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Transgender Contractor

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    Transgender Contractor

    I'm currently transitioning from a man to a woman.
    At the moment I am presenting as a man. At some point I want to switch over and I'm wondering how this will effect my chances of getting a new contract.
    My get feeling is that I will have a huge problem getting anyone to hire me, if I do not pass (which means people realise I am a transgender person).

    I am 37, working as an experienced angular/react full stack developer in London.

    What's your feeling for how hard it is going to be for me to find work?
    Currently I get lots of interviews and usually find something in less than a month.
    But as an non passing trans woman? Pfff I have no idea, probably no takers at all?

    Thanks,
    Kate

    #2
    Originally posted by MrsAnonymousPerson View Post
    I'm currently transitioning from a man to a woman.
    At the moment I am presenting as a man. At some point I want to switch over and I'm wondering how this will effect my chances of getting a new contract.
    My get feeling is that I will have a huge problem getting anyone to hire me, if I do not pass (which means people realise I am a transgender person).

    I am 37, working as an experienced angular/react full stack developer in London.

    What's your feeling for how hard it is going to be for me to find work?
    Currently I get lots of interviews and usually find something in less than a month.
    But as an non passing trans woman? Pfff I have no idea, probably no takers at all?

    Thanks,
    Kate
    I don't know about contractors but I worked at a large bank last year and there was a trans women sitting near me and nobody batted an eyelid. She was built like the proverbial brick outhouse so would never pass but nobody seemed to care.

    I also worked as a consultant at a travel company about 20 years ago where a guy had announced on Friday that he would be coming back on Monday as a woman. Times were different then so on my first day, more than one person mentioned it in passing as a bit of a joke. People are more tolerant now and many large companies have internal LGBT support networks.

    I suppose a lot may depend on what kind of industry/company you work in. Some are a lot more conservative than others.

    Comment


      #3
      Hi Kate,

      I'm afraid that I simply don't know. The important point to remember is that transgender personnel within companies are becoming more prominent throughout all forms of industry.

      My advice is to look at companies promoting diversity within their workforce and apply to them - they will have gone to some lengths to ensure that they have codes of practice to include transgender people in their selection process.
      "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
      - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

      Comment


        #4
        Can't help with the specifics of your circumstances, however at an ex client we had an email come round that <male name I can't remember> is now know and <female name I'm not divulging as they are still a linkedin contact>

        You have two approaches "come out" mid contact or at a convenient time between contracts, either will have pro's and con's, mid contract at least has name recognition at a gig when references come through, otherwise between contacts it would just be references who need to know at old gigs, and to be fair speaking to an agent they will probably happily ask for references in your old name as it means they get commission.




        *come out is the wrong phrase but I can't think of a better or less patronising one, please accept my apologies
        Originally posted by Stevie Wonder Boy
        I can't see any way to do it can you please advise?

        I want my account deleted and all of my information removed, I want to invoke my right to be forgotten.

        Comment


          #5
          Last Welsh company I worked for a woman changed to a man. Everyone supportive. Except for the one contractor in the company! The contractor was Russian. I must find out if the contractor is still there.

          Best of luck!

          Comment


            #6
            It would be nice if the answer was 'It shouldn't be a problem at all' but in all honesty I think you are going to bump in to a hurdle or two somewhere along the line. I'd guess it's going to be smaller clients who just don't have policies, diversity training or have been in this situation before so may just want to distance themselves from the unknown.
            I really don't believe you will have a huge problem at all so don't start thinking you are on a backfoot or have to justify yourself to anyone. If you stop being you you'll fall out of your confidence zone which will probably affect your ability to get gigs more.

            Big companies should be fine. I've been at two that invest very heavily in diversity and have a very positive view so you may actually be more welcome at these places. As many policies as they have it could come down to the choice of an individual though.

            IMVO it won't affect your contracting career in the long run, few bumps maybe but that will result in nothing more than a little more bench time. Some people on here have been on the bench for a month or two this year and that's quite normal so if you go from getting a gig in a week or two to a month or two you are still in the average contracting populace.

            Look for the bigger companies and try get telephone interviews so you don't have to actually go to site until you are being paid. At that point they can't discriminate on your choices. Get some stuff delivered and what ever issues they may have will disappear.
            Also focus on public sector clients. They have lot better view on diversity than most private clients and can me much more laid back compared to large corporates.

            And as that appears to be almost sensible advice, to keep my reputation for being a complete arse intact...

            Don't forget joining clients inclusion groups if they have them would be an IR35 flag if you are outside

            Oh, forgot to say. Have a look around the web for some advice on your linkedin. There are a couple of threads of peoples experience or advice how to handle it. Threads like this might then move in to other areas of advice around work you might not have considered. I'm guessing you've done a lot of this as part of your decision already so apologies if it's to basic.

