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Skip to main contentI write this article from the perspective of a woman who recently completed her gender transition from male to female. I had to leave my previous employer in order to transition and am currently rebuilding my career. Although writing from a candidate’s perspective, I have recruited staff in various countries around the world and have perspectives from both sides. This is a sister article to the Journey of a Transgender Professional – Elise.
Recruitment Experiences
Most of the permanent roles throughout my career have been achieved through direct recruitment by employers, personal reference and internal promotion. While I do have experiences with executive search firms, numerous examples (from finance & accounting) have led me to conclude the following characteristics:
In informal conversation recently with an executive search consultant, I learned that despite lots of great assets on my CV, the fact that I had been unemployed for a period of time is why I was not being selected by recruiters for interview, which confirmed my own perception, however illogical the practice which one would hardly describe as ‘inclusive’.
When someone is unemployed, it should not be assumed that they have lost the ability to fulfill a job as they had done before, or that they had to leave their previous employment for negative reasons. Unemployment extends for people more as a result of weaknesses in recruitment market dynamics than any lack of opportunities, job skills and abilities. Furthermore, people take career breaks for all sorts of reasons and mostly for very positive ones that enhance their skill set. Many transsexual men and women have to leave employment in order to complete gender transition, and so for recruiters who support transgender people within diversity principles, they should appreciate this aspect and not then discriminate against us on the grounds of unemployment status.
Why is there also a propensity to place candidates in locations, roles and sectors that match precisely with what they were doing previously or currently? Is it a function of not looking further back than 5 years in a candidate’s CV? I have recruited financial teams in the UK, Middle East and Far East and often became frustrated when specifying the candidate profile to some consultants who wanted a long checklist of tasks and skills to ‘search’ for, most of which were simply a given at that level. I had to explain that the personal attributes of the candidates were more important for the role than the sector that candidates were currently working in. I have worked very successfully in a diversity of sectors during my career and I think that recruiters need to be much more open-minded in this aspect of search and selection.
Diversity of thought and perspective comes from difference not sameness. I well understand that finance needs are different between macro-sectors such as Oil & Gas, Financial Services etc. But it’s often taken too literally and inhibits innovation and growth. Carolyn McCall at easyJet and Harriet Green at Thomas Cook came from entirely different sectors before implementing turnaround strategies at both companies, the latter getting the role by directly contacting the Chairman!
Transgender and Recruitment
For people who are transgender and wish to transition, the options for employment will depend on individual circumstances but would generally include:
Obviously option 3 is the one which can work best for all concerned, but requires a strong and demonstrable commitment by the employer to a culture of diversity and inclusion. Option 1 shouldn’t really be an option at all, and option 2 should only be a last resort, though I suspect is the most common option taken.
Aspects to be Aware Of
Some highlights in connection with recruiting transsexual men and women:
Given that recruiters rarely meet candidates and rely on the CVs in their database, then I don’t quite see how they can appreciate the particular qualities and strengths of diverse candidates, or how they identify and ‘promote’ us. My experience is that the diversity narrative on some executive search websites doesn’t quite match with reality.
If promoting specialism in diversity, recruiters need to better articulate how they define and identify diverse candidates and what they do to support us in the recruitment process. I appreciate that recruitment is client-driven but the diversity they are talking about is that of the candidates and employees!! I have seen different recruiters list a variety of 9, 12 and 14 classifications of diversity (protected characteristics) and a job advert that even had an entire paragraph with 17 personal descriptions that were ‘not discriminated against’ and which clearly just had political correctness as its purpose. As a candidate, I am reluctant to approach a search consultant, to whom I may have to reveal my gender history for reference purposes, unless they can demonstrate that they have, or are keen to obtain, an accurate understanding of transgender and transitioning, as the track record is not good.
In Summary:
Being gender dysphoric is not something we choose for ourselves – it is part of who we are from the beginning. Dealing with it requires enormous courage and commitment on a challenging and unique personal journey. One of our biggest challenges though is maintaining our careers and employment through the process. Employers and recruiters could do much more to ensure the continuity in employment that is as important to us as anyone else; and which should be equally important to employers who would not only retain valuable resources that they would otherwise lose, but would enhance the benefits that everyone achieves from a diverse workforce.
The views expressed here are my own, through my experience of recruitment, and to give some perspectives and suggestions. Since I present completely and in public as female and only disclose my gender history as may be necessary, I have written this article under a pseudonym, Elise, though the circumstances are accurate. If you wish to discuss any aspect of what I have written, I am happy to do that, so please contact Diversity Jobs who will put us in touch.
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