2 Supporting Transgender Employees a short-term project carried out by LGBT Health & Wellbeing and NHS Lothian Sofia Olsson, Helen Smart & Annette Rae

Presentation outline Thinking about gender Evidence of need Developing the guidance Practicalities

Thinking about gender The transgender umbrella Transsexual non-binary Transitioning Perceptions of transgender

Evidence of need “In my old workplace, colleagues would repeatedly out me, both in front of people I didn’t know and in front of service users........It affected my ability to work with service users because my guard was up so much it was difficult to connect with them (or anyone else)” 7% of respondents would not be comfortable working alongside a trans colleague 9% aware of colleagues experiencing discrimination because they were trans. Stonewall (2015)

Evidence of need “I talked to the area manager and team leader about this [bullying from colleagues] but didn’t feel that anything was done....I stayed there for 9 months after coming out. Toward the end I felt I was often being bullied” Seven out of ten transgender respondents said they “never” or only “sometimes” felt able to be open in the workplace Employment is the second top area of concern for the Transgender community Equality Network (2015); Government Equalities Office (2011)

Developing the guidance Identifying need Project infrastructure Methodology Outcome

Transitioning “Transitioning for me was a hard process – but it was a necessary one. For me personally I feel that people were only prepared to accept what they can see. If they were prepared to look a little deeper they may find how difficult life can be for people suffering like me” “When the employee first approached me and told me that they were going to transition to female I felt surprised and I admitted to them that I didn't know that much about the issues that a person may face when transitioning in the workplace. I also told them that I thought that they were very brave for coming out and that I wanted to support them”

Telling colleagues “ I decided that I would rather that everyone at my workplace know about my plan to transition at the same time so that there would be no confusion or gossip at my workplace. I wrote an e-mail where I explained that I was going to transition and why…. I was pleased to find that I received a lot of positive and supportive emails from my colleagues” “What I have noticed with the staff team, though they have expressed support for the [transgender] employee, is that they sometimes seem anxious about how to act around them”

Employer-Employee Relationship “There are also several ‘soft skills’ that go into supporting a transgender employee in the workplace. Managers should try to be aware not only of practical issues that need to be addressed but also how to do this; there are many different ways to supporting a transgender employee, there isn’t a ‘one size fits’ approach” “I feel that this experience has in general had a positive impact on my workplace and served to bring the team closer together. It has also made me, as a manager, more aware of how much people’s personal lives can affect their performance at work”

Scope of the guidance Thinking about gender Legislation Policies Practicalities

Useful Resources For further information on supporting transgender people you can: contact LGBT Health & Wellbeing at www.lgbthealth.org.uk sign up for T-monthly phone the helpline on: 0300 123 2523 or e-mail the helpline at: helpline@lgbthealth.org.uk

References Stonewall (2015) Unhealthy Attitudes. London: Stonewall. Equality Network (2015), the Scottish LGBT Equality Report. Edinburgh: Equality Networkt Government Equalities Office (2011) Headline findings from our transgender e-surveys.