How to Establish a Supportive Workplace for Transgender Employees? - Sanjay Kaul, CEO of Innovaworkspaces

Tips to Establish a Supportive Workplace for Transgender Employees - By Sanjay Kaul, CEO, InnovaWorkSpaces

India is a young country, with its majority population under the age of 30. The new generations come with their own beliefs and individualities –changing India’s consumption and economic story. Where most organizations fail in attracting the right millennial talent is the right culture. The culture doesn’t imply a fun environment, a high pay scale or gaming zones, but an inclusive and diverse workspace, that accepts people as individuals, and not on the basis of their gender.

Creating a trans-inclusive workplace will be the focus for many companies across the world, in the next few years. These younger generations need a workplace that doesn’t burden them emotionally, based on their gender identity, or disregards them. It's high time companies realized this and looked into some ways to make their culture more gender agnostic for trans people.

Few Tips to Make a Supportive Workplace

• Supporting the LGBTQ Community With More Inclusive Policies
• Education and Awareness Drives Within the Organization
• The Pronouns and Their Usage
• Ensure Inclusivity When It Comes to Workplace Amenities
• Ample Opportunity and Fair Exposure
• Some Trans-Community-Focused Initiatives or Benefits

Supporting the LGBTQ Community With More Inclusive Policies

The very first step in this direction would be more transparent gender agnostic non-discriminatory policies –which protect the trans community and promotes their rights as individuals. Such policies with strict bearings on violations will help the section of the trans workforce be more open and confident in professional settings, and in the long term will also contribute to people accepting the community and their ideas.

Education and Awareness Drives Within the Organization

Thrusting inclusive policies for an organization will never be enough. The population needs to be educated about different gender identities, and the trans community, in particular, to help them clarify their assumptions and encourages sensitivity. One of the reasons the transgender community is neglected is that they never feel open and accepted by their colleagues. This will eventually come through additional efforts by companies that educate and train their employees about gender discrimination issues, and diverse identity cultures.

The Pronouns and Their Usage

A trans-inclusive workplace needs to normalize the pronouns, they, them, their and let people use them freely and unapologetically. This should be one of the key steps of the organizational trans-culture policy. Normalize asking for accepting preferred pronouns and titles that the trans community would like to use to define their identities.

Ensure Inclusivity When It Comes to Workplace Amenities

When it comes to implementing and achieving the inclusion of diverse communities and genders in the workplace, organizations need to ensure that this is embedded in the physical space. This implies amenities, restrooms, medical facilities and so on. The workforce, HR managers and leaders – all need to accept the new aspects of this inclusion, while it helps employees feel more comfortable and connected to their workplace.

Ample Opportunity and Fair Exposure

It is essential that an organization is not only trans-inclusive in its books, but also needs to provide ample opportunity for trans people to showcase their creativity, collaborate with other employees, and get the right exposure that they deserve in their roles. They should be valued and feel fulfilled considering that they are impacting the business.

Some Trans-Community-Focused Initiatives or Benefits

While an organization is expected to be fair and gender agnostic in its policies, some benefits and initiatives designed specifically for the trans community will help boost their confidence in the workplace. It also speaks to the inclusion of such minority communities, an example of which can be fertility benefits and policies, in which transgenders are often excluded.

Conclusion

Trans people often experience stigma and discrimination, hostility from others, and pressure to “manage” their identities in social settings, including the workplace. It is important to have a positive and supportive environment to work in. Governments have taken a series of steps and policies to support trans people but until the common people do not change their perceptions, the situation remains the same.