What have your experience been with being trans in the work place? ex. are you stealth or open about it? do you think being comfortable in yourself is worth possible harassment? do you face harassment? do you think jobs are less accessible?
Well it entirely depends on where you work. Some multinational companies have diversity policies. In the US Walmart and Target generally are favorable towards trans people. Many tech companies are too. I don't know what the UK is like but the US has some protections depending on the state for anything. But put it this way. People don't need a reason to be an asshole. Trans is just another label.
The UK as the equality act, which should protect you from being harassed in the work place. I'm not saying it won't happen, people can be assholes, but employers have to do something about it if you report it. I've never come out at work, because I never work with the same people and it feels like a waste. But I have an interview for an apprenticeship this week, and if I get it - which I hope I do - it'll move me out of retail and into an office, where I I'll see the same people every day. So I'll probably come out to them. I can't see it going badly. Admittedly, I'd rather be stealth, just because I don't like to talk about my life, but I'd take possoboe harassment over being misgendered in this situation - the company I'm hoping to work for is one I already know are accepting and make sure everyone knows about the equality act. Jobs shouldn't be less accessible, but some people are assholes. I think it depends on the kind of work/size of the company you're looking into.
I'm pre-everying and completely stealth at work and it was somewhat difficult to begin with as some of my co-workers were using she pronouns but they quickly switched to he once they heard other people. Now it's just the occasional customer that would misgender me and my co-workers would just laugh and I'd take the piss out of myself. Honestly I don't think I could deal with being out at work. I don't want to be treated as a trans person. I'm a guy and I don't want people to see anything different about me. Saying that I wouldn't not be myself for anyone. I couldn't stay and live as a 'girl' just because I was afraid of harassment. Honestly I'd say that what with quotas you're more likely to be employed as a trans person haha, maybe that's a long shot, as a gay, trans Indian I'd be getting every job I applied for.
The only time I made a point to tell my boss(es) I was trans was when I was an actor at a local haunt. They were so cool about it, and my birth name was never mentioned to anyone--I was also rarely misgendered by my coworkers, which made things even better. I feel that had I gone by my first initial (Adam), I wouldn't have had that issue as much. Being that everything was paid under the table, my pay was signed to me and not my birth name. To this day, the only people who have ever seen my birth name are my bosses who managed my application and that's it. ___________ 1) Are you stealth or open? These days, I'm usually indifferent about being open about my status. For the sake of my safety, I try to be stealth and to avoid having any awkwardness with my coworkers--especially now that I'm trying to ease into the local film scene. 2) Do you think being comfortable in yourself is worth possible harassment? Where I am now with my transition, I'm not sure. It feels like it's worth it, especially since I have a support network that would look out for me if anything ever happened. 3) Do you face harassment? In the workplace? No. Nobody knew I was trans and the ones that found out didn't care, and are chill about LGBTQ issues. In general outside the work place, also no. Nobody really knows I'm trans. If anything, I get read as being a 16 year old boy. 4) Do you think jobs are less accessible? Thankfully my hometown is cool with LGBTQ laws, and is one of the few cities in the country to have trans protection laws (mine has had them in place since 2003). It's still surprising to me, since we're small compared to Philadelphia and we're one of those community college cities that has at least two churches on every street corner and we apparently don't take too kindly to atheists (unrelated I know, but that's to help put things into perspective).
