Employment: Difference between revisions

Nonbinary people often experience significant discrimination and erasure in the workplace and while job-hunting. The majority of nonbinary employees remain closeted at their work.<ref name="OutEqual">{{Cite web |title=BEST PRACTICES FOR NON-BINARY INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE. |author=Out & Equal |date=2018 |access-date=23 September 2020 |url= https://outandequal.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/OE-Non-Binary-Best-Practices.pdf}}</ref> Some research has shown "that being out as a nonbinary transgender person has different effects [...] based on [[sex assigned at birth]], with those assigned male at birth tending to be discriminated against in hiring but those assigned female at birth more likely to experience differential treatment once hired."<ref>{{cite journal|date=2016|last=Davidson|first=Skylar|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2016.1236511|title=Gender inequality: Nonbinary transgender people in the workplace|journal=Cogent Social Sciences|volume=2|issue=1}}</ref>

* editing documentation to utilize [[gender neutral language]] and [[singular they]] rather than using phrases like "his/her paycheck".<ref name="Hendrick">{{Cite web |title=“M,” “F,” Or “X”? Nonbinary Gender Designations In The Workplace |last1=Hendrick|last2=Meneghello|last3=Behymer |work=Fisher Phillips |date=1 January 2018 |access-date=19 June 2020 |url= https://www.fisherphillips.com/resources-newsletters-article-m-f-or-x-nonbinary-gender-designations}}</ref><ref name="FP2020">{{Cite web |title=An Update On Nonbinary Gender Designations In The Workplace |last1=Brenton |first1=M.|last2=Evans|first2=K. |work=Fisher Phillips |date=2 July 2020 |access-date=23 September 2020 |url= https://www.fisherphillips.com/resources-newsletters-article-an-update-on-nonbinary-gender-designations-in}}</ref>

* allowing/encouraging employees to list their [[pronouns]] on email signatures/name tags/etc., as well as having employees introduce themselves with their pronouns when speaking to people.<ref name="Moore-Beyond">{{Cite web |title=Beyond the Binary: Navigating the Workplace as a Gender Nonconforming Individual |last=Moore |first=Emily |work=Glassdoor |date=11 October 2019 |access-date=28 August 2021 |url= https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/haven-life-interview/}}</ref>

* revising anti-discrimination/anti-harassment policies to include nonbinary gender as a protected characteristic<ref name="FP2020" /> and including information about nonbinary genders in any anti-harassment training activities.<ref name="Smith2018">{{Cite web |title=How to Accommodate 'Gender-Nonbinary' Individuals—Neither Men nor Women |last1=Smith |first1=Allen |work=SHRM |date=16 February 2018 |access-date=23 September 2020 |url= https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/gender-nonbinary-individuals.aspx}}</ref>

* Consider workplace recognition of [[holidays]] such as [[International Nonbinary Day]], Trans Day of Visibility, and [[International Pronouns Day]].<ref name="lewi_Empl">{{Cite web |title=Employment law and non-binary people: what employers need to know |trans-title= |author= |work=Lewis Silkin |date=15 September 2020 |access-date=23 October 2020 |url= https://www.lewissilkin.com/en/insights/employment-law-and-nonbinary-people-what-employers-need-to-know |language=EN}}</ref>

* Workplace policies related to gender [[transition]] should not require a specific timeline or "pathway" for transition to follow.<ref name="Zheng">{{Cite web |title=Transgender, Gender-Fluid, Nonbinary, and Gender-Nonconforming Employees Deserve Better Policies |last=Zheng |first=Lily |work=Harvard Business Review |date=20 November 2020 |access-date=21 November 2020 |url= https://hbr.org/2020/11/transgender-gender-fluid-nonbinary-and-gender-nonconforming-employees-deserve-better-policies }}</ref>

It is best to begin making these changes even before the employer has any employees who are openly nonbinary.<ref name="Allen">{{Cite web |title=Workplaces Need to Prepare for the Non-Binary Future |last=Allen |first=Samantha |work=The Daily Beast |date=11 September 2018 |access-date=23 September 2020 |url= https://www.thedailybeast.com/workplaces-need-to-prepare-for-the-non-binary-future}}</ref><ref name="ohrc_Appe">{{Cite web |title=Appendix C: Best practices checklist |author= |work=Ontario Human Rights Commission |date=14 April 2014 |access-date=23 October 2020 |url= http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-preventing-discrimination-because-gender-identity-and-gender-expression/appendix-c-best-practices-checklist}}</ref>

Some employers in the USA have to file a yearly Equal Employment Opportunity report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). As of 2019, although the EEO reporting forms still only have Male/Female as gender options, it is suggested that information on nonbinary employees be reported in the comment box as "Additional Employee Data".<ref name="FP2019">{{Cite web |title=How To Complete EEO-1 Report With Non-Binary Employees |author= |work=Fisher Phillips |date=23 August 2019 |access-date=23 September 2020 |url= https://www.fisherphillips.com/resources-alerts-how-to-complete-eeo-1-report-with}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=EEOC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218123524/https://eeoccomp2.norc.org/Faq|url=https://eeoccomp2.norc.org/Faq|archive-date=18 December 2019}}</ref>

During the interview, you could fish for information on whether the employer is accepting of nonbinary people by asking if they have gender-neutral restrooms in the workplace,<ref name="Moore-Beyond" /> or inquiring about the employer's approach to diversity/inclusion.<ref name="Moore-Inclusive">{{Cite web |title=8 Interview Questions to Evaluate If A Company is *Really* Inclusive |last=Moore |first=Emily |work=Glassdoor |date=9 July 2020 |access-date=28 August 2021 |url= https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/interview-questions-inclusive/}}</ref>

*{{Cite web |title=7 Job Search Tips for Transgender and Nonbinary Folks |last=Fleenor |first=S.E. |work=The Muse |date= |url= https://www.themuse.com/advice/transgender-nonbinary-job-search-advice}}

*{{Cite web|title= Interviewing While Non-Binary|url=https://www.idealist.org/en/careers/non-binary-interview|last=Katz |first=Joeli|date=19 October 2020}}

*{{cite web|url=https://erinrwhite.com/coming-out-as-nonbinary-at-work/ |title=Coming out as nonbinary at work |date=12 March 2019|last=White|first=Erin}} (includes example letter)

*{{cite web|url=https://www.rodtannerlaw.com/news/discrimination-in-the-workplace-is-there-recourse-for-nonbinary-individuals-facing-discrimination-at-work |title=Discrimination in the Workplace: Is There Recourse for Nonbinary Individuals Facing Discrimination at Work?|date=1 July 2021}}

*{{cite web|url=https://archermagazine.com.au/2019/08/job-hunting-as-a-non-binary-trans-person-help-wanted/|last=Valentine|first=Ginger|title=Job-hunting as a non-binary trans person: Help wanted|date=30 August 2019}}