The HRC’s Corporate Equality Index gives us a good idea of how LGBT-friendly a company may (or may not) be. These days, those that come up short usually stumble on the “T” part of the acronym.
Statistics bear that out: as of December 2014, a whopping 89% of Fortune 500 firms included sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies, but only 66% did the same for gender identity. Far fewer — around 33% — provided trans-inclusive healthcare coverage.
The good news — according to Deena Fidas, co-author of the CEI — is that those numbers are improving all the time. The better news is that two of the most trans-friendly companies in America are found in the auto industry: Ford and Toyota.
According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 90% of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination on the job or took actions like hiding who they are to avoid it; 47% percent said they had experienced an adverse job outcome like being fired, not hired, or denied a promotion because of being transgender or gender non-conforming; and twice as many transgender individuals experience unemployed compared to the rest of the population.
“Employers that take meaningful steps to facilitate greater transgender inclusion in their workplaces, from non-discrimination protections to inclusive benefits, are not just doing the right thing for workers, but they are strategically setting themselves apart from other companies competing for talent and innovation,” Fidas says.
“Comprehensively addressing transgender inclusion is critical to remaining relevant as broader social attitudes, as well as legal mandates, continue to advance.”
Hell, what you’re hired as is what the company hired. Ain’t no changing because of some whim or the current fad. And all the companies that provide healthcare for “whatever” feels like being on a particular day is utter insanity. Really, I guess he/she/it can be treated for uterine cancer on Monday and testicular cancer on Thursday? The whole LBGT (and whatever letters some bozo will think of) is totally out-of-hand.
Do you really think that transfolk like Laverne Cox and Chaz Bono undergo transitions just because they wake up one day feeling like they want to be a different sex? I suggest you do some reading on the matter and go out and meet some trans people in your own community. (And trust me, if they’re in my home state of Mississippi, they’re everywhere.) I’m not talking about drag queens or other people who put on a dress for a show, I’m talking true trans people. They’ll tell you: their decision to transition is something that they considered for years. The cost alone is enough to prevent any but the most serious from undertaking it.