only focuses on the consequences of transgender inequality. There is not enough information focusing on the actual matter of transgender and the problems that they may face. Everyone needs to be able to work a job and having to face inequality in the workplace can be one of the most uncomfortable and undesirable things that someone could have happen to them. Achieving transgender equality in the workplace will need various stakeholders to work together in the implementation of a diverse and inclusive workplace environment.

References

Collins, J. C., McFadden, C., Rocco, T. S., & Mathis, M. K. (2015). The problem of transgender marginalization and exclusion: Critical actions for human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 14(2), 205-226.

Davidson, S. (2016). Gender inequality: Nonbinary transgender people in the workplace. Cogent Social Sciences, 2(1), 1236511.

Davis, D. (2019). Transgender issues in the workplace: HRD's newest challenge/opportunity. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 11(1), 109-120.

Dietert, M., & Dentice, D. (2015). The transgender military experience: Their battle for workplace rights. SAGE Open, 5(2), 2158244015584231.

Fogarty, A. A., & Zheng, L. (2018). Gender ambiguity in the workplace: Transgender and gender-diverse discrimination. ABC-CLIO.

Köllen, T. (2016). Intersexuality and trans-identities within the diversity management discourse. In Sexual orientation and transgender issues in organizations (pp. 1-20). Springer, Cham.

Köllen, T. (2016). Sexual orientation and transgender issues in organizations. Global Perspectives on LGBT Workforce Diversity.

McFadden, C., & Crowley-Henry, M. (2016). A systematic literature review on trans* careers and workplace experiences. Sexual orientation and transgender issues in organizations, 63-81.

Philip, J., & Soumyaja, D. (2019). Workplace diversity and inclusion: policies and best practices for organisations employing transgender people. International Journal of Public Policy, 15(3-4), 299-314.

Robinson, M. J. (2014). Transgender inclusion in the workplace (Doctoral dissertation, Cleveland State University).

Sawyer, K., Thoroughgood, C., & Webster, J. (2016). Queering the gender binary: Understanding transgender workplace experiences. Sexual orientation and transgender issues in organizations, 21-42.