Bruce Jenner just announced “For all intents and purposes, I’m a woman.” Now, as much fun as it is to discuss this on a gossipy level and get quotes from his Kardashian step children, what if Jenner were your employee? When a biological male announces that he intends to live life as a she, how does that affect your workplace? Getting it wrong can land you in court. Here’s what you need to know:
Transgender isn’t a protected class…but: Federal law doesn’t offer special protection to people based on their transgendered status, but federal law does prohibit discrimination based on something called “gender stereotypes.” This means, if Jenner were your employee and now he wants to start wearing makeup and dresses to work, you can’t fire him because men don’t wear makeup. That’s a gender stereotype.
The EEOC recently settled a lawsuit with Lakeland Eye Clinic based on this very concept.
The EEOC’s lawsuit charged that Lakeland Eye Clinic discriminated based on sex by firing its Director of Hearing Services after she began to present as a woman and informed the defendant that she was transgender, despite the fact that the employee had performed her duties satisfactorily throughout her employment. The complaint alleged that the action was taken because the former Director was transgender, transitioning from male to female, and because she did not conform to the employer’s gender-based stereotypes.
To keep reading, click here: If Bruce Jenner Were Your Employee
Thanks for this, and for reminding people that the best course is to focus on a person’s performance (Dr. Weiss’ sample letter is particularly useful)
“Another aspect of Lusardi’s case was that management continued to use male pronounces to refer to Lusardi and, in some cases, switched to “it” instead. ”
“it”? Seriously? I can see how it might be difficult to remember to use female pronouns because those are so ingrained and would require effort and self-correction, but using “it” is just malicious.
You’re right. That’s pretty awful. Employees are not insects.
I suspect that the attitude, more than the request to use the single stall bathroom was what caused the employee to complain to the EEOC. Because, really, how often is a single person bathroom being cleaned that it causes someone to have to use a different one?
I’m sure that if people had just been kind, the case wouldn’t have happened.
Lots of transgendered people use “it” or “they” to refer to themselves. You have to ask what pronoun they prefer.
Most trans people I know prefer to be asked what pronoun they’d like people to use rather than assuming they’d like to be referred to as “she” after disclosing their identity as a trans woman. I don’t know if it’s just my circle of friends, but quite a few of them prefer the pronoun “they” because it’s not gender binary.
The “they” is interesting. It seems like that would be for someone that isn’t formally transitioning to a new gender, but remaining in the middle. But, I’m definitely not an expert on this subject.
I admit, I would find it very difficult to call a single persons “they.” It would just be weird. But, if it made that person comfortable, why not?
I find it awkward to use, especially in a conversation about many people, but I try to respect my friend’s wishes. Everyone slips up from time to time.
I grew up in a very conservative household, where there was a firm belief in segregation of sexes. Had my father been able to afford to send me to an all girls school he would have. In fact the day he took me to my state – sponsored university, he almost took me right back out, because he found out men were allowed in my all-female dorm during the day.
I learned very young to refer to all male friends in the singular as “they” and never by name, just to save myself the hassle that inevitably followed.
Though I would try, I might find it difficult using “they” in reference to a transgendered person, just because I’d feel like I was trying be secretive, even if I knew that wasn’t why.
How can a business resolve the conflict here:
Side 1: Bruce identifies as a woman, can you cannot bar him from using the ladies bathroom.
Side 2: Bruce is a man (He has not had GRS) and allowing a man to use the woman’s bathroom can create a hostile work environment for the women in the office.
How does a business that doesn’t want an EEOC suit, but also doesn’t want to risk a harassment suit resolve this conflict? Essentially, either Bruce is going to be made uncomfortable, or the privacy-centric women in the office are going to be uncomfortable. Neither is good, but there’s no easy solution here.
In a larger company, this is easier. We had a man at our company who transitioned to woman. The building was reasonably large and near her work area was a single sex bathroom. She agreed to use that one until she went through surgery.
In smaller companies, you may have to be creative to make everyone happy. The exact solution would depend on your building and your employees.
I suspect that most people transitioning aren’t really going to make a huge stink. There are a few that will, but there are jerks in all groups.
But the other thing is, in all my 42 years upon this planet, women’s bathrooms have always had stalls and women always shut the door. Now, if you could just get American architects to design bathroom stalls without gaps, there really would be zero problem whatsoever. I don’t get why they don’t do this. It’s pretty standard here, in Switzerland.
