Scene Four: Thursday, July 12 2007:
Including and Engaging People who are Transgender and Bisexual in the Workplace
Session Summary
Purpose of this session:
Often Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender issues get lumped into one category: GLBT, but the groups themselves are very different, and face different challenges in the workplace. The purpose of this session was to identify the specific concerns that people who are transgender and bisexual face at work.
"Many people have a hard time understanding identities that are ambiguous, and both transgender and bisexual fall into this category," says Jillian Weiss, Ph.D., J.D., a presenter at this session. "While the reality is that sex, gender and sexual orientation all exist on continua, we want things to be simpler than they actually are," adds Robyn Ochs, Ed.M., co-presenter.
People who are transgender and bisexual are often excluded from both the heterosexual communities and gay/lesbian communities because of a general lack of knowledge and understanding. While these population groups are relatively small, the discrimination they face can significantly impact their productivity and retention at work.
Jillian and Robyn facilitated this session to increase personal understanding and awareness and offer strategies and tools to better include and engage these population groups both personally and systemically.
Outcomes of the session:
- Participants will understand the nature of both transgender and bisexual groups, and be able to articulate what they face in the workplace.
- Participants will gain increased awareness and comfort around with people who are transgender and/or bisexual.
- Participants will gain strategies and tools to systemically include and engage people who are transgender and/or bisexual.
Process:
Jillian and Robyn began the session with an overall list of terminology and answers to misconceptions about what it means to be transgender or bisexual.
Robyn shared a few personal stories about her journey and experiences in the workplace as a person who is bisexual and Jillian offered a cognitive approach to what gender identity means to her. Participants were encouraged to ask questions during Q&A sections and anonymously on cards. [Mark, please link here to the Participant Generated Questions on Bisexual and Transgender Issues]
After getting comfortable with the ideas about transgender and bisexual issues, Jillian and Robyn led the group into real-life dilemmas. Participants were asked to respond to how they, and managers/co-workers would respond to situations where: A person is rumored to be bisexual and co-workers are gossiping A person announces he will transition from George to Gina
Jillian and Robyn stressed that the key to handling real-life situations is to develop comprehensive sexual orientation and gender identity policies before these kinds of circumstances arise. They highlighted best practices that can aid an organization in what specifically to include. For example, an organization should have in place a policy on restroom usage before a person transitions.
Half-way though the session, the group split into two groups: those who wanted to focus more on their own personal understanding and development, and those who wanted more concrete tools to implement organizational change to better include these groups in the organization.
Each group was given a case study that involved a person who needed insurance benefits for her partner. The couple was a transgender person and her partner who required an eye surgery. Both the HR policies and law were unclear in this situation as to what the couple's benefits included. The groups worked on the case study while exploring either their own biases or their organization's systemic barriers to issues involving domestic partnerships, an issue as important for people who are transgender and/or bisexual as for people who are gay/lesbian.
The group then came together for a session debrief and more Q&A.
Below are some comments from participants of this session:
Personal development:
- I will remind myself to treat people as individuals, to maintain confidentiality and to challenge my own assumptions
- I feel like this subject needed way more time. I scored my knowledge low only because I felt like there was so very much more to learn
- My curiosity about their identity does not give me the right to ask
- Too much open discussion without real resolutions
- I will try and refocus people or co-workers to realize that a person's transgender or bisexual identity has nothing to do with their work ethics.
Organizational change:
- Bring attention to and recommend updating of current policies
- I will ensure training on these topics
- I'll make sure to update EEO policy and transgender guidelines are communicated across the organization
- I will utilize our ERG to bring this topic to a top-of-mind-status to increase awareness and respect
- I will be more active in my company's GLBT affinity group
Scene Four was the fourth session of the 2007 NW Diversity Learning Series, Life Theater - Inclusion and Engagement: Challenging and Expanding My Diversity Competency: Moving Beyond My Comfort Zone. The Series, held in Seattle, WA, is organized by The GilDeane Group, publishers of DiversityCentral.com.
Presenters were Jillian Weiss, Ph.D., J.D. Principal Consultant, Jillian T. Weiss & Associates, and Assistant Professor of Law and Society, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ, and Robyn Ochs, Ed.M., a professional speaker on bisexual identity and editor of Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World, Boston, MA.