Where is the “T” in LGBTQ+ Inclusion?
By Jade Pichette and Sarah Kaplan
June is Pride Month and although parades and festivals have been cancelled for this year, most Canadian companies are showing their rainbow colours in support of the LGBTQ+ community. But, when organizations focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion, the “T” is often silent. Because trans and gender diverse people are under-represented in the Canadian workforce or not out to their employer, trans voices are often not heard and their needs not considered.
Despite recent changes in legal protections and increasing public acceptance, trans and gender diverse people disproportionately face experiences of stigma and discrimination at work simply because of their gender identity or gender expression. And, this is particularly true for people with intersecting identities such as race, indigenity, or disability.
As reported by Trans PULSE this year, while the majority of trans people in Canada have a college degree or higher, more than half make less than $30,000 per year. This and other arresting statistics reflect the ways that trans and gender diverse people continue to be left behind in the broader movement for LGBTQ2+ equality, which has primarily focused on challenges faced by cisgender gay and lesbian people, despite many of the founders of the movement being trans.
To remedy this gap, the University of Toronto’s Institute for Gender and the Economy and Pride at Work Canada partnered to conduct the first ever Canada-wide survey of trans inclusion practices in large employers. Seeking input from the organizations that make up Pride at Work Canada’s partner network, the survey reflects the policies and practices that shape the workplaces of millions of people across Canada.
The report, which will be released Thursday, shows that we still have a long way to go. The good news is that corporate interest in trans inclusion has been growing in the past few years. While in 2017, only half of firms surveyed had anti-discrimination protections for trans people, that figured increased to 62 per cent last year. But, keep in mind that organizations are — since 2017 changes in the Human Rights Code — legally prohibited from discriminating against people based on their gender identity, so we might expect that even more companies would have incorporated these principles in their own policies.
Full (paywalled) op-ed in the Toronto Star here: Where is the “T” in LGBTQ+ Inclusion?