Just in time for International Transgender Day of Visibility, Project Include released a useful new report on how companies can make their workplaces safer more welcoming for trans and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) workers.
The nonprofit, led by former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao with the mission of finding diversity solutions in the workplace, had previously surveyed almost 3,000 people across the world and various industries between May 2020 and February 2021. For its new report—the third in a series focusing on “the state of harm and harassment in tech”—the authors also included information from consultations with DEI experts, startup leaders, and advocacy groups.
The group’s research found that nearly half of the gender-nonconforming and transgender population reported an increase in gender-based harassment in the workplace, which the report suggests is due in part to added risks associated with increasing representation. Perhaps more substantively, the authors highlighted that “representation alone cannot fix gender-based harm and harassment.”
The report noted that some workers described themselves as closeted or “soft-closeted,” which means companies may have more TGNC employees than they realize. Additionally, some people expressed they were unfairly expected to provide free education to colleagues on trans and nonbinary issues, while others expressed that campaigns to add pronouns to email signatures or Slack profiles were “alienating and stressful,” in part because some workers are still exploring their gender or may not feel ready to express a preference.
To improve inclusion in the workplace, Project Include detailed a number of suggestions for companies to employ. First, companies should focus on creating inclusive cultures, which starts before employees even join the company, with clear communication about what employees should expect. Companies should also create a culture where employees feel empowered to correct colleagues when they make mistakes, the authors wrote, with an emphasis on clearly defining inappropriate behavior.
“As with all meaningful change, trans and gender-nonconforming inclusion requires inclusion of all, a comprehensive approach, and metrics for accountability,” the authors wrote. “Ultimately, learning how to make your workplace respectful of a marginalized group benefits all groups by creating better processes and better outcomes.”
More specifically, Project Include recommends creating a training program specific to trans and gender-nonconforming people and the issues they face. Companies can add an explicit DEI lens to their work plans as well, and benefits should be inclusive of TGNC people.
Once these changes are implemented, Project Include wrote that companies can expect staff to not only feel more welcomed in the workplace, but also are more likely to recommend their company to friends and family.
The findings of this study were complicated, the authors added, because many of the respondents were hesitant to go on the record—for a multitude of reasons, including privacy, worries about jeopardizing employment, and harassment in their communities. For this reason, the authors chose to keep their interviewees anonymous.
Coauthor McKensie Mack hopes that companies and executives will put the report’s recommendations into action today instead of waiting.
“Leaders at work and beyond can demonstrate their support of [International Transgender Day of Visibility] by wielding the power they have to intervene in anti-trans sentiment, behavior, and policy at work and beyond,” Mack said in an emailed statement to Fast Company. “This report provides an actionable glimpse into the experiences of trans and gender-nonconforming people in tech and gives leaders practical actions for building affirming workplaces where TGNC people can exist, grow, and thrive.”
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