Why Trans Employees Don’t Report Discrimination at Work (and What HR Can Do)
No Complaints Doesn’t Mean No Problems or No Compliance Risk
Ask an HR team how their trans and non-binary employees are doing, and the answer is often some version of: “Good! We haven’t heard any complaints.” It’s an understandable response - complaints are often how problems reach HR, so when none arrive, it’s natural to assume the workplace is doing alright.
When it comes to transgender and non-binary employees, though, that assumption isn’t as safe as it seems. We regularly hear from trans and non-binary people who are struggling at work but haven’t raised it with anyone who could help; a lack of complaints does not mean a lack of issues; it may simply mean people don’t feel safe enough to come forward.
Transgender discrimination in the workplace: what the research shows
If complaints aren’t a reliable measure, the research gives a much clearer sense of what trans and non-binary people are dealing with at work.
Egale Canada’s Working for Change study published in 2023 surveyed 555 Two Spirit, trans and non-binary people across Canada and found that 72% had experienced discrimination at work and almost half (49%) had quit a job because they didn’t feel accepted.
The federal government’s own data backs this up, with its 2017 survey of 174,544 federal employees finding that gender-diverse employees were 2.2 to 2.5 times as likely to face discrimination and harassment at work as their cisgender male coworkers.
Our own research tells a similar story. Over the past 10 years, TransFocus has conducted workplace surveys for our clients, gathering responses from more than 6,000 employees. Across these surveys, an average of 60% of trans and non-binary respondents reported experiencing discrimination or challenges at work, but only about a third report it to their employer.
Figures like these are hard to square with an empty complaints inbox. So the real question is why so few of these experiences ever make it to HR.
Why trans employees don’t speak up
When trans and non-binary employees don’t report discrimination at work, it usually comes down to a few things: worries about job security, the current climate, not being fully out at work, and the way everyday incidents quietly build up over time.
1. Job security
Statistics Canada’s analysis of the 2021 Census found that non-binary people were more than twice as likely as cisgender people to be living in poverty (17.8% compared with 7.0%), and that trans and non-binary people earned less - even once education and occupation were accounted for. If it took you a long time to find a stable job, you’re not going to risk it. Being misgendered in a meeting is painful, but becoming “the one who complained” can feel like the bigger danger.
2. The current climate
Trans and non-binary people are under an enormous amount of public scrutiny right now, with negative headlines and political debate about their lives here in Canada and around the world. Against that backdrop, putting your name on a formal complaint or even approaching HR to have a conversation can feel like stepping into a spotlight you’ve been working hard to stay out of.
3. Not being out at work
Plenty of people aren’t fully out at work, or they’re careful about how much they share. In Egale’s study, 74% of Two Spirit, trans and non-binary participants participants said they hid or played down parts of their gender identity at least half the time while job hunting. And that doesn’t just end once they’re hired: In the US, a Williams Institute study found that more than a third of trans employees weren’t out to their own supervisor. If you’re not out to your manager, raising a concern about transphobia means outing yourself to them first. And even if you are out, raising a concern can mean explaining your identity to someone who might not understand it, dismiss the issue as minor, or who may even be hostile towards it themselves.
4. Everyday incidents that build up
A lot of what trans and non-binary people experience at work happens day to day: being misgendered, an old name still showing up in the staff directory, or a joke that gets a laugh. None of these are minor. But because they happen so often, and are so frequently brushed off by the people around them, it can be hard to know when or how to raise them without being seen as overreacting. It’s the build-up that does the damage, and this accumulation is difficult to capture on a complaint form.
Why internal complaint processes aren’t enough
Most organizations have general ways for employees to raise concerns, whether that’s a quiet word with a manager, an open-door policy, or a formal complaints process. When someone does come forward, those processes may well work. But they rely on people feeling safe enough to use them, and for all the reasons above, many trans and non-binary employees don’t. So problems either never reach HR, or they turn up much later, once a lot of the damage has already been done.
Anonymous ways of sharing concerns can help, but only if they’re genuinely anonymous. With so few trans and non-binary employees in most organizations, even an “anonymous” report about being misgendered can point straight back to the person who made it.
The compliance risk of waiting
There’s a legal side to this as well. In Canada, gender identity and gender expression are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act and under provincial and territorial human rights laws, and tribunals have found that persistent misgendering can amount to discrimination. In one British Columbia case, a tribunal ruled that a non-binary staff who was repeatedly misgendered at work faced discrimination. The employer was ordered to pay them $30,000, one of the higher awards of its kind, and to bring in a pronoun policy and mandatory training for staff.
That ruling is worth taking seriously, because a 2019 survey among 2,873 trans and non-binary people conducted by Trans PULSE Canada found that 59% of non-binary participants were misgendered every day, as were a quarter of participants with a binary gender. In other words, the very thing that this tribunal ruled was discrimination is a routine experience for many trans and non-binary people.
An employer’s responsibilities don’t start when a complaint lands. Organizations are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment, and a workplace can be harmful even if nobody has said a word. If the first you hear about a problem is a human rights claim or an exit interview, your organization is already exposed, both legally and in terms of its reputation, often over something that could have been addressed much earlier, and far more easily.
How HR can support trans and non-binary employees
A quiet inbox isn’t a bad sign in itself. For trans and non-binary staff, though, it tells you more about whether people feel safe speaking up than about how things are actually going.
Some questions to ask yourself:
Would managers know how to respond if an employee comes out to them?
Do you have guidelines around coming out and transitioning at work?
Do your systems provide fields for both legal and chosen first names?
Do your forms only ask about gender where it’s genuinely needed?
Can employees use the washroom that aligns with their gender without being questioned?
Do managers know what to do when someone is intentionally or consistently misgendered?
Does your organization have anonymous ways for employees to share their workplace challenges without having to come out and/or submit a formal complaint?
If you’d like to find out more about how we can support your organization with trans and non-binary inclusion, book a free 30-minute consult with us.
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Quick answers: trans employees and workplace discrimination
Why don’t trans employees report discrimination at work?
Many are worried about job security, aren’t out to their manager, or are wary of drawing attention to themselves in the current climate. Day-to-day incidents can also be hard to report one at a time, even though their impact builds up.
Is misgendering discrimination?
It can be. In Canada, gender identity and gender expression are protected under human rights law, and several tribunal rulings across Canada have found that intentional misgendering can be discriminatory.
Is misgendering illegal in Canada?
Misgendering isn’t a criminal offence, but in the workplace it can breach human rights law if it is intentional, which employers are expected to uphold.
Is misgendering harassment?
It can be. When misgendering at work is repeated or deliberate, it can amount to harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression under Canadian human rights law.
How can HR support transgender employees?
By looking at both the culture and the structure of your workplace. On the cultural side, that’s the everyday working environment: how well leaders, managers and colleagues understand gender diversity, the language people use, and whether trans and non-binary staff feel respected and able to be themselves at work. On the structural side, it’s whether your policies, systems and facilities actually work for trans and non-binary staff. TransFocus works with organizations on both.
What are an employer’s obligations to trans employees in Canada?
Gender identity and gender expression are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act and provincial and territorial human rights laws. Employers are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment, not just respond once a complaint is made.
Do employers need a gender transition policy?
It isn’t usually a legal requirement, but having guidelines in place means managers know what to do when an employee comes out or transitions, and helps keep the process led by the employee.
Can trans employees use the washroom that matches their gender in Canada?
Human rights guidance in Canada generally supports employees using the washroom that aligns with their gender identity. It helps to make this clear across the organization, so no one is questioned about which washroom they use.
Kai Scott is the President of TransFocus, which helps organizations make trans and
non-binary inclusion work in the real world.