Job Searching While Trans Has Risks That Most People Don’t Even Realize

A resume or cover letter is often the first opportunity to present your case as to why you are the best candidate for a role. And for queer and transgender professionals in particular, it can come with an additional question: Should I disclose my gender identity upfront in the job application?

It’s a personal decision that, unfairly, can have real downsides. Directly disclosing or indirectly hinting at your gender identity or sexual orientation on a job application when you are queer can come with the risk of facing hiring discrimination. One 2020 study found that gay and lesbian applicants were rated significantly lower in competence, social skills and hireability than heterosexual applicants when their queer identity was mentioned in a cover letter.

But at the same time, not disclosing one’s gender identity can come with big costs, too. It can potentially lead to the harm of being misgendered by a recruiter or hiring manager, and it can also be mentally exhausting to be leaving out a big part of one’s identity.

We asked LGBTQ+ experts to share their thinking behind if, why and how they disclosed their gender identity or sexual orientation in the job application.

Trans professionals in particular must weigh the risks of potential discrimination and the harm of being misgendered when applying.

Typically, if you do want to indirectly hint or directly disclose your gender identity, it can start with including pronouns next to your name in your job application.

“I personally do not share my sexual orientation on my resume. I do however list my gender pronouns in hopes of reducing the likelihood of experiencing misgendering during the interview process,” said A.C. Fowlkes, a clinical psychologist and the CEO of Fowlkes Consulting, an LGBTQ+ sensitivity and transgender inclusion consulting firm. “I understand that sharing my gender pronouns may cause some to make assumptions regarding my gender identity, but for me, I find that the benefit outweighs the risk because I experience significant dysphoria when I am misgendered.“

Celia Sandhya Daniels, the founder of Rebekon Consulting, which offers health care and life sciences management services, said she will list her pronouns of she/they and directly state that she is gender-nonbinary on a cover letter to increase the number of cues being given to potential employers about her identity.

In this way, being upfront about your identity in a job application can be a test to take out potential employers who would not welcome who you are. But even with these explicit mentions, it’s not a guarantee that it can prevent rude, invasive questions. Daniels recalled an experience where a recruiter questioned if she was Celia, telling her “You sound like a man.”

“So I was a little offended, and I said, ‘Did you look at my resume? Did you go to LinkedIn? Did you look at my profile?’ And he said, ‘No, I did not.’ And I said, ‘You need to do that before calling me,’” Daniels said. Her advice to recruiters is that “when you see something like that, you may want to just read a little bit, just to get the context of why is this person using pronouns.”

For transgender professionals in particular, discrimination at work is widespread. In the United States, 90% of transgender people reported either experiencing harassment, mistreatment or discrimination, or purposefully hiding their identity in order to avoid it, according to a survey from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

That’s why it can be critical for trans professionals to be upfront about working in environments where they can belong, and that can begin with being open about their identity in the job application.

“I recognize that I may miss out on opportunities if I am interviewing with someone who is transphobic, but it is important to me that I work in an environment that promotes psychological safety, so I personally would rather weed out employment opportunities that will not support my psychological well-being and I do so by being transparent during the interview process,” Fowlkes said.

Daniels said she has tried job searches where she did not disclose upfront in the resume and cover letter about her identity, but ultimately found that the gender dysphoria she was experiencing while being hired or onboarded as a result was not worth it.

For Daniels, gender dysphoria is like being under water throughout the work day.

“It’s like breathing underwater for a while…That’s exactly what happens to the trans people when they go into these calls, they’re like, ‘I need to get into this because I’m gonna lose my job,’” Daniels said. “I have to pretend like I am this guy so I can just get along with the company. No issues. But what you’re doing is you’re literally suffocating. And when you come up [for air], you literally are waiting for the end of the day because you can be Celia.”

Daniels’ experience is similar to too many LGBTQ+ professionals. A 2021 survey by the Williams Institute based at the UCLA School of Law found that many queer professionals engage in what is known as “covering behaviors” at work, including changing their physical appearance; changing when, where, or how often they used the bathroom; or avoiding talking about their personal lives at work, all in order to avoid harassment and discrimination.

For LGBTQ+ job seekers in general, disclosure should be a choice you weigh, depending on safety and whether it is relevant for the role.

Ultimately, there is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach to disclosing you are queer during the hiring process, because it can depend on safety and personal comfort, said Josh Torres, a leadership coach focused on equity and inclusion and CEO of BE/volved Coaching.

“Disclosure only also comes up when it’s a little bit more visible in terms of expression. Because if it is something that can be hidden, then it’s not even a conversation. It’s ultimately the person’s choice,” Torres said. “But if it’s very visible that you’re a trans person or obviously a person of color, that’s just going to show up in the interview.”

But if you desire to disclose your LGBTQ+ identity to a hiring manager, it can also help to ask yourself first about whether sharing your identity is relevant to the role you want.

“Is your queerness, your LGBTQ+ identity going to directly affect your ability to perform your job? In most cases, absolutely not, right?” Torres said. “But in some cases, yes. Like if it involves advocacy or just being open about your identity, sometimes that relevancy is actually a benefit to an organization and a company.”

Researching and asking people in the know can also help LGBTQ+ professionals decide if applying will be a waste of their time and energy.

Fowlkes said figuring out if an employer will be trans-affirming can be tough, but he suggests reaching out to people in your circle for help.

“I would personally reach out to anyone in my network that works for that organization and ask in their experience has the organization been affirming for transgender employees,” he said. “I would also consider asking the recruiter assigned to the job for which you are applying.”

You also do not need to be a hiring manager to be helpful. If you want to help a transgender and gender-nonbinary professional on their job hunt, offer to help do mock interviews and review their resume, Daniels said.

“When you have so many rejections happening, you start doubting your own self as to, ‘Did I make the right decision? Did I make the right decision to change my name, change my pronouns?’” she said.

Daniels recalled hearing from a transgender woman years later about how Daniels’ offer of reviewing her resume helped her when she needed a boost. “That little thing that I did with her on the call, trying to help her with her resume made such a big difference in her life. We built her self-esteem back,” Daniels recalled.

You can also look at how the company talks about diversity and inclusion on their website or in their communications to suss out clues about a company’s stances.

Ask yourself: “Do they clearly and unapologetically embrace the LGBTQ+ community in their outward facing materials and statements?” Fowlkes suggested.

“Of course, none of this is foolproof, but it may help you to test the temperature of the water before you jump in,” he added.