Employers

Although there is a contractual agreement between you and your trans or gender diverse employee that dictates how your relationship functions. Allyship is not only possible but important.

This page talks about ways that employers, management, leadership, and HR departments can support trans employees. For more information on how to support trans colleagues, visit this page.

To develop this page, we worked with ACON’s Pride in Diversity team who offer LGBTQ workplace inclusion services and specialise in HR, organisational change and workplace diversity across Australia.

What being an ally looks like is not able to be summed up with a list, but the below points are a great start.

The agency of your trans employees

It’s important to let trans employees have control over what gender affirmation in the workplace looks like for them. For some people this will involve a big series of changes, for others it will look like updating some language and administrative systems, and for others something different again. Each person affirms their gender in their own ways, and this is important to remember.

You don’t need to include your trans employee in every decision you make, and it’s often better not to, but making decisions for them can feel like you might not be listening to their needs in the workplace.

An important part of this is letting your trans employee know when you have to or want to include other members of your organisation in the conversation, eg. An HR representative, another manager or person they work with, IT staff who will update their details, etc.

There may be a range of people who need to know this information, but letting your employee feel like they’re in control of who knows and when can go a long way to making them feel comfortable and supported.

Griffith University provide clear information for a trans employee’s key support team, including how to support people, and concrete examples of ways to affirm and look after them. You can read their Guidelines here.

Leading by example

One of the easiest ways to support trans people in your workplace is by showing others that it’s not only important but easy to respect and affirm them.

This can include modelling allyship by:

• Ensuring HR systems adequately account for female, male and non-binary employees. Best practice indicators to use can be found in our Researchers page

• Using their name and pronouns correctly and consistently, including in settings where they’re not present and even if others don’t

• Correcting others when they use the wrong language or ask inappropriate questions

• Adding pronouns as standard for all email signatures

• Participating in specialist training, such as ACON’s Pride Training

• Joining Pride In Diversity and Welcome Here

• Stepping in when harassment or bullying occurs and demonstrating that transphobia is not welcome in your workplace.

Thinking about the inclusiveness of your organisation

While supporting individual staff is a great thing to do, it’s also a great opportunity to make sure your whole team, location, or even organisation is going to be inclusive and supportive of other trans staff in the future. This may even become something that your organisation is known for.

A great first step is to have a gender affirmation policy in place, an internal document that not only provides instructions on how to support trans people wanting to affirm their gender at work, but demonstrates that you have thought about, and are willing to support trans employees. You can read more about gender affirmation policies here.

This may also involve doing a workplace audit, such as Rainbow Health Victoria’s available for download here.

This tool can help organisations get a general sense of how inclusive they are in meeting the following six LGBTQ-Inclusive Practice Standards:

• Organisational capability

• Workforce development

• Consumer participation

• A welcoming and accessible organisation

• Disclosure and documentation

• Culturally safe and acceptable services.

An audit such as this can help you ascertain where the gaps are, and identify ways to resolve them.

You can also work with an employer support program such as Pride In Diversity, which you can find out more about here, or get visible about being an ally by joining ACON’s Welcome Here.

Creating a culture of respect

In addition to having a strong foundation of inclusion policy, it can be valuable to work on creating a culture of respect: that is, a workplace or organisation that recognises employees that support each other and challenge discrimination and transphobia.

This is especially important if you don’t think you have any trans employees. Having a culture of respect and support for trans employees will let people know it is a safe workplace to come out in, which may lead to people you didn’t know were trans coming out as a result.

Creating a culture of respect can include

• Considering and reflecting the lives of trans people in your workplace and work, eg. In training, campaigns, resources, and client services

• Having posters, pamphlets, and media in the workplace that is openly trans positive and affirming

• Working with and donating to trans, or LGBTQ+ charities and causes, including allowing staff to volunteer time, doing pro bono work for groups and causes, and more

For employers seeking to build inclusive, welcoming, and safe workplaces for LGBTI+ people with disability, head to the EmployableQ Toolkit, a fantastic set of resources developed alongside the community by the National LGBTI Health Alliance.

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone based upon their gender or trans status in employment.

Discrimination includes:

• Being treated unfairly because you are trans, or people think you are trans

• Not being treated as your legally affirmed gender

• Being forced to follow a rule or requirement of the gender presumed for you at birth

• Being treated unfairly because you are the relative, friend or colleague of a trans person, or a person who is assumed to be trans.

Trans discrimination can occur in workplaces and occupational settings including at:

• Employment, including applying for a job, and being passed up for a promotion due to gender or trans status

• Employment agencies, including at recruitment agencies

• Industrial organisations, eg. Unions

• Qualifying bodies for a practice or profession

For more information about workplace rights, visit our Rights & Justice page.

What gender affirmation in your workplace will look like depends entirely on the trans person / people who work there, and what they want and need your support for, and help with. This includes everyone knowing their roles and responsibilities, and putting in place a plan for the workplace, which can include:

1. Expected timeframes for gender affirmation

2. Proposed leave plans (if/as required)

3. Creation of a support team (if/as required)

4. How and when the change will be communicated to relevant staff and stakeholders

5. Recommended training and who this will be delivered to

6. Details of an event to meet team in affirmed gender (if desired)

7. The policy, expectations and timeframes in relation to IT system changes (such as gender and name)

8. Date employee will present in the workplace in their affirmed gender

Additional education may be needed for colleagues and stakeholders who may not have any knowledge around trans issues and identities. This can be discussed with your trans employee/s, and the team supporting them.

This is a great place to start when thinking about what your workplace’s gender affirmation policy might look like, and can easily be adapted to fit your organisation. This includes information about things like legal and tax office requirements, appearance, dress and uniform, updating details in office systems, and specific guidelines for managers to support their trans employees.

A great way to support the trans people in your life is to learn more about trans people in general, including the different ways that gender affirmation can look. We recommend starting with our 101 section, which provides an overview of who trans people are, what gender affirmation consists of, and answers some of the big questions we’re asked. 

Also, while the gender affirmation sections of TransHub are written for trans and gender diverse people, anyone can read them and learn more about us. Find out more at the Social, Medical, and Legal sections.