Be the change for trans employment
This is a nice follow-up from last week’s post on #diversity. A bill was recently approved by the Senate in Argentina that requires at least 1% of public sector jobs be reserved for transgender people. This could equate to 32,000 potential jobs and radically change the lives of transgender people who are not in the traditional job market. It also issues an employment non-discrimination act and establishes economic incentives for private companies that hire trans employees.
So how was it done? Firstly, the law creates public measures for transgender people to finish school. And secondly, it’s training them for basic aspects of employment e.g. having health insurance, a retirement plan, paid vacations, etc. Whilst this might sound like normal expectations to most in the talent market, it’s not to 90% of transgender people in Argentina.
Alba Rueda, Argentina’s undersecretary for diversity policies within the Ministry of Women, Gender & Diversity and the 1st trans-person to hold office in the country said,
“The starting point is the acknowledgment of the social and structural inequity in which this population lives.”
Awareness is not enough without action.
That is why integral legislation, such as the employment quota, is critical to creating transformative and scalable change that can save lives.