Do trans employees feel seen and safe? How to audit your HR policies and benefits

In 2023, 80 anti-trans bills have already passed out of the 566 proposed across the country, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker. And while there's little employers can do to change what's happening nationally, there's still a lot they can be doing to better support the trans folks within their own ranks. 

There are more than two million transgender people in the United States and 1.2 million people who identify as nonbinary, according to a 2021 report from management consulting company McKinsey. Yet transgender adults are twice as likely to be unemployed; for those who do work, more than half say they are not comfortable being out at work. 

"In general, LGBTQ rights have come a long way," says Milena Berry, who is married to a transgender woman and also serves as the CEO of PowerToFly, a diversity recruiting and retention platform. "But where the gay rights movement was in the 1970s is where the trans rights movement is now, 50 years later. There's a lot of transphobia, there is a rising sweep of laws against trans people and it's making them feel like their human rights aren't safe." 

Read more: This trans, nonbinary C-suite exec discusses today's culture of DEI

McKinsey also found that respondents who identified as transgender felt far less supported in the workplace than their cisgender colleagues do. They reported that it was more difficult to understand workplace culture and benefits and harder to get promoted; cisgender employees were found to make 32% more than transgender employees, even when education levels matched. 

"It's a particularly sensitive time for trans folks in the workplace when they don't know where they stand legally," Berry says. "It's the responsibility of employers to provide that extra net of support for our trans and nonbinary employees and to plug the holes that are being left by the legislation." 

Employers could begin by making the office as gender neutral as possible. This means ensuring that all HR and employee forms use inclusive language and include "nonbinary" when asking employees to disclose their gender, and providing gender-neutral bathroom facilities. 

Read more: Trans employees need more support from their employers

"The amount of time I have seen folks struggle with being afraid to go to the bathroom because of having to choose — it's uncomfortable," Berry says. "It's such a basic human need. And if you want to keep your gendered facilities, the least we can do as employers is make at least one bathroom available to all genders and then make it accessible, not all the way down the hall or on a different floor." 

Having Pride Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) is helpful, but it's not where efforts should end. Employers should be going the extra mile and ensuring that their Pride ERGs are either trans-inclusive or even consider launching a trans-specific ERG — if their trans employees feel comfortable enough to start one. 

Efforts as simple as celebrating holidays such as Transgender Awareness Month and National Coming Out Day, to investing in inclusive healthcare offerings or reallocation budget for trans employees in certain states, can also make a significant impact.

Read more: PwC is giving trans employees $75k for their healthcare costs

"Do your benefits cover hormone replacement therapy or surgeries for trans folks or for employees' trans and nonbinary kids?" Berry says. "If you can't get a better insurance policy, you can say, 'I understand you don't feel safe living in Florida anymore, I will give you a $15,000 allocation bonus to move your family somewhere safer.' That goes a long way."

Meaningful policy change can only come from an inclusive culture. On top of addressing technicalities, employers should also be facilitating conversations at work around current events and empowering their trans folks to speak up about what they may be experiencing both at work and at home. 

"Trans rights are human rights," Berry says. "And I know trans and nonbinary issues are fairly new to a lot of employers, but we're in this intense period of self education. As long as we're treating these issues and this community with the love and respect they deserve, that's what matters."Do trans employees feel seen and safe? How to audit your HR policies and benefits