As companies pay more attention to where their DEI efforts are falling short, it's clear that surveys and social media statements will not be enough to put their culture on the right track.
Schuyler Bailar, the first trans NCAA D1 men's athlete and the creator of gender literacy training platform LaneChanger, believes that in order for companies to boast a diverse workforce and inclusive benefits, leaders and employees must be willing to cultivate safe environments for those who already work there. That's where education around gender literacy can come in.
For Bailar, gender literacy is the foundation of understanding diversity and most importantly, empathy. From the proper use of pronouns, to the successful recruitment and retention of diverse talent, gender literacy can be the gateway to companywide success.
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"Everyone needs an understanding of the gender spectrum, gender stereotypes and how those stereotypes can either limit us or expand if we let them," Bailar says. "For 18 years, I walked the world perceived as a woman. Now I walk the world as somebody people perceive as a man. I have very different privileges and experiences these days — as well as a breadth of insight, nuance and depth. It's one of the reasons I love being trans."
Bailar has shared his personal story and taught businesses and schools the fundamentals of gender literacy throughout his public speaking career. In a country where nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ bills have been filed in 2022 alone, and Pew Research estimates that only four in 10 Americans personally know a transgender person, Bailar knew access to these trainings could make an impact on a wider audience — so he launched them into the digital space as LaneChanger.
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"If most people can't even define the word transgender, why is everybody talking about where we belong?" says Bailar. "The answer is sensationalist media, misinformation and ignorance. LaneChanger is a way to combat that."
LaneChanger provides an introduction by Bailar and over 40 individual topic modules, along with quizzes and certificates of completion for those who follow a curated lesson plan. LaneChanger's lessons range from explaining why it's healthy to discuss gender with kids, to the misconceptions surrounding trans women in competitive sports and the safety of trans-inclusive bathrooms. (
"Cisgender people do not choose to be cisgender," says Bailar. "Same with me. I didn't choose to be trans."
In the workplace, these conversations can spark meaningful change — and improve a company's bottom line. McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than organizations in the bottom quartile.
Since its launch this summer, LaneChanger announced that food manufacturer General Mills has made the platform available to its 35,000 employees worldwide, and health and wellness companies like FOLX Health, August and Within Health are already utilizing the platform, too.
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Alongside training and education, companies have to create a space where knowledge and understanding stand in the place of fear or unconscious bias, or they will never tap what diverse talent has to offer, explains Bailar. He recalls how people have approached him after a lesson, going as far as to tell him that they didn't like gay people and now feel differently after hearing him speak.
"The power of humanity is massively understated in the world," says Bailar. "After my presentation, people always find little pieces of it that resonated with them. Why? Because it's not as complicated as people think. They're just missing the recognition that a trans person is a real person."
Bailar underlines that a lot of his lessons work to unravel beliefs purported by the media or politicians, who back anti-trans legislation. U.S. Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Marco Rubio have supported a bill that would further reduce trans people's access to healthcare, and Republicans in the House introduced a bill that would block federal funding to colleges that allow trans women to participate in sports alongside cisgender women. Bills that restrict healthcare for trans youth specifically have been introduced in at least 19 states. Representative Jim Banks has stated that his party will be in a position to advance these bills if they regain a majority in the House or Senate.
"We have bills trying to ban healthcare for transgender kids, trying to force them to be outed and remove them from their homes in places like Texas and Florida," says Bailar. "Half the bills are focused on sports, and the other half are trying to make sure that trans kids don't grow up."
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Bailar points out that medical organizations like the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry support gender-affirming care for minors and oppose legislation that demands otherwise — but many people Bailar has met through his trainings assume that anti-trans bills are backed by medical experts.
Misinformation like this is why Bailar encourages people to use LaneChanger to not only learn, but ask questions in a space where a trans person is intentionally welcoming curiosity. Bailar is open to sharing how people's treatment of him differed before and after transition, the process of coming out or the changes he has experienced on a biological level.
"When we stop discriminating and stop relegating humans to less than human, we actually become more of our own humanity as well," says Bailar. "And when I present my own humanity, I'm inviting someone to step into their own humanity."
