Creating trans-inclusive job interviews

Written by: Nicholas Rondeau-Millaire
With the collaboration of: Jennifer McPherson

To celebrate this year’s Transgender Awareness Week, I decided to take action and write my first article at rhum about creating trans-inclusive job interviews.

What do I know about trans-inclusive job interviews? To be honest, prior to writing this article, I didn’t know much, but I’m surrounded by a team of human resources experts and recruiting professionals working at a LGBTQ+ owned HR agency. So I enlisted the help of my wonderful coworker Jennifer McPherson, who is a talent acquisition partner here at rhum. She is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a DEI advocate and she participated in the creation of a gender and sexuality alliance (GSA) at work.

Some say an outsider’s perspective can bring a lot of value, especially on aspects that can be overlooked by people accustomed to them. So after doing a lot of research, I’m ready to share what I’ve learned with you. This article is geared towards cisgender allies like me wanting to learn more about trans-inclusion, but I welcome transgender people to read it and leave a comment about things I missed.

So, why is it important to talk about trans-inclusive job interviews? Most people won’t feel comfortable identifying as LGBTQ+ without a safe space and to truly shine in a job interview, you need to be your authentic self. If your job interview process is not trans-inclusive, it’s a good indication that your company is most likely not a safe space either. First impressions are very important. A 2020 Harvard study found that 47% of transgender people reported feeling discriminated against at their workplace on a daily basis. We need to change that!

Also, it matters to me because job interviews are already stressful as is, but I can’t begin to imagine how stressful it must be for a transgender person that has to worry about it being a safe space or not for them on top of that!

Before we get started, it’s important to mention that you shouldn’t implement the recommendations contained in this article only for interviews with candidates you know to be transgender. You should treat everyone the same way because you can’t assume their gender. Some transgender people don’t express their gender identity through a cisnormative appearance or they may be transitioning and some may even choose not to express it at all at a job interview in fear of being discriminated against. So, never make assumptions about the gender identity of candidates.

1. Learn about trans-inclusion

The first step is to educate yourself about what it means to be transgender and how you can be an ally. It’s also a good thing to learn about the correct LGBTQ+ terminology. Furthermore, you should seek diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training. There are many DEI professionals that offer group training sessions online or in person. It’s a great occasion to learn with your coworkers, since you want the whole workplace to become a safe space for transgender people.

If you know transgender people, talk with them about what makes them uncomfortable during job interviews and what they would do differently. Alternatively, you can also ask anyone of the LGBTQ+ community, as many inclusion concepts used to create a safe space for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals also apply to transgender people.

It takes a long time to master gender ideology, so while you are learning, you will make some mistakes from time to time. If it happens, just apologize quickly, but don’t fuss around with it. Being overly apologetic usually makes the situation more uncomfortable. Don’t worry though, because making mistakes is part of learning and improving yourself. 

However, if making mistakes stresses you, just tell the candidate that you are learning how to be more inclusive and ask them to help you by pointing out things you can improve on. If you are not sure about something, just ask them. Being willing to learn is well regarded by the transgender community.

2. Promote a supportive and welcoming atmosphere

Of course, transgender people are humans like everyone else, so common courtesy and respect are no brainers. That being said, there are a few aspects specific to transgender people to take into account. When greeting a candidate, avoid using words like “sir” and “miss”. If you need to get their attention, call them by their first name or describe them by their clothes, like “person in the red shirt”.

Misgendering anyone can lead to an uncomfortable situation, but it’s especially true with a transgender person because most of them get misgendered often, by accident, but sometimes also on purpose by bigots and transphobes, so it might be more hurtful than uncomfortable to them. The best way to know what pronouns the candidate uses is to present yourself with your name and your own pronouns and invite them to do the same. If you fear you might forget their pronouns, you can buy gender pronouns pins or tags that you can offer your candidates to wear.

Having access to a non-gendered restroom at your office can alleviate anxiety for transgender people. If your office still has gendered restrooms, it would be optimal to convert them into non-gendered restrooms, but of course, that’s easier said than done. Alternatively, you could rent a private office at a coworking space with non-gendered restrooms to host your interviews. However, keep in mind that you should still consider upgrading your restrooms, since it’s a great step toward making your workplace more comfortable to transgender people. Gendered restrooms are arbitrary nowadays when you think about it; everyone uses the same restroom at home, regardless of their gender

Before you start, reassure them about the confidentiality of the interview. They may feel comfortable enough with you to be open about their gender identity, but that doesn’t mean they are ready to be open with others.

3. Things you should avoid

There are a few things that you should never do when interacting with trangender people. First, you should never ask about their transition or ask about their previous gender identity. On the same note, you should only refer to them by the name they present themselves as and never refer to their birth name (also known as dead name). All your documents should use their current name, unless it’s legally required to use their legal name

Avoid making remarks to the way they are dressed, their gender expression or the way they look. What you may think is a compliment might be a source of gender dysphoria (https://www.lgbtqandall.com/what-is-gender-dysphoria/) for them.

It’s also important to adapt your general language to include more gender neutral expressions and get rid of idioms such as “guys” when referring to a group of people. You should also clean your vocabulary of any metaphors or stereotypes that reinforces normative gender representation.

4. Continue to improve

You shouldn’t only implement the trans-inclusive measures we discussed in your job interview process and stop there. There are many other ways you can make transgender people more comfortable and better represented throughout your recruitment, interview and hiring processes. The best way to improve the inclusivity of your job interview is to ask candidates for their feedback. Once an interview is finished, ask the candidate how they felt during the interview and ask them for advice on how you can improve. 

I hope I made you consider being more than an ally and become a DEI advocate at your workplace. Feel free to leave a comment, your support is greatly appreciated!

Here are some resourceful websites you can check to learn more about transgender issues:
https://pflag.org/
https://www.hrc.org/
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

If you want professional advice to improve your human resources processes or want a dedicated team of experts to fulfill your talent acquisition needs, rhum can help you!
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