Giving thanks for a wonderful year

 

In spite of the pandemic’s challenges, we’ve made
significant progress supporting our clients
with transgender learning and change initiatives.

Speaking on behalf of the entire TransFocus team, we bring 2021 to a close with a sense of fulfilment and gratitude to connect with so many people who are passionate and motivated to make positive changes.  

2021 – A year of growth and new wins

This year, we saw a substantial increase in demand to tackle gender diversity issues and training across many industries, scaling up our services to three times what we delivered in previous years. We couldn’t have done this without our amazing team and partners, including:

  • Team: Ky Sargeant, Gabriel•le Vielleneuve, Irha Parishei, and Nico Montagut 

  • Partners: Femi Coppi (graphics), Anita Cheung (web), Alignment Ops (IT), and Snow Collective (marketing).

We are proud to have completed five long-term engagements involving assessments of University of British Columbia, Engineers and Geoscientists BC, Fraser Health Authority, Squamish Nation, and BC Tech Association; consulting with over 5,000 people via online surveys, focus groups, and interviews on pressing issues of gender diversity and broader equity issues. 

We also provided educational content to nearly 5,000 people across 50+ organizations, with many attendees requesting longer sessions to more fully digest these important issues. Here is some of what we heard about their experiences with our content and facilitators:

 
 

Finally, we spoke at six conferences, symposia, and seminars, including:

  • Ontario Fire Chief Association

  • InfoNex Symposium on Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+)

  • Pride at Work Thrive Program for LGBTQ+ Leaders

  • Pride at Work Fireside Chat with Bell Canada

  • Duke University Symposium on Social Entrepreneurism

  • CPHR Diversity and Inclusion Symposium

Meeting the challenges our clients face

The “new reality” of business

The last two years have taken their toll on many organizations. Fewer resources, longer hours, many remote-working employees, and tighter timelines. Despite these challenges, business leaders and HR professionals we work with are whole-heartedly committed to cultural and structural changes to support transgender people. 

We developed new offerings to continue to support motivated leaders, while accommodating their condensed schedules and growing needs on the topic of gender diversity, including:     

  • Developed and delivered sessions on basics in French with additional considerations for French language given its binary basis

  • Piloted our new advanced-level course with nearly 15 leaders from companies of various sizes 

  • Created a self-paced program for leaders to create meaningful solutions      

Here is what two leaders told us:

Looking ahead to 2022

Our flexible approach to delivering content to businesses of all sizes

TransFocus is excited to continue delivering its full suite of programs at three different levels:

  • Basics for all employees – to provide everyone with consistent information on terms and concepts as well as how to respectfully interact with transgender employees and customers.

  • Intermediate for all employees – to delve deeper into issues facing transgender people, including common microaggressions, expectations, assumptions, and opportunities to practice common scenarios.

  • Advanced for leaders – to support making much needed structural changes across the organization, we take leaders step-by-step through practical solutions tailored to their corporate context.

For us, it’s all about bringing thoughtful solutions for greater inclusion of gender diversity, helping organizations to transform from the inside out.

Please reach out to us. Ask questions. We know that getting started is the hardest part. And we look forward to speaking with you and supporting you in the new year. 

In the meantime…

May your holidays be joyful!

Wishing you the very best for a wonderful holiday season, and a safe and happy New Year.
Kai Scott and the TransFocus team

 
Kai Scott