Let's unpack transgender inclusion in the workplace (Transgender Inclusion)

?? I'm reading 52+ DEI books so you don't have to.

Book review #5 is about Transgender Inclusion: All the Things You Want to Ask Your Transgender Coworker but Shouldn't by A. C. Fowlkes, PhD (2024).

2-sentence review

In Transgender Inclusion, Dr. A. C. Fowlkes shares data and personal insights about being transgender in a work environment that's not designed with transgender inclusivity in mind. Many readers will finish the book with more knowledge and motivation to advocate for processes and policies that better support transgender colleagues and potential hires.

Overall ranking: B Tier

Who might like this book?

• HR professionals and recruiters
• DEI practitioners

This book is written for anyone who wants to learn more about the transgender experience in the U.S. For example, if you've ever thought, "I keep forgetting to use the correct pronouns for my coworker during meetings and can never seem to get it right!" or "I don't understand what being transgender has to do with the workplace," please read this book. It is made to answer many common questions from people unfamiliar with the transgender community to spare transgender people the emotional labor of responding to these questions.

Stigma and discrimination based on gender identity

Gender identity is our psychological sense of our gender, which may or may not align with our sex assigned at birth. For cisgender people, their gender identity and sex assigned at birth aligns; for transgender and/or non-binary people, their gender identity and sex assigned at birth do not align with cultural expectations.

Transgender individuals frequently face stigma and discrimination due to societal norms about gender. From a young age, girls and boys are often rewarded for demonstrating specific behaviors that conform to their parents' or peers' expectations of their gender. This leads to internalizing expectations about gender identity and gender expression, which can cause transgender individuals who do not conform to these expectations to face stigma and discrimination.

Social, medical, and legal transitioning

The author demonstrates how diverse the transgender community is by giving us a tour through the results of the largest U.S. survey about transgender identities and experiences. He shares data from the 2015 survey, and early findings from the 2022 survey are now available.

He then presents the three most common forms of transition in the transgender community: social, medical, and legal transition. Each form is discussed in great detail, including how accessible and affordable they are.

I learned a lot about the nuances of why an individual might transition in none, some, or all of these ways, and the book didn't shy away from addressing the many individual, social, financial, and societal factors involved in these decisions. It was so helpful to read stories about the author's experience transitioning because he so clearly illustrated the hope, fear, joy, and stigma that accompanied different stages of the transitioning process.

Transgender-inclusive workplaces

In recent years more employers are striving to create cultures inclusive of all historically marginalized identities. Still, many people are not aware of the specific challenges that transgender employees are likely to face at work.

"Remember that the transgender community is experiencing unique stressors and is the focus of much anti‐trans rhetoric, anti‐trans legislation, and anti‐trans policies and procedures. Because of this, you must be explicit in your support of the transgender community and recognize, support and affirm them even outside of conversations about the LGBTQ+ community in general." - Dr. A.C. Fowlkes

Across the employee life cycle, transgender people often face difficulties that are unique to the transgender experience as opposed to other experiences in the LGBTQ+ community. In the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 15% of respondents reported being verbally harassed, physically attacked, or sexually assaulted at work because of their gender identity. Below are some of the recommendations from the book for cultivating inclusion for employers and coworkers.

Offer affirming and proactive policies that include:

• Clear expectations around the use of chosen names and pronouns as well as deadnaming and misgendering.
• Affirming uses of toileting and changing facilities.
• Explanations of how to update one's name, gender identity, and pronouns in company systems. Updates should be able to be made at any time, as someone's understanding of their gender identity can change over time as they learn more language to accurately describe their experiences.
• Gender-neutral explanations of dress codes and grooming standards.

Provide educational opportunities about:

• LGBTQ+ sensitivity, gender identity, and transgender inclusion in the workplace. This can be especially useful for people who desire additional information so that they do not rely on transgender employees to answer questions.
• LGBTQ+ allyship that speaks to the diversity across the LGBTQ+ community.

"When we assume that someone would not benefit from our help because we believe they have access to help from other people, we rob them of the opportunity to learn and grow from working with us, and we rob ourselves of the opportunity to learn and grow from working with them." - Dr. A.C. Fowlkes

Encourage ownership of respectful behavior:

• "If you get something wrong, self‐correct, apologize, and move on. Don't cause a scene."
• Don't assume that someone else is looking out for a transgender coworker. If you hear an inappropriate comment, speak up.
• Refer to people the way they want to be referred. When a colleague shares their name or pronouns with you, they are signaling who they are and determining how they will be perceived. Repeatedly deadnaming or using incorrect pronouns signals, according to the author, "I do not see you the way that you see you, and I will not interact with you in a way that honors your sense of self, but I will instead prioritize my own personal comfort and my own perception over your sense of self and your truth."

Additional thoughts about the book

The information I've shared above represents a few highlights, but this book is packed with actionable tips and information. That said, there are a few aspects of the book that prevent it from being a top-tier recommendation.

• Repetition: A decent amount of content appeared in multiple sections of the book, including some recommended tips, information about transitioning, and data from the survey. While repetition is not necessarily bad, some topics could have been explored more thoroughly in place of the repetition. The chapters specific to the workplace, for example, could have had more of the author's recommendations for implementing inclusive policies and practices (e.g. positive examples of change, ways to advocate for more inclusive policies).
• Non-binary experiences: This book does not explore the intersection of transgender and non-binary experiences in depth outside of examples of transitioning, so I would have liked more information about the experiences of people who are transgender and non-binary in the workplace.
• International experiences: While the book's scope was specific to the United States, I'm keen to learn about the typical workplace experiences of transgender individuals in more regions.
• Citations: Some studies are mentioned, including the U.S. Transgender Survey, but no citations or references are provided. I like to dig into some of the external content referenced in a book, so this was a disappointing choice.

B Tier

Transgender Inclusion is an informative and engrossing primer on transgender inclusion at work. I hope additional subject matter experts will explore this topic in the coming years to support and expand on this resource.

?? If you have also read this book, what did you find most useful? Do you agree or disagree with my ranking? If you haven't read it, which core idea sounds most applicable to your work? Share your thoughts in the comments!