Even Further Out There
Well my two close GG friends at work already know about me, but today the situation took a massive leap forward.
For a long time the thought of transitioning has been at the front of my mind. What has held me back was the ability to be out in public with no problems and also the thought of employment. I really can’t see my employer giving me much support ~ in fact I could see them finding a way getting rid of me since I deal with all of our customers on a face to face basis.
After coming out to my friends, I was encouraged by the fact that they felt there was no reason why I shouldn’t carry on doing the same job if I did take the plunge. They even offered to smooth the way over with management and customers in the future.
Over coffee this week one of them offered to approach our (female) HR Manager/Director, who is based over the other side of Australia. With she being good friends with her, the idea was just to ask generic questions to get an idea of what sort of reception I could expect if I went ahead. I accepted her kind offer, but wasn’t expecting too much from the company.
So yesterday evening she made the call, basically asking if someone in the company wanted to transition, what would be the reaction by management.
The answer was surprising.
She replied that the company would be fully supportive and would do all it can to help – even to the point of educating the staff and customers if need be. My friend told her she would be very impressed and proud of our company if they could be as accommodating as that. The Manager went on to say that this sort of thing isn’t new to her as her friend transitioned from Male to Female some years ago.
But the manager then said, “Can I ask who is it?” – my friend said, “Sorry no, I promised not to pass that on. Then the manager said, “ Well is it xxx? (my name). My friend was stunned that she guessed it in one and was stuck for words. So the cat was out of the bag.
By the time she gathered her composure there was no point in denying they had been talking about me.
My friend mentioned to her that she has seen me; we’ve all been out together at a restaurant, shopping and the movies had a wonderful time and that I’ll be able to interact with customers with no problems. Once again the manager was very supportive saying how good she thought that was and couldn’t see why there should be any problems.
When all this was passed on to me, I phoned the manager up for a chat. I told her of all my thoughts and plans. I mentioned about the shopping trips and generally being out in public… when I told her about me flying enfemme I could hear her gasp over the phone!
The main thing is that I’m not going to do anything until I get back from the SCC in Atlanta in October. Again she was so supportive saying the company wouldn’t be 90 or 95% behind me, but 100%. What ever I decide to do they will do all they can to help and support me. She told me not to worry about the job as I can carry on as before and they will smooth the way ahead of me. Our call went on for 40 odd minutes and it was clear she meant ever word.
I’m sure I’ll wake up in a minute and realise I’ve been dreaming !
Suzy
