If you were passable...would you tell a potential employer?

[tgirlinva]

I currently am in school and am thinking of transitioning during my time in school. so when i graduate (in 3.5 yrs), i can hopefully be passable and apply for jobs as a woman. however, i never desired to undergo SRS. So my question is: would you tell a potential employer (either during interview or after you were hired) that you were transgendered? I feel like it's none of their business...but some do think that honesty is the best policy... what would you do? so what if they found out?

[Gizmo, Debbie]

I was made redundant back at the begining of this month(December) and currently looking for work.If come the job interview i'm a girly sort of mood then i will be going in girl mode.
Not that i expect to get a job interview anytime soon as what jobs that are on offer are all asking for qualifications/experiance i don't have.:sad:

[Bernadina]

I guess it depends a lot on where you live. Here we have laws that gender cannot be asked and cannot be used as a determining factor in hiring unless there are specific requirements of the job that the person be of certain gender.

In other words, its none of their business. Just as your religion. marital status, etc., is also none of their business for purposes of hiring.

[Niya W]

You might not have a choice if you want a job history.


Hard to explain why you were mike at your last 3 job with out disclosing

[avril findlay]

Well if you hadn't fully transitioned and you'd ticked the "female" box in your application you'd be supplying false information. And what if a medical was required?

[Steph Butterfield]

No I would not, but at my stage of transition I may not have a choice as I could be having surgery soon, and I would have to say when I get a date for op, and the 3 months post op recouperation time would need sorting out.


Stephanie

[helenr]

I think it may be risky to be honest. I knew a pre opt individual who somehow lost her Security job. Naturally, it wasn't stated to be the cause--the transgenderism, but let's be realistic. I seriously wonder if there is any employment situation today where transgenders are welcome--too many perceived social issues. I am sorry if this sounds negative, but with the job market as it is, best to stay low profile if you need the job. just my 2 cents. helen

[tgirlinva]

You might not have a choice if you want a job history.


Hard to explain why you were mike at your last 3 job with out disclosing

that's only if they check right? i mean, you don't get too many that says i did x, y, z in the past 3 jobs, respectively, and i was male....

but thankfully i have sort of an androgenous name... it's actually french so it's not as clear cut as let's see steve or mike or john....

[Valeria]

FYI...

In the USA, you cannot change your gender with the Social Security Administration (SSA) without having genital surgery. (At least, that's what the regulations say -- a nice clerk changed mine while I was still pre-op.)

When your employer files required reports on employees with the government, the SSA will do a match on your name and social security number, to see if it matches their records. They sometimes also check gender. Your employer can then get a letter from the SSA, saying that the reported gender does not match their records, and giving the company a limited time to correct/explain the mismatch or fire the employee. This has happened to numerous trans females during their real life experience.

[Steph Butterfield]

In the USA this anomoly between medical records, company records and SSA records that can and does lead to the outing and in extreme cases, the sacking of TS employees. May well be ironed out once transsexuals are fully covered by ENDA, which was steam rolllered by all accounts when trans were removed after some objected. Maybe President Obama will re-address this issue in 2009/10.


Here in the UK, all social security, medical, tax, DWP records etc are changeable with a deed of name change, its only the birth certificate you cannot do, for that you require a gender recognition certificate


Stephanie

[Andine]

Here in Australia, the HR policies most people adopt are the ones decided on by the public service. Gender, age, ethnicity have all been outlawed, as not being allowed to influence selection.

Having said that, the actual often differs from the desired! People doing the selecting often have their own point of view, and may influence the outcome in that regard. They may also decide that their prefered choice is better for the position and better for the company outcome.

If you are indeed a good pass in your desired gender, you could do the interview, and then, if selected for the job, have a private chat to the person in charge.
At that point you are sure to get the job if the HR policy covers your choice, and the boss cannot knock you back as you have just shown that you are the best candidate. Also by doing it this way you prove that you are honest, and that goes with dependable!

You may as well get used to fronting for a job as a girl if that is what you intend to be. If you don't need HRT or SRS then why do it ? Later on is later on .... then you may be of a different mind, but probably much more settled in your destiny.

Make the best of it !!

Happy new year ... Happy new job .... Happy new gender!! How good is that!

[Andi]

Sorry to say but falsifying a job application is a fire-able offense at most places in the U.S. If you check female and are discovered to not be one you will be terminated, no discussion, no other conditions needed, and it will stand up in any court if you try to sue. Lying just isn't worth it, be up front and deal with the other problems that may occur. At least you might have some chance to claim discrimination. Hopefully someday in the not too distant future this will be a non issue and accepted as part of an individuals rights. :hugs:

[GypsyKaren]

A friend of mine lost out on a volunteer job when her Social Security check came back "male", and good luck getting that changed in these times without a surgery confirmation letter.

Karen Starlene :star:

[Kristen Kelly]

In these hard economic times I have enough trouble coming out “officially” to my job of 18 years, there are always reasons they could fire me other than my transitioning, the reason I don’t is it will not make a difference in my job, or much how I dress or present myself at work, maybe minus the baggy shirts and a little makeup would be the only changes.

[michelle2b]

I personally think that it is none of the employer's business to know whether you used to be a male or female.

However, you might have to reveal if they need to check your background and if your previous jobs and schooling were under a different name and if any of your records indicate a different gender. If you can find ways around this, by perhaps having your old records changed before you seek employment, that would be ideal.