            How to handle a gender transition on LinkedIn - transgender resolved | Ask MetaFilter

            Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll be fine.
            Last edited by northernladuk; 9 October 2019, 10:57.
            'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by MrsAnonymousPerson View Post
              I'm currently transitioning from a man to a woman.
              At the moment I am presenting as a man. At some point I want to switch over and I'm wondering how this will effect my chances of getting a new contract.
              My get feeling is that I will have a huge problem getting anyone to hire me, if I do not pass (which means people realise I am a transgender person).

              I am 37, working as an experienced angular/react full stack developer in London.

              What's your feeling for how hard it is going to be for me to find work?
              Currently I get lots of interviews and usually find something in less than a month.
              But as an non passing trans woman? Pfff I have no idea, probably no takers at all?

              Thanks,
              Kate

              You're in London - I would expect you to do well. Your own personal judgement of who you are is more important than any contract. It just so happens you won't, 99.9% of the time, face any issues.

              I didn't like the phrase used by another poster: "people are more tolerant now", as this language suggests they need to be tolerant of something; it's a word most used against something negative. You and your situation aren't negative, but this is an example of how a phrase can be intended well but easily taken the wrong way. My advice on this - as it is likely to come up in any office - would be to intuit what people mean rather than take their words literally. The majority are indifferent to your personal choices and feelings whilst some will be curious and extremely interested, thankfully in a positive sense.

              Companies with better diversity notes during the application process may have fields to complete and it's worth you specifying your preference, as it is likely to guarantee you an interview, from which it sounds as if you'll breeze through, given your experience.

              You know yourself better than those posting here: are you timid and easily upset? Some 1980s working environments still exist, but if you're in central London I hazard a guess you aren't working in engineering processes in factories in the Midlands.

              Always be yourself and then you can't go wrong. If anybody doesn't give you a contract due to you having discovered who you really are then they aren't worth working for but are probably worth reporting upwards if you are 100% sure you didn't get the job due to your own personal choices. For the most part it's likely you'll find it easier just to move on from such bad interviews; we all have bad interviews every few years.

              Good luck.

              Comment


                #8
                I worked with a transgender person for a couple of years and the level of acceptance was high (although not universal). I don't think you will be overly affected beyond what you could probably expect usually as an employee (which is sad but a reality).

                Good luck!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by rogerfederer View Post
                  You're in London - I would expect you to do well. Your own personal judgement of who you are is more important than any contract. It just so happens you won't, 99.9% of the time, face any issues.

                  I didn't like the phrase used by another poster: "people are more tolerant now", as this language suggests they need to be tolerant of something; it's a word most used against something negative. You and your situation aren't negative, but this is an example of how a phrase can be intended well but easily taken the wrong way. My advice on this - as it is likely to come up in any office - would be to intuit what people mean rather than take their words literally. The majority are indifferent to your personal choices and feelings whilst some will be curious and extremely interested, thankfully in a positive sense.

                  Companies with better diversity notes during the application process may have fields to complete and it's worth you specifying your preference, as it is likely to guarantee you an interview, from which it sounds as if you'll breeze through, given your experience.

                  You know yourself better than those posting here: are you timid and easily upset? Some 1980s working environments still exist, but if you're in central London I hazard a guess you aren't working in engineering processes in factories in the Midlands.

                  Always be yourself and then you can't go wrong. If anybody doesn't give you a contract due to you having discovered who you really are then they aren't worth working for but are probably worth reporting upwards if you are 100% sure you didn't get the job due to your own personal choices. For the most part it's likely you'll find it easier just to move on from such bad interviews; we all have bad interviews every few years.

                  Good luck.
                  That was me using the word 'tolerant.' Maybe I should have used 'accepting' or 'inclusive.' I was trying to say attitudes have changed for the better...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by edison View Post
                    That was me using the word 'tolerant.' Maybe I should have used 'accepting' or 'inclusive.' I was trying to say attitudes have changed for the better...
                    I know. I was making a general point that often - and we all do it - we say/write something in which one word can change the implied meaning of a sentence.

                    This is why I mentioned focusing on the likely intended meaning rather than getting caught up in semantics, as that's a rabbit hole you can end up stuck in forever.

                    As an unrelated example: an old person using the word 'coloured' in a kind story context is naive but not intended as racist, whereas someone aggressively stating "that f*****g black guy is useless, I hate his type" could have minced their words but the is likely a racist and should be called out as such.

                    The advice from friends in similar situations is to focus on content and intention; focus on the positives, rather than getting hung up on the exact currently acceptable politically correct phrase, as everybody makes mistakes and most people, in my experience, are neither racist nor prejudiced.

                    Comment

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