?For transgender employees, there are fears and circumstances that are practically unimaginable.
Ben Greene, international speaker and CEO of BG Trans Talks, transitioned at age 15 and now eight years later continues to share his experiences and what companies can and should do to create a more inclusive workplace.
As a steady traveler, it’s not always easy for Greene. There are rules in each state about which bathroom he can use, causing him to “go an entire day without drinking water just to avoid using the restroom.”
In some states, bills have been introduced that would make it a felony for transgender individuals to appear on stage, as Greene was this week in Las Vegas at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2023.
In the concurrent session “Transgender Inclusion at Work: Combining Inclusive Structure with Inclusive Culture” on June 11, he updated the audience on key LGBTQ+ language and vocabulary regarding transgender and nonbinary people.
Using personal stories and his own brand of humor, he then talked through specifics around building safe and supportive workplaces beyond the level of simply sharing pronouns.
Defining Transgender
Transgender is of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth.
Nonbinary people may identify as an intermediate or separate third gender, identify with more than one gender, have no gender, or have a fluctuating gender identity. Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation; nonbinary and transgender people have various sexual orientations.
A focus on transgender people has emerged lately in the face of the recent Bud Light marketing campaign featuring Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman.
The campaign has led to a significant drop in Anheuser-Busch’s beer sales and contributed to debate over current and pending legislation across state lines.
CNN reported 19 states have laws restricting gender-affirming care, some with the possibility of a felony charge.
Gender-affirming care is medically necessary, evidence-based care that uses a multidisciplinary approach to help a person transition from their assigned gender—the one the person was designated at birth—to their affirmed gender, the gender by which they want to be known.
“This has created more urgency for the country when it comes to understanding and accommodating transgender people,” Greene said.
When It’s Time to ‘Come Out’
Greene said employers can take steps to create welcoming environments for transgender people to come out, or reveal that they are transgender.
“Companies shouldn’t wait for an employee to come out before establishing their transgender policies,” Greene said. “If they do, then their transgender employees won’t come out—and might even leave the company—because they don’t feel safe there.”
A first step for companies when setting a policy is to understand what federal and state laws are in place pertaining to transgender people, Greene noted.
Another step is to empower all workers to choose and use their pronouns. He said seeing pronouns on an email signature line, for example, goes a long way to show that transgender people are welcome in the work environment.
“We look at those people who use their pronouns as allies—they are accepting of who we are,” Greene said.
However, if the company requires its staff members to do so, the opposite effect occurs because transgender people can’t be sure their co-workers truly are allies.
Greene said when companies properly address and inform their workers of their transgender policies, it can greatly reduce the energy transgender people spend keeping their situations secret.
For transgender people not wanting to divulge their identity, Greene said, “can you imagine what it’s like to have to watch every move they make and pay close attention to every word they say so they don’t reveal they are transgender? It’s exhausting.”
Greene advised companies to be patient about empowering their workers to come out and not rushing or pressuring them. He said HR teams might speak to a person they think could be transgender in a supportive way. “People all move on different timelines.”
What Is Your Policy?
Greene encouraged companies to revisit their bereavement policies to apply to more than just immediate family members. Transgender people are sometimes cut off from their families. They go on to develop strong relationships with friends, colleagues or roommates.
When those people die, the loss is just as emotionally devastating as losing any other loved one.
Greene said some companies are offering relocation packages to their transgender employees—paying for them to move to a location that is friendlier to transgender people if the company can offer and accommodate it.
He said companies should make employees aware if their health insurance covers top surgery (another name for chest masculinization or feminization. Using one of several surgical approaches, surgeons augment or remove breast tissue, and in some cases reshape and reposition the nipples for an affirming look.)
If they do, that’s a signal to transgender people that they are in a safe and welcoming workplace.
“I’ve spoken to transgender people who have left their companies simply because they didn’t tell them that the health care was available,” Greene said.
Paul Bergeron is a freelance writer based in Herndon, Va.