Trans employees are quitting ‘unwelcoming’ workplaces

Almost half of trans employees have quit their job due to experiencing unwelcoming work environments.

According to a YouGov survey for Totaljobs, 43 per cent of trans employees said they have quit because they have not felt welcome in their places of work. This is a 7 per cent increase from 2016 when 36 per cent reported this issue.

YouGov surveyed 410 trans or non-binary adults in compiling this data after the research group conducted a similar survey in 2016.

The findings also revealed that 32 per cent of trans employees have experienced discrimination in the workplace in the last five years.

A further 54 per cent said employees don’t support trans employees enough through training and only 36 per cent said workplaces have dedicated anti-trans discrimination policies. Meanwhile, an increasing number have reported that they felt the need to hide their trans status at work, with 65 per cent saying they had done so, up from 52 per cent in 2016.

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Lee Clatworthy, a spokesperson from transgender rights charity Sparkle said: “We advise businesses and organisations on the importance of communicating their values externally. We would recommend de-gendering the language on application forms and throughout the recruitment process to ensure the first interaction with your company is as inclusive as possible.”

However, some of the survey findings showed progress. Of those who shared their trans status in their workplace, 51 per cent said their colleagues responded positively to them coming out, compared to 50 per cent in 2016. Meanwhile, only 5 per cent also saw their colleagues react negatively to them coming out, down from 10 per cent in 2016.

Jon Wilson, CEO of TotalJobs added: “Having a situation where any employee feels that they have to hide who they are in the workplace, or even decide to leave a role as a consequence of not feeling accepted, is simply wrong. To hear that the number of trans people experiencing this has increased since our last report in 2016 is deeply concerning.

“As employers, we need to ask serious questions as to what we can do to improve this state of affairs and ensure we’re championing a culture that is inclusive of trans individuals, to ensure they have happier healthier working lives.”  

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