Pride has helped build awareness of trans people, but the workplace can still be a place of utter dread

Talk to trans people and you'll discover coming out at work can be gruelling – from outright mockery to inappropriate questions from HR

Thanks to a deluge of media coverage, largely sensationalising or demonising trans people, public awareness of us is at an all-time high. But public understanding of us? Less so.

For many trans people, this lack of enlightenment becomes particularly apparent in the workplace.

In other areas of life, we can surround ourselves with people who support and celebrate us. But we can’t choose our colleagues – the people we spend most of our time with. And it’s not as simple as changing jobs, since very few companies are truly trans-inclusive.

As a trans man who is out at work, I’m one of the lucky ones. According to Stonewall’s 2018 Trans Report, 51 per cent of trans people have hidden their identity at work for fear of discrimination.

My non-binary friends face particular challenges in the workplace, given the lack of understanding around gender identities beyond the binary categories of “man” and “woman”.

F, a nonbinary person working in education I spoke to, is closeted at work:

“I’m not openly non-binary at work, except to a few people. I tried out on one colleague who laughed at me and asked derisively if I should be called ‘it’.”

Transphobic attitudes can even take root in workplaces that are gay-friendly. Transphobia within the LGBT+ umbrella is sadly all too common. B is a non-binary person who works in healthcare. Although most of their colleagues are gay, B feels unable to come out as trans:

“The other day, someone asked that we add a section for non-binary people on our system. That was not well received. It was turned into a big joke.”

When B needed time off work for gender-affirming surgery, they were forced to lie about the procedure to avoid outing themselves to colleagues. For many, it’s safer, or simpler to stay closeted at work. Being trans is hard enough without attempting to single-handedly transform your company culture.

Fortunately, the start of my transition coincided with a career change, meaning that I was able to start a new job as my authentic self. I went through the interview process as an openly transgender man, and managed to secure a role.

I’m aware that this was a stroke of luck. Not only because a recent report has shown that one in three employers won’t hire transgender people. But had I tried to come out as trans in my old workplace – where people had only known me as a “girl” – it would have meant having multiple, awkward conversations explaining my gender, name and pronouns to people. Or having to bear with coworkers while they adjusted to using new language for me.

My previous employer and colleagues would no doubt have been very supportive, but beginning a new job as an out trans man ensured everyone was on the right page from the get go.

Michelle O’Toole, producer and co-host of the What The Trans podcast, was the first person in her company to come out as trans. This meant educating her HR manager on the relevant legislation alongside, as she puts it, “more talk about my genital situation than I would have liked.” The Equality Act of 2010 outlaws discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment, but this hasn’t equated to good work environments for trans people. Often, it falls to a lone trans employee to do the work of educating managers and co-workers.

Some of O’Toole’s colleagues were supportive, but she still experienced a loneliness I, and many others identify with.

She would overhear people talking about her, “saying how cool they were with [her] transition”, while at the same time letting slip about “how it was strange and weird for them”. Needless to say, this made O’Toole feel even more isolated, having already experienced so much “othering” outside of work.

Transitioning on the job is tough. Job hunting while visibly trans is gruelling too. “My opportunities diminished considerably after coming out”, Michelle told me. “I was told they liked me but had no idea how customers would react, so they couldn’t employ me.”

Public-facing roles can be especially difficult. Cara Buchanan, a trans woman with experience in retail describes it as “terrifying”. Being a visibly trans woman on the shop floor forced her to find an inner courage: “it really pushed me to present who I am, every day, confidently.”

Many of us have to dig deep to face work each day, but we shouldn’t have to. We deserve to be respected and seen for who we are, like our cisgender colleagues. The conversation on trans inclusion must go beyond merely addressing discrimination, to the active, intentional creation of environments where trans people can thrive – not just survive. This means employers must take the initiative in educating themselves, and their workforce on trans issues. And every organisation should have a robust trans inclusion policy.

In 2018, one in eight trans employees were physically attacked by a colleague or customer. It’s a horrifying statistic. Especially given the news that transgender hate crimes recorded by the police have risen by 81 per cent. But even when we’re not experiencing outright violence, we face multiple challenges.

This article hasn’t scratched the surface of issues such as access to appropriate toilets/changing rooms, the psychological impact of misgendering and subtle transphobia from colleagues, or the countless trans people pushed out of their work environments altogether.

Pride season can be bitterly ironic for trans people. Seeing big businesses with trans-exclusionary work environments take up space in Pride parades leaves a rather unpleasant taste in the mouth. It’s a visual metaphor that perfectly captures the hollowness of corporate support for pride.

This Pride season, we need less rainbow-laden virtue-signalling from our employers, and more commitment to taking the T in LGBT+ seriously. Stonewall’s employer guidance is a good place to start.