Transgender visibility: How employees thrive in an inclusive workplace
March 31, 2017
To celebrate International Transgender Visibility Day, we share the voices of our employees and our commitment to people. Read about the experiences of two Bloomberg employees who are raising the visibility of our global transgender community.
Cassidy Allan
What does visibility at work mean for you?
I began my gender transition in my personal life first with hormone therapy and decided I would transition at work a year later. But, I ended up transitioning five to six months earlier than I intended to.
I had all my clothes for work in a separate closet – they were Matt’s clothes, not Cassidy’s. And every day around 4 PM at work, I would be yearning to come home to change back into Cassidy’s clothes, my own skin. My colleagues at work would ask me what my weekend plans were and I started to naturally say “My spouse and I have plans” like I would as Cassidy, instead of “My wife and I” when I’m Matt.
I was making myself miserable in pretending to be Matt at work. Eventually, I realized that I didn’t have any excuses not to transition at work too.
It’s not an easy decision to make a change like this in your life – there are no walls to hide behind to separate your lives. If you’re transgender, everything is visible – especially for me, as I’m in the early stages of transitioning. It’s not like you’re only visible on Transgender Visibility Day – every day is visibility day. I’m looking forward to fully completing my transition into Cassidy over the coming months.
What are some things that you expect from employers when it comes to workplace inclusion?
You kind of expect there to be issues that pop up nowadays – you begin to think, “That’s just how it’ll be.” But that really isn’t the case here at Bloomberg.
I felt support even when I didn’t expect it – colleagues would flag an issue or follow up on a conversation if they felt someone or something might unintentionally make me uncomfortable. It’s always surprising when people notice these things and have my back.
My manager has been great too, always encouraging me to speak up about how I’m feeling. It means a lot to me and it never ceases to surprise me.
Once your gender transition process is complete, would you be open about your transgender background to new colleagues?
Yes, I would. Part of me would want to sweep it under the rug, but there’s something dishonest about that.
I think the problem with going into “stealth mode,” or leaving behind careers and friends to start fresh with new people unaware of my transgender identity, is that it hides a lot of the successful, happy moments of the transition.
I believe there’s a middle ground between making your identity into a statement about being trans and making it virtually invisible. I want to be in an area where you can be open about your identity and your whole life experience, without it being a defining characteristic.
I owe it to future generations to find that middle ground and live in it, so they know that they can too.
Stella Campaner
How has the Bloomberg LGBT & Ally Community impacted you personally?
It changed my life and my perspectives. I worked in the São Paulo office for about 8 years and had the opportunity to be one of the leaders of the LGBT & Ally Community there.
We educated employees and families about the LGBT scene and culture, to empower that community about the importance of being an ally. Each new ally we gained understands and represents the LGBT community, becoming part of the conversation in advancing gender equality.
Bloomberg’s inclusive culture not only is a safe environment that shows respect and appreciation to employees worldwide, it’s a powerful chain of advocates. My husband is a trans-man, which means he was born female, but identifies his gender as male. He started his gender transition in 2015, including hormone therapy.
Our journey has been challenging, but the encouragement and support we received from so many Bloomberg colleagues and LGBT & Ally community members, friends and family along each and every step of this process, made this an overall positive experience.
While in São Paulo, how did Bloomberg’s inclusive culture extend beyond the company and into the local community?
Diversity plays an essential role in every aspect of our lives. Company-wide, the LGBT & Ally Community efforts focus on four areas: leadership development, commercial impact, recruiting and community engagement.
In the São Paulo office, we hosted events covering a range of LGBT issues and we invited the external community touching several of those four areas. We had external guest speakers, client attendees and partnered with other companies to advocate for LGBT rights in the community.
One of the most impactful events we organized was in partnership with a client to speak about the LGBT family, marriage and adoption process in Brazil. It was incredibly powerful to hear the insightful questions and see the interactions between Bloomberg employees and clients.
Our inclusive culture transcends beyond the walls of our company and interweaves with the greater community as global citizens jointly moving the needle on LGBT awareness.
At Bloomberg, we are committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all employees. Earlier in 2017, we were named a Best Place to Work 2017 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.