Workplace Experiences of Transgender Employees

Executive Summary

This report examines experiences of employment discrimination and harassment against transgender adults using a survey of 1,902 LGBTQ adults in the workforce, including 86 transgender adults, conducted in the summer of 2023. We compare the experiences of transgender employees with those of cisgender LGBQ employees and nonbinary employees.

The majority of transgender adults in the workforce were under age 35 (71%), and half (50%) were people of color. Sixty percent of transgender people in the workforce were making less than $50,000 a year.

Our analysis indicates that employment discrimination against transgender employees is persistent and widespread. Most transgender employees (82%) reported experiencing discrimination or harassment at work (including being fired, not hired, not promoted, or verbally, physically, or sexually harassed) because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives. Transgender employees were more likely to report these experiences than cisgender LGBQ employees (47%) and nonbinary employees (59%).

Many transgender employees reported recent experiences of discrimination and harassment. Within the past five years, over half (53%) of transgender employees reported that they had been fired, not hired, not promoted, or otherwise discriminated against in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Similarly, over half (56%) reported either verbal, physical, or sexual harassment at work.

Transgender people attempt to mitigate the discrimination and harassment they experience in the workplace by staying in the closet, covering, downplaying their gender identity, or looking for another job. About one-third of transgender employees (36%) reported that they are not open about being transgender to their current supervisor. Most transgender employees (71%) reported engaging in covering behaviors at their current jobs to avoid harassment or discrimination. Approximately four in ten have changed where, when, or how frequently they used the bathroom (39%) and their voice or mannerisms (46%) at work. Over one-third reported changing how they dressed (36%) or their physical appearance (37%).

Transgender employees were twice as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees to report that they have left a job (67% vs. 31%) because of how they were treated based on their LGBTQ status. Thirty percent of transgender employees reported that they have considered leaving their current jobs due to the workplace environment for LGBTQ people. Of those, most (79%) had already taken steps towards finding another job.

In most measures of adverse workplace experiences, transgender employees are significantly more likely to report such experiences than cisgender LGBQ employees. They also are more likely to report such experiences than nonbinary employees along many measures. While the report’s key findings are summarized below, the full report includes quotes from respondents to provide more detail about their experiences of discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Key Findings

Demographics

• An estimated 71% of transgender adults in the workforce were under the age of 35. By comparison, 51% of cisgender LGBQ adults and 87% of nonbinary adults in the workforce were under the age of 35.
• Half (50%) of transgender adults in the workforce were people of color.
• Almost half (48%) of transgender adults in the workforce identified as bisexual, 23% identified as gay, and 9% identified as lesbian.
• Six in ten (60%) transgender workers were making less than $50,000 a year.

Lifetime Experiences of Discrimination and Harassment

• Most transgender employees (82%) reported experiencing discrimination or harassment at work, including being fired, not hired, not promoted, or verbally, sexually, or physically harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives. Transgender employees were more likely to report these experiences than cisgender LGBQ employees (45%) and nonbinary employees (59%).
  • Discrimination: Seventy percent of transgender employees reported experiencing at least one form of employment discrimination (being fired, not hired, or being denied a promotion or other workplace opportunities) because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives.
    • About half of transgender employees reported being fired (54%) and/or not hired (53%) because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. They were about twice as likely to report these specific experiences as cisgender LGBQ (20% and 21%, respectively) and nonbinary employees (23% and 28%, respectively).
    • Almost half (47%) of transgender employees reported not being promoted or being denied other workplace opportunities because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these experiences included having their shifts changed, hours reduced, and being isolated from other employees.
  • Harassment: About two-thirds of transgender employees (68%) reported experiencing at least one form of harassment (verbal, physical, or sexual harassment) at work at some point in their lives because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Transgender employees were more likely to report workplace harassment than cisgender LGBQ employees (35%).
    • Two-thirds of transgender employees (65%) reported experiencing verbal harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, more than cisgender LGBQ employees (28%) and nonbinary employees (40%). Many transgender respondents cited examples of being persistently misgendered, deadnamed, asked invasive questions about their body or transition, or harassed for not conforming to traditional binary genders or gender stereotypes.
    • One-third (34%) of transgender employees reported experiencing physical harassment at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, compared to 15% of cisgender LGBQ and 21% of nonbinary employees.
    • Transgender employees (42%) were twice as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees (20%) to report being sexually harassed at some point in their work lives.
• Transgender employees were twice as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees to report that they had been treated unfairly at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives (65% vs. 33%). Similarly, more transgender employees (85%) had heard negative comments about LGBTQ people in the workplace than cisgender LGBQ employees (71%).

