Role Model

 

Image from Averie Woodard
on UnSplash

I have a close acquaintance who is taking a giant step forward in her transgender world.

She is stepping out of her comfort zone and will apply for a new job as her authentic feminine self. I was fortunate to be at one of her first attempts to explain why she was coming out of the closet which was tormenting her so much. I remember thinking at the time how far she had to go on her journey as I wished her the best.

During the following years, she has faced the same issues as other transgender women and trans men face, from marriage issues to kids and family decisions to decide upon. She has been very open on social media about her struggles. Including public pushback when her wife and her go out to eat. She lives very close to me and I know the venues she has had problems in and I understand why. In fact, I have had some problems also in one of the venues and we never went back.

Even with all of that, she pushed on and is now trying to take her transgender life to another level. Her current job is a truck driver which of course presented it's own level of challenge at every stop she made. She transitioned on the job and literally changed  her outward appearance overnight. I really respect the courage it took for her to take on her work world the way she did. Now the challenge she is seeking is to apply for another job (in the same industry) but in a whole different job as her feminine self as a logistical scheduler of sorts. 

If she gets this job or not, she is a true role model for others in the transgender community. To step out of her old gender comfort zone and sever ties with her old life as a man is remarkable.  It's a giant step forward. 

I am far from an expert in finding a job in todays' world. But from what I am reading in Cincinnati alone there are a few companies who are LGBTQ+ inclusive and offer employment possibilities to aid in a person's transition. It's good for both parties as the company can hire a good employee and the trans person is able to take a giant leap forward and support themselves financially in their new world. 

As I circle back to the person I know who is applying for the new job, I am sure this is just the beginning one way or another for her to step forward into a life she has always dreamed of. I hope she gets the job on the first try! 

Even though I am retired and don't have to face the work world as a transgender woman, I can still see a role model when I know one. 

Hey Buddy! Can "Ya" Spare a Girl a Job?

It's difficult enough to find a job for anyone these days, let alone a transgender candidate.  In an interesting exchange I heard not long ago (between a lesbian and trans woman) about jobs, the trans woman told the lesbian "she had a choice to wear gay."  Meaning of course, she could "femme" it up to get hired and or stay hired.  We can discuss all the possible scenarios of that exchange forever but in the mean time, trans folks remained unemployed at an estimated twice the national rate.  Fortunately, there is help beginning to emerge.

US News and World Report recently ran a useful article called "How to Manage a Job Search as a Transgender Candidate."

One of the initial problem/solutions which caught my eye was :

Deciding how to handle disclosure of your identity. Choosing whether and how to reveal that your gender identity is different from the gender you were assigned at birth is personal, but some application materials will inquire about your legal name. Some transgender job seekers have not changed their legal names, but those who have might run into trouble and confusion if an employer requests ​they submit to a background check that requires paperwork​. “An application is a legal document, and if what you report doesn’t match with what an employer finds, they could let you go," Farley** says. She recommends job seekers write the first initial and surname of their legal name on applications. ​“That allows a job seeker to include the information that’s required by law, but not to have to qualify birth gender.”

Other ideas were job fairs.  If you are fortunate enough to live close to major metropolitan areas, a few even have transgender job fairs.  Of course, I am not one of those but at the Trans Ohio Symposium last spring, two major financial institutions had hiring presentations. As a former employer and a retired one now, one of my biggest hiring points was how a person looked and acted.  It's easy for me to say but I think getting dressed in my best business professional attire and going to any job fair, could be beneficial.  At the least, the company would see immediately if they may have interest in me.  Anymore, with all the on line resume shuffle going on, the most we can ask for is a human face to sell ourselves to

Of course, networking was mentioned as well as sites such as LinkedIn.  Finally, simple basics such as word of mouth and studying a companies CEI Index. Which is the: Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, an annual report that scores major businesses according to their practices and policies pertinent to LGBT employees. The top CEI score an employer could receive is 100 percent – this year, Apple Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were two of the companies to earn top marks.

So there you go, a few ideas on getting a job.  I know it's a tough world out there!





**Clair Farley, is the ​associate director of economic development for the San Francisco LGBT Center, which runs the nation’s first Transgender Employment Program​.