Even if you can't, that should be okay in most cases because typically most employers these days hire an independent firm to do your background check. Your employer only gets a "good to go" or "stop" or "wait, need more information" note from the independent firm. The employer never needs to know anything more than the "good to go".

I lived in stealth as female for about 6 years during my mid-20s with no hormones no blockers and no surgery. I did not change my name on my records. I am Asian and most people at work cannot tell if my name is male or female. My employer did not care to dig out my "true" gender. They got great quality of work from me and they were more than pleased. Everyone at work related to me as female. A few of them knew after working with me for several months. I had to touch up my makeup every 2-3 hours to avoid showing my beard shadow and I made the mistake of letting a few of them keep my secret. Well, you know how that turns out. Well, my bosses probably never knew. Men don't notice such things! I was strictly professional at work. No revealing clothes. Nothing too tight or flashy. Long trousers or jeans, and 3/4th sleeve or full sleeve blouses. And specifically no skin revealed anywhere near the cleavage. The only skin people saw was on my face, neck and hands. Also, limited socializing at work. It helps if you have a profession in which you don't need to meet too many people. I switched jobs thrice within the employer's business and I often met people also. The whole thing worked out great for me. I think people who worked with me were so busy, they did not find the time to care about me and my gender.

I am on HRT now, but I still have not revealed my gender issue to my employer. I work as a guy after I joined this employer. People probably think I am gay and they seem fine with it. I think having a beard shadow helps me do this. Some of them were puzzled after they saw my girlfriend pick me up from work a few times, but they made their own conclusions from what they saw. Working as a guy saves me about 45 minutes each morning and I do not have to touch up at work. I get to sleep a bit more each morning, which helps me go out as a girl outside of work with very little eye camouflage (ie. concealer). I have found this happy middle ground. My employer knows nothing and they don't seem to care.

All of my employers so far have had policies protecting transgender employees. However, I did not see the reason to tell them about myself. I have not needed any of their protections so far. I have worked my way to make myself so valuable for my employer that they would not dare to let me leave and join a competitor. The quality of my work is my value at my workplace, not my gender. Hence my gender is none of their business.

[Joann Smith]

I would tell ...If they ask... If it do not come up i wouldn't say any thing...
Besides do you really want to work for an employer that has an issue with trans people...

Joann

[Priss]

I would tell people only what they need to know. Obviously, when filling out a job application you would have to put down your legal name and gender if required, and if you've been in the military you'll have to provide discharge paperwork... If you're not gonna go for SRS, this may be a bit sticky if your gonna put down a different gender than you're presenting as. You're best off in my opinion, to be as honest as you can. You do not however, have to just spill your guts if you get my drift...

Disclose only what you have to, and only to those you absolutely have to. This is usually HR personel only.

If there's something giving you away, let them ask it. And when the do:

Don't be offended.

Be honest.

Answer questions about that part of your life, only if directly asked about it. Make your answers short and sweet, do not elaborate.

If something should raise a red flag with them and they do not ask, let it go.

Note that any information you give to the HR people is supposed to be confidential and should not spread around to the rest of the company. If it does, you may be able to take some sort of legal action. However it doesn't matter how good you present, there will always be someone who will pick up on something. So, chances there will be some rumors go around that didn't come out of HR... This is all really nobody elses business, and is generally not a valid topic for discussion on the job anywhere. You may develop some close friends where you work, that you may feel comfortable disclosing to, however for everyone else it is probably best to neither confirm nor deny anything. Once you confirm things and it gets around, then there may be some decisions by the company that have to be made, like which bathroom you'll be allowed to use... If you do choose to disclose to close friends where you work, be sure that you can trust them with the information if you do for that reason.

[Sally2005]

Is there any reason you could not leave the box unchecked? I doubt they would even notice and if they do just say, oh sorry, must have forgotten...and let them check it for you or if they force you to check it, later you can argue that you left it blank and they pressured you to make a choice. If the sole issue for being terminated in based on the gender selection, I think you have a strong case for discrimination...how can they argue otherwise? ...wouldn't they have to argue how gender is applicable to the job?

[TerryTerri]

I'm not sure about this issue exactly. But, I have a similar experience with my alcoholism that may help. I was in the intelligence community while in the service many years ago. My security clearence was going through a normal 5 year update. Only thing was, I had been sober for 2 years at that point and clean for 3 years. I worried that telling them about my drug use and alcohol abuse would cost me my clearence and in turn my job. However, on the advice of a good friend, I spilled the beans. I told them everything, even down to the I think I did 'this' but I'm not really sure. Things did get a little crazy for a period of time. But, in the end they let me keep my clearence. I was completely free of my drug and alcohol past at that point. Anybody who ever could 'punish' me for that part of my past knew.
So, my moral is that if you don't tell the truth. Then it will be hidden and you will be worried it may be discovered and that their discovery of your secret will cost you your job. If you tell, then you will be free and you will not have to worry about secrets.
The only problem I see is the 'when' to disclose the information. I'd wait until the job offer was made I think. I've never told a perspective employer I was a recovering alcoholic. But, I've told every employer that I was in recovery, once the appropriate time to disclose the info was presented.

Good luck to you!

[Scotty]

Not up front or initially, I would want to be there a while, let everyone get used to my slowly...they know, and then after you have job security perhaps....

But not with a government contractor or government job!