Companies Need to Step Up for Trans Rights

by Jey McCreight, PhD (they/he)

Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. Most businesses will disappointingly stay silent, because even saying "trans rights are human rights" is seen as risky and political. But social media will see a trickle of statements from companies and CEOs offering vague support for trans rights, with milquetoast "actions" like signing a statement.

As anti-trans legislation bubbles up in 39 states across the country, and violence against trans people is yet again on track for a new high record, "visibility" alone is not enough. Trans people, especially children, have become the latest political football and target of national hysteria, despite only making up ~1% of the US population.

As a transgender person who has been working with their company to improve the trans inclusivity of both our product and workplace, I want to share some tips that I hope all companies will consider:

1. Say something instead of nothing. Even if you can do more, do at least that. The silence from allies is deafening, especially compared to the allyship that was given to causes like gay marriage. Even cis members of the LGBTQ+ community have been silent, when we need their support the most. Again, trans people only make up 1% of the population. Many of us are too afraid to come out of the closet because of fear of losing our jobs, family, and wellbeing. Those of us who have the privilege to speak up like myself become exhausted at having to be the sole person in the room defending their own rights. Don't let fear of being seen as performative stop you from any action at all.
2. Pronouns matter. Respecting a trans person's pronouns is the simplest thing an ally can do, but often does not happen past throwing pronouns into an email signature or Zoom name and never considering them again. Despite the fact that I have not used feminine pronouns for over a year and a half, and that I specifically switched from "they/them" to "he/they" just to give struggling cis coworkers a binary pronoun to use, I still get misgendered at least once a week in a meeting. Just yesterday I was misgendered twice, by two different people, even after a colleague had already corrected the first person. I cannot be more blunt about this: Respecting a trans person's pronouns significantly reduces their risk of depression and suicide. Every time I am misgendered at work my productivity is derailed, as thoughts swarm in my head about how I should have stayed in the closet because no one will ever perceive me as my true gender and that the support I get is a sham. Trans people will understand if you slip up within the first couple months of them coming out — we know most people have never met a trans person and that relearning language takes time — but there's a point where continued misgendering no longer reads as an honest mistake but rather flat up harassment. If you're struggling with a coworker's pronouns, practice them in your free time! And correct yourself if you get it wrong. The worst feeling is when someone doesn't even realize they've made a mistake, despite years having passed since your transition.
3. Do better than the gender binary. Look at your company's forms, whether it's for job applications, internal HR, or your product. If you still have a drop down menu for gender listing only "male" or "female," it's time that you enter this decade. By reinforcing a strict bioessentialist gender binary, you are actively contributing to the erasure of trans people. At the bare minimum, gender options should be "Man, Woman, Non-binary, Not listed here, Prefer not to say." You do not need to separately list "cis men" from "trans men" unless you are a LGBTQ organization that explicitly needs to collect information about trans people. If you work at a place that has a legitimate reason to know someone's sex assigned at birth, like a health company, make "Sex" a separate field from "Gender" and make sure to include an "Intersex" option. If your argument is your product can't actually support customers who don't select binary options, then you need to improve your product to be more inclusive, not give up all together.
4. Review your hiring and promotion processes. When you look at the pay gap by gender, compared to straight cis workers, gay or bi cis men make 96 cents on the dollar, lesbian or bi cis women make 87 cents, non-binary people and trans men make 70 cents, and trans women make an abysmal 60 cents. Are you paying your trans employees fairly? Are they receiving as many important projects that could lead to promotion? Do you have any trans people at director level or above?
5. Host gatherings in trans-friendly states. Before COVID made my work virtual, one of my main jobs was organizing our research team's attendance to the American Society of Human Genetics annual conference. I have previously attended this conference in Orlando, FL and Austin, TX. Now that I'm out as trans, I no longer feel safe visiting these states thanks to their aggressive anti-trans laws. When you are planning conferences, workshops, and retreats, do not give your money to locations that are not safe for trans employees.
6. Put your money where your mouth is. As much as I personally loathe Citizens United, if corporations can have their contributions protected as "free speech," then use that power for good instead of evil. Don't give lip service in support of trans people if you're funding politicians that are actively trying to erase trans people from existence. Instead, donate to a trans rights organization. If you're in health field like me, I would suggest OUTinSTEM, which has a fellowship specifically for trans graduate students.
7. Write your representatives. Don't just encourage employees to write representatives as individuals, but be willing to have your CEO or company as a whole directly reach out. Politicians who fear and hate trans people are not going to change their minds from any emotional argument, but are motivated by capitalism. If you have employees or customers in a state where trans rights is under attack, let representatives know they're about to lose your business. You can find a list of current anti-trans legislation and your representatives here.
8. Listen to trans people. And really listen. Do not simply "allow" LBGTQ+ employee groups to form, only to have their feedback ignored. Actually listen to their needs. Is there something in your back end that prevents trans employees from using their chosen name instead of their legal name? Fix the code. Does a menu with terrible gender options still exist because it's controlled by a vendor? Use your power to complain directly to that vendor and switch if needed. Is your product not inclusive? Update it. If any of this makes you think "this is hard, I don't even know where to start" — pay a trans consultant to give you feedback. You would do it for any other issue in which your lack the expertise. The least you can do is provide that same effort for a group of people who are currently a target of a literal eugenics campaign meant to erase and prevent our existence.

I'm sure there are 50 more suggestions I could have listed, but this is a start. I beg all of you, as a colleague and a friend, to please do something today, even if it's just sharing this post. The world is watching. Do not be the people who stood in silence over gay marriage or desegregation because it's currently unpopular. Do the right thing and stand up for trans people when we need you the most, before our rights are stripped away entirely.