Same in Japan, stalls doors reach the floor in most restrooms.
I think in your 42 years, you never went to my local roller rink. I am not sure what they were trying to do or protect, but there were no doors on any of the stalls. To add insult to injury, thelr “large” $1.50 drink was an 8 oz non refillable foam cup (in the 80’s).
Our parents wondered why we didn’t want our birthday parties there. The rink wondered why they went out of business.
This somewhat reminds me of the Planet Fitness story of a man who had not physically transitioned and looked very much like a man walking into the women’s shower/changing room and causing one of the women using the facilities to become alarm and complain (and the women then got suspended for complaining). It’s a tough issue, especially pre transition.
I have sympathy for the woman who complained there. At my gym, I’m constantly seeing naked women. I mean, it’s the locker room. It would be uncomfortable to have someone who hadn’t completely transitioned either in there while I’m changing or walking in on that person changing.
I think there is responsibility on both sides to be polite.
I remember this story. I prefer the separation of men and women in a confined space with one exit in a public place where you are doing something vulnerable (your potty business) for safety. My concern wouldn’t be the person had the right or wrong junk. For example, if I saw someone who clearly looked like a man and I didn’t know them and my daughter was alone in the bathroom I can’t imagine not having an automatic reaction. If I knew the person was or considered themselves female it would not bother me but walking out of a bathroom stall into a dude would probably give me a heart attack. Sadly, I don’t think there would be this same concern seeing someone who looked female walking in to a bathroom my son was in. My reactions are socially conditioned in part and I’ve also been in a violent assault by a male. Knowing the person – like a coworker or a babysitter or anything as long as I knew them I’d be fine.
Question: if you argue that “you don’t need a court ruling to simply be nice to someone”, and using pronouns based on their gender identity is the way to do that, and Jenner has stated “for all intents and purposes, I’m a woman”, why did you refer to “quotes from his Kardashian step children” (instead of “her” step children)?
Jenner was asked which gender he would prefer to be referred to, and his choice was he/him/his. When you’re talking about the workplace and being nice I agree that to do that should involve trying to use the preferred pronoun… I think “it” is a disrespectful choice but if you don’t know the person you can only do your best selecting from he or she and be open to allowing that person to define it. By your own logic you’d be the one “not being nice” here – but I have a feeling you used female pronouns not to be a jerk but because it is what you assumed was right based on what you knew. No one should expect you to go combing the Internet or oersobally calling Jenner to find out…
Yup, I took “for all intents and purposes, I’m a woman” as a statement that Jenner wanted to be referred to by “she” — I was apparently missing some information. Thanks for the clarification.
I guess I totally missed this also. I find this confusing. For all intents and purposes he is a woman and yet he still wants to be referred to as he/him/his?
We had such a situation at my workplace in 2008. A person on my floor was transitioning from a woman to a man. There was a general uproar from the men, with quite a lot of open hostility about transgender people in general, and this particular employee in particular. It was pretty awful to hear some of the comments, especially since a lot of them were just downright childish (about bathroom functions, mainly). Management sent around an email about “being respectful to others” but it was so vague, and had no power behind it, that it really didn’t do much good. I’m not sure if he simply started taking bathroom breaks on another floor or what, but after a month or so the nastiness seemed to abate.
I always thought he was pretty nice, I didn’t know him well, just chatted in the elevator and so on. How he endured it I have no idea, I would have been crushed to hear some of those things said about me.
I appreciate the inclusive tone of this article. There’s a lot of good information and support for transgender people here. “Transgendered” isn’t the proper term for trans people, though; “transgender” is correct.
There’s a lot of debate over a term like “biologically male” as well. “Assigned male at birth” or “trans/transgender woman” is the more accurate term.
Thanks for such a thoughtful look at this issue.
The article is a very good overview about the subject. I think the reception of individuals pre and post transition really depends on their workplace.
I work for an employer that has a reputation of being Trans friendly. It’s a public university that covers some of the costs associated with transitioning, but not all. I had to attend a workshop interacting with GLBT individuals with an emphasis on the Trans population. One of the presenters was transitioning from female to male and another attendee was a male planning on transitioning to female. The presenters touched on the public health aspects of transitioning, including changing gender terminology on patient registration forms and making your doctor aware of the “assigned male/female at birth” but now are a woman/man biologically. The bathroom issue was discussed because most bathrooms on campus are designated male/female. Also, the personal pronoun issue was a topic.