Dr. Stephen Whittle

Based on a survey conducted in late 2000, the report states that the great majority of respondents did not feel that, aside from any difficulties created for them by other people at work, their transition had, at the time or currently, made them less able to do their jobs. Yet, the report shows that many transsexual employees were still subjected to:

• verbal abuse and even physical violence perpetrated by other employees, as well as by customers, clients or suppliers
• discrimination in recruitment, promotion, remuneration, benefits and other factors
Many of the transsexual employees who had recently commenced transition had been forced to leave their jobs either by their employers or because of the resultant conditions at work.

Penny, a trans woman, works for a subsidiary of a very well known international environmental services company that portrays itself as an equal opportunity employer and according to the corporate webpage “above all supportive ” of its employees. Penny was a well regarded member of the company's workforce, until she announced her intention to transition to the her preferred gender. Since then she has experienced nothing but outright hostility from management and coworkers. When she returned to work after surgery, with her legal change of name the Human Resources Department were extremely antagonistic and went so far as to suggest that her dressing in gender appropriate clothing was against corporate rules. In a subsequent medical examination the company doctor insisted upon inspecting her genitals, a blatant invasion of privacy and quite irrelevant to her ability to carry out her duties.

Since her transition Penny believes her supervisors have delighted in allocating her dirty and unpleasant work well beneath her proven and acknowledged skills. Both her supervisors and coworkers still insist upon addressing her by a male name and using masculine pronouns when referring to her, despite having been informed how very hurtful she finds this is and her provision of proof of her legal status. Not one person in the whole plant has offered her any commiseration or offered support—she is quite alone and feels very vulnerable.

The company’s Code of Business Conduct states that it: to all individuals on the basis of merit, without discrimination because
of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by
law. . . .“
Despite these reassuring words the company has not provided appropriate changing and bathroom facilities for female operational staff (it seems that their policy is not to hire women). Although Penny is given access to the supervisors’ facilities this has been done in such a way as to maximize her discomfort. The company’s code of conduct continues by saying that it:”. . . prohibits harassment in any form, whether physical or verbal and whether committed by supervisors, non-supervisory personnel,
or non-employees. Harassment may include, but is not limited to, offensive sexual flirtations, unwanted sexual advances or propositions, verbal abuse, sexually or racially degrading words. . . “

Penny is required to report her problems to the very people who have made their distaste for her so apparent. Penny understands that the harassment she receives is both illegal and contrary to published company policy but she can see no course of action which will not leave her in an even worse situation. Her union is also disinclined to help.

The number of people who are transitioning to live in a gender role other than that assigned at birth is growing very rapidly. Recent data indicates that the number transitioning is more than doubling every four years and increasing numbers of organizations are presented with a transsexual person coming out in their workforce. Discrimination against these people in the workplace is against the law and many companies explicitly forbid their persecution in policy statements and staff manuals. However, despite these apparent protections, and notwithstanding their professed policy of care, many corporations appear to take no practical action to prevent the workplace becoming so unpleasant for such employees that they feel unable to continue; most commonly they just leave but suicide is not unknown. Nowhere is this lack of concern more apparent than amongst employers of the blue collar staff, where uninformed Human Resources Departments, irresponsible management and hostile coworkers conspire to make life unbearable for these people.