Being any kind of sexual minority in the workplace has been historically difficult but those with the most recognizable gender variance have been the most persecuted.
Worse still can be attempting to transition in the workplace. You may not pass very well in the beginning, new hormones may make you particularly sensitive or irritable, and many states in this country do not protect employees from discrimination based on gender identity or appearance.
Finding a job, even if you are not openly trans, can also be quite a challenge in an environment where you are required to fill out perfectly separated male/female boxes and a quick background check can reveal your former sex quite easily.
Developer Jillian Barfield had experience with trans job discrimination.
She was fired from her job as a corporate vice-president because of her transsexual status. Despite her credentials and experience, she has found it very difficult to get a foot in the door with recruiters.
It was trials such as these that prompted Barfield to pioneer a newly launched website called TJobBank. This career opportunity site aims to help trans job seekers and trans-friendly workplaces come together. As it is in its very infant stages there are only 7 jobs so far but the site has a simple, easy to use layout that has great potential.
The site is currently free to both employers and job seekers and includes only companies that are truly inclusive. In an interesting note on their “How it works” page TJobBank observed that though the HRC compiled a list of GLBT-friendly companies to work for, many of those are most certainly not trans-friendly, even if they’ve amassed a 100% rating. But, then again, we all know how the HRC has reacted to trans-inclusivity in the past.
TJob verifies each corporation for its hiring practices before they can list on the site, so you can be sure the company really does practice what it preaches.
