Transgender Day of Visibility

Here for each other on Transgender Day of Visibility

I try to stay positive, but I’m disheartened by the US political environment.?Our states are red and blue, instead of united.?Civil dialogue has become a thing of the past. Too many “leaders” are failing to lead with integrity, empathy and respect. ?Too few seem to care about standing up for basic human rights.?

We have so much potential in this country.?Potential to find common ground, to collectively address issues and to improve the lives of our citizens and people around the world.?Instead, our politicians seem intent on sabotage, apparently in fear of what the “opposing” party might get credit for accomplishing.?

This destructive “us versus them” mentality is pervasive across our political system and has leaked into our day-to-day interactions. ?Different is the enemy, in direct conflict with the spirit of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – where different is just an additional perspective, and diversity is something we value and embrace, giving us the ability to innovate.?

Two steps forward, one step back

In recent years, Corporate America has stepped up, investing time and money to build more inclusive organizations.?We have seen public commitments to close racial and gender pay gaps and address under-representation in leadership ranks. But progress has been particularly challenging for members of the LGBTQ community. ??Our leaders have become “ok” with showing up at Pride and rainbowing logos, but they aren’t ready to make the same public commitments, for “fear” of offending customers, Mega Republicans and/or those holding anti-LGBTQ religious beliefs.

Many of our elected officials are suggesting and even legislating that it’s not okay to be different.?As shared in my recent LinkedIn post March Madness,[1] LGBTQ rights are increasingly under attack. This includes an assault on our youth, with some state lawmakers focused on censoring in-school discussions of LGBTQ issues and preventing transgender students from participating in school activities and using the bathroom aligned with their gender identify.?

This legislative background is important as we participate in the 15th annual Transgender Day of Visibility. Because despite the struggles, despite the hatred, despite the members of the Transgender community who have lost their lives, today, we celebrate.?We celebrate the contributions, successes, and perhaps most importantly, the resilience of transgender people.?

We must continue to spotlight and fight intolerance.?Because while there are approximately 1.6 million transgender people in the US,[2] “Seven in ten Americans have never met a transgender person, and it can be hard for them to distinguish between stereotypes…and what it really means to be transgender.”[3]

What we want for our Associates/Employees

Make no mistake, these attacks by legislators further promote stereotypes and misinformation, negatively impacting an already vulnerable group of people.?“More than half of transgender and nonbinary youth considered suicide in the past year and nearly 1 in 5 attempted suicide.”[4] As rational and logical people, discrimination and exclusion can’t be what we want for our children or any children.?

To build a more inclusive world, we’ll need corporate support to evolve.?We’ll need work environments that better enable everyone to not just co-exist but to thrive.?We’ll need spaces to listen to and learn about transgender and nonbinary experiences, and we’ll need people who are willing to expand their thinking.?We’ll need vocal and active allies who do more than fly a flag or march in a Pride celebration.?We’ll need leaders to stand up and speak out to protect the rights of Associates/Employees and their families.

Our Associates/Employees have kids, so we’ll also need more inclusive schools.?Many of us learned during the pandemic that homeschooling wasn’t for us!?Our schools are the heart and soul of our communities.?Teachers are not our enemies; they are the people we trust to care for and develop our kids when we are at work.?We need collaborative conversations with our teachers where we share respect, open dialogue and the belief we are working together toward a more inclusive tomorrow.?These environments need to be free of bullying and harassment.?Places our children can talk – about their family (even when their family has same sex or transgender parents), about themselves and their gender – without judgement or government oversight.?Recruiting the best and the brightest talent requires this type of a community.

Better together

In the end, institutions are nothing more than groups of individuals.?Progress will boil down to individuals coming together, standing up for others and against those trying to legislate a single belief system and take away human rights.?

I challenge each of us to dig in, to actively increase our own awareness. ?I’d encourage everyone to watch and learn from the uplifting stories of Learn with Love: Episode 1 from The Trevor Project.?The video is less than 30 minutes.?It speaks volumes: about what it really means to be transgender; about the personal journey of accepting others and ourselves; and about the transformational power of rejecting stereotypes and actually getting to know someone. Once we realize we are better together, we can influence others to see that the enemy is ignorance and intolerance, not each other.

[1] https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/march-madness-heather-schott%3FtrackingId=7W6s3%252FO%252FQbi9PEX6ENHeug%253D%253D/?trackingId=h4JSiDPSpF6JnWHCr0cKQA%3D%3D

[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-study-estimates-16-million-us-identify-transgender-2022-06-10/

[3] https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/the-trevor-project-releases-documentary-short-film-learn-with-love-uplifting-transgender-youth-stories/

[4] The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health