Abstract

This article examines the ways transitioning employees perceive employing organizations’ readiness and willingness to deal with gender transitions and identifies barriers to those employees being able to express their gender in the workplace in their preferred manner. We draw on interviews with 25 transitioning trans persons who, over a period of two years, were interviewed on four occasions and asked about the ways in which their gender transition was handled at work. It appears that societal cisnormative and binarist gender regimes are pervasive in HR practices, restricting the support for, and acceptance of, trans and non-binary employees’ gender transitions in the workplace in several ways. Besides confirming the perceived lack of organizational knowledge about transgender issues in general, and gender transitions more specifically, the interviews reveal that in order to become intelligible for HR managers and colleagues, employee transgender status has to be both visible, and unambiguously attributable to either a male or female gender expression. Everything in-between, gender-non-conforming, non-binary, non-gendered, or mutable seems to be met with confusion and receives less acceptance and support. Furthermore, the results show the temporal and declining nature of support and understanding during a gender transition. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

摘要

本文探讨了转型员工如何看待雇佣组织处理性别转型的准备和意愿，并找出了这些员工在工作场所以自己喜欢的方式表达性别的障碍。我们对 25 名变性跨性别者进行了采访，他们在两年的时间里接受了四次采访，并询问了他们在工作中处理性别转变的方式。社会顺规范和二元性别制度似乎在人力资源实践中普遍存在，以多种方式限制了对跨性别和非二元员工性别转变的支持和接受。除了确认组织普遍缺乏关于跨性别问题，更具体地说是性别转变的知识外，访谈显示，为了让人力资源经理和同事能够理解，员工的变性身份必须是可见的，并且明确地归因于男性或女性的性别表达。一切介于两者之间的事物、性别不一致、非二元、非性别或可变的事物似乎都会遇到混乱，并得到较少的接受和支持。此外，结果显示了性别转变期间支持和理解的暂时性和下降性。讨论了实践和理论意义。或可变似乎会遇到混乱，并得到较少的接受和支持。此外，结果显示了性别转变期间支持和理解的暂时性和下降性。讨论了实践和理论意义。或可变似乎会遇到混乱，并得到较少的接受和支持。此外，结果显示了性别转变期间支持和理解的暂时性和下降性。讨论了实践和理论意义。