Transsexuals and workplace diversity. A case of “change” management

Published date01 July 2006
Pages487-502
Date01 July 2006
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/00483480610670625
AuthorJ.M. Barclay,L.J. Scott
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour
Transsexuals and workplace
diversity
A case of “change” management
J.M. Barclay and L.J. Scott
Division of Human Resource Management and Development, Glasgow
Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the key issues involved in situations within the
workplace when an employee goes through gender reassignment, in order to consider how such
situations might be managed more effectively.
Design/methodology/approach It analyses a case study from a national public sector
organisation in the UK where a transsexual person went through male to female gender
reassignment. The case was compiled via participant observation and one to one interviews with the
key players in the process (managers, human resource staff and colleagues as well as the individual).
Findings – Key issues discussed include the effects on trust and relationships at work, harassment,
the role of trade unions, training, and other support. It explores the difficulty of gaining acceptance for
a transsexual, and links this to literature on managing diversity and change management.
Research limitations/implications – The case study is in the public sector in the UK, but
implications are valid for other organisations.
Practical implications Makes suggestions for managing transsexual issues for management and
for trade unions, whilst being cautious about the extent of acceptance that can be achieved.
Originality/value – Existing literature tends to focus on the transsexual individual’s own
viewpoint, and guidelines from transgender support groups. This study includes the roles and
reactions of all the key people involved within a real organisational case, and offers insights into the
issues involved when managing transsexual cases in the workplace.
Keywords Equal opportunities, Employment,Sexual discrimination, Sex and genderissues
Paper type Case study
Introduction
“Employers are disturbingly ignorant of sex change issues” (McLynn and Garnett,
2001). Although there is legislation to protect transsexual people and a growing
awareness of the need to provide fairness at work for these people, little has been
published about organisations managing transsexual people in employment.
Transsexual people often suffer from depression and “inner turmoil”[1]. Evidence
also suggests that transsexual people are extremely hard working employees, who
throw themselves into their work in order to escape their inner turmoil (Gender Identity
Research and Education Society, 2002). Therefore:
...it is in a company’s best interest to try to retain a talented employee whether or not he or
she is transsexual ... companies cannot afford to throw away some of their best workers
(Cadrain, 2004).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
Transsexuals
and workplace
diversity
487
Received October 2004
Revised May 2005
Accepted July 2005
Personnel Review
Vol. 35 No. 4, 2006
pp. 487-502
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/00483480610670625
As with other forms of unfair discrimination, being transsexual has nothing to do with
a person’s ability to perform his or her job and it is important to manage such
situations at work in order to maintain efficiency and good working relationships.
This paper sets out some of the key issues involved in relation to transsexual people
in workplace. It outlines the legal and business rationale for having a policy on
transsexuals. A brief case study from a national public sector organ isation is presented
where a transsexual person recently went through male to female gender
reassignment. Whilst existing literature tends to focus on the transsexual
individual’s own viewpoint, this study also explores the roles and reactions of the
other key players in the process (the managers, colleagues, human resource (HR) staff
and trade union representatives). The case highlights a number of difficulties
experienced by the different people involved. Trust in the transsexual individual is
often undermined, and the reasons for this are considered. The paper also reviews
transsexual issues in terms of diversity theory and literature on change management.
It is hoped that these perspectives on transsexual issues can provide insights towards
managing these processes more effectively at the workplace.
Defining transsexuality
Transsexualism is defined by the Looking Glass Society (1997)[2] as:
...the most pronounced form of gender dysphoria in which a person experiences such a deep
conflict between their physical sex and their mental gender that they have no choice but to
embark upon the process of transition (switching into living full time in the desired role) and
gender reassignment (medical and surgical treatment to alter the body).
A variety of terms are in use to describe this condition, including gender identity
disorder. Put very simply, a transsexual person is an individual whose perception of
their own personality as masculine or feminine is at variance with their assigned
gender at birth: hence, the popular description of the transsexual person feeli ng
themselves to be “trapped in the wrong body” (Gender Trust, 2006).
The gender reassignment regulations in the UK cover those who:
... intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment: a process
undertaken under medical supervision for the purpose of reassigning a person’s sex by
changing physiological or other characteristics of sex (IRLB, 2003).
Hence, although the successful completion of some sort of surgical intervention is not
essential, the medical supervision of a transition process is a key aspect. Hence,
someone who is a transsexual but who does not fall within one of these three groups is
unprotected by the legislation.
Whilst this legal definition is important, especially for employers in the UK, this is
not a universally accepted definition. For example, transsexualism is defin ed by the
World Health Organisation as the consistent (at least two years) desire to live and be
accepted as a member of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by the wish to make
one’s body as congruent as possible with the preferred sex through surgery and/or
hormone treatment. Thus, employers need to consider their standpoint on transsexual
issues. If they choose the more restricted legal definition, they should be aware that
transsexual people and support groups may lobby for a broader accommodation to
include transsexual people at an earlier stage of transition or those who decide no t to
change their physiology.
PR
35,4
488

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