Recent Experiences of Discrimination and Harassment

• Forty-seven percent of transgender employees reported workplace discrimination or harassment in the past year compared to 15% of cisgender LGBQ employees and 29% of nonbinary employees.
  • Discrimination: Over half of transgender employees (53%) reported experiencing at least one form of employment discrimination (including being fired, not hired, or being denied a promotion or other workplace opportunities) based on their sexual orientation or gender identity within the past five years and about one in three (31%) reported these experiences in the past year.
    • Transgender employees were two to four times as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees to report being fired (12% vs. 5%), not being hired (20% vs. 5%) or not being promoted or being denied other workplace opportunities (15% vs. 5%) based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in the past year. They were also more likely than nonbinary employees to report being fired (12% vs. 4%) or not hired (20% vs. 10%) in the past year.
  • Harassment: Over half of transgender employees (56%) reported experiencing at least one form of harassment (including verbal, physical, or sexual harassment) in the workplace based on their sexual orientation or gender identity within the past five years and one in three (34%) reported these experiences in the past year.
    • In the past year, transgender employees were over three times as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees to report verbal harassment (31% vs. 7%), physical harassment (13% vs. 4%), and sexual harassment (17% vs. 5%). Transgender employees were also more likely than nonbinary employees to report physical harassment in the past year (13% vs. 5%).

Experiences at Current Job

• Respondents were asked specifically about their experiences at their current job. About six in ten (59%) transgender employees felt that their current workplace environment was somewhat or very supportive, while one in five (21%) felt their workplace environment was somewhat or very unsupportive. Similarly, about two-thirds (62%) of transgender employees felt somewhat or very satisfied with their current job, and 17% were somewhat or very dissatisfied with their current job.
• Approximately four in ten (42%) transgender employees reported one or more adverse workplace experiences related to their sexual orientation or gender identity at their current jobs. They were more than twice as likely as cisgender LGBQ and nonbinary employees to report verbal (28% vs. 10% vs. 11%) and physical harassment (8% vs. 2% vs. 1%) in their current job, and twice as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees to report sexual harassment (12% vs. 6%).

Out at Work

• One-third (36%) of transgender employees reported that they are not open about being LGBTQ to their current supervisor, and approximately one in eight (13%) reported that they are not out to any of their co-workers.
• Only four in ten (39%) transgender employees reported that they were out to all their co-workers.

Covering

• Most transgender employees (71%) reported engaging in covering behaviors at their current jobs to avoid harassment or discrimination related to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Over one-third reported changing how they dressed (36%) or their physical appearance (37%) at work.
• Approximately four in ten have changed where, when, or how often they used the bathroom (39%), their voice or mannerisms (46%), or have not talked about their outside social activities (39%) to avoid discrimination and harassment at work.
• Approximately one-third of transgender employees have also avoided work events or work-related travel (33%) and work-related social events (35%) to avoid discrimination and harassment.
• Many transgender employees also avoid talking about their families at work to avoid discrimination and harassment. Over one-third (35%) of transgender employees have avoided talking about their family at work, 34% have not brought family to work events, and 30% have not displayed photos of their partner or family at work to avoid discrimination and harassment.

Retention

• Transgender employees were twice as likely as cisgender LGBQ employees to report that they had left a job (67% vs. 31%) or looked for another job (69% vs. 32%) because of how they were treated based on their LGBTQ status.
• Due to the workplace environment at their current job, 29% of transgender employees have considered leaving. Of those, most (79%) had taken steps towards finding another job. By comparison, only 13% of cisgender LGBQ employees reported they are considering leaving their current job.

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