Creating Trans-Inclusive Workplaces
Dr. Wendy Cukier, founder and academic director of the Diversity Institute, and Jonas Stark, bilingual facilitator at Egale (external link) , a leading organization for 2SLGBTQI people and issues, co-presented a workshop at the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (external link) about the challenges trans people face in the workplace and how businesses benefit from trans inclusion practices.
Research shows employees who feel a sense of belonging in their workplace engage more with colleagues, have better experiences of mental wellness and are less likely to consider leaving for another organization, Dr. Wendy Cukier said at the November 28 virtual event to members of Canada’s largest manufacturing consortium.
“Trans” is an umbrella term that represents a range of gender identities and expressions, including transgender, non-binary, gender queer and two-spirit. It includes people who may identify as a woman, man or another gender. Dr. Cukier and Stark stressed that the first step in trans inclusion in the workplace is affirming a trans person’s gender as real and valid.
Canada’s labour force includes more than two million 2SLGBTQI workers, Dr. Cukier said, and employers have a legal duty under the Ontario Human Rights Code to protect employees from discrimination and harassment because of gender identity and gender expression.
The 2021 Census was the first to collect gender-based data on all individuals aged 15 or over. Of the 30.5 million people counted, 59,460 identified as transgender and 41,355 identified as non-binary. Trans representation will likely continue to increase in the labour force as the number of people comfortable living openly in their gender identity grows with each generation, Stark said.
Stark explained that compared to cisgender individuals, transgender people are twice as likely to be unemployed and earn 32% less even when they hold similar or higher education levels. More than one-half of transgender employees say they are not comfortable being out at work, Stark said. Cukier added that workplaces where employees feel the need to be closeted at work see lost worktime and higher turnover due to employee depression, lack of motivation, burnout and increased sick time.
Inclusion must be embedded at all levels of an organization through a comprehensive equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy to be effective, Dr. Cukier said. It is key that an inclusive tone be set from the top with diverse and representative leadership, she added.
Among best practices Cukier highlighted were equitable hiring processes, anti-sexual harassment policies, gender-inclusive washrooms, correct and respectful pronoun usage, and an employee’s right to privacy. Seemingly innocuous policies like dress codes can also reinforce gender stereotypes and negatively impact trans workers, she said.
The Diversity Institute and Egale are ecosystem partners in Canada’s 50 – 30 Challenge (external link) , a voluntary pledge that calls on organizations to strive toward gender parity (50%) and more representation of equity-deserving groups (30%) in boards and senior leadership. The Diversity Institute is working alongside other partners to develop tools to support organizations implementing the challenge, with resources like the Diversity Assessment Tool (external link) , the What Works Toolkit (external link) , the Micropedia of Microaggressions (external link) and customized training programs.
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