Tate Smith on Validating Trans Identity

Tate Smith (Trans Activist and Speaker, and Legal Secretary at Memery Crystal) spoke with myGwork for Trans Awareness Week, sharing his journey of coming out and becoming the role model he wanted for the trans community.

Image Credit: Tate Smith

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career to date?

I'm a trans activist and speaker dedicated to improving trans male visibility, debunking common myths surrounding trans people and educating others. I work in a small law firm in London as a legal secretary and volunteer with trans youth groups at Gendered Intelligence.

I started transitioning in April 2019 and joined Clifford Chance as a junior legal secretary in July 2019. One of the things that attracted me to the firm was their existing trans policy which I helped to redraft, ensuring that top surgery was covered under the firm’s private medical insurance. This was picked up by Legal Week and thus, my speaking career was born.

Since leaving Clifford Chance I have had the pleasure of delivering lunch and learns and panels at Barclays, Unilever, The Telegraph, Cambridge University, White & Case and Deutsche Bank. I’ve continued speaking alongside my day job which has led to some incredible opportunities such as delivering a mini-lecture at the University of Law, delivering a keynote speech at the University of Reading and participating in YoGeezers’ ‘No Man’s an Island’ campaign aimed at tackling stigmas surrounding male mental health. I’m really lucky that this work throughout my transition has been recognised by Attitude Magazine (’10 LGBTQ+ trailblazers to watch out for in the future), LinkedIn (Top Voices) and PinkNews (Community Role Model). I aim to continue with my campaign for trans equality and keep speaking on taboo topics such as male privilege, toxic masculinity, and the effects of testosterone.

If you feel comfortable sharing, could you tell us about your experience of coming out to friends and family?

My coming out experience was not exactly positive. My close circle of friends were supportive but my family completely invalidated my identity and never came around to support me. As much as this was upsetting at the time it really shows just how much can change over the course of a few years. I now have an amazing chosen family and support network built up of friends, work colleagues and advocates and wouldn’t change this for the world.

What does your workplace do to ensure a safe and inclusive work environment for trans people?

We are currently implementing a trans policy which will support trans and non-binary colleagues and their line managers through transitioning, considering things such as dress code, facilities, change of name on our HR system and creating transitioning care plans. The policy makes it very clear that any form of transphobia including issues surrounding trans people using the bathroom of their choice will not be tolerated. We have also encouraged colleagues to use their pronouns in email signatures and consulted trans colleagues on what we can do to be championing our trans staff and clients.

Did you have any visible trans figures to look up to at the start of your career? Depending on your answer, how much did this impact your confidence in the workplace?

I didn’t feel like I had any visible trans figures to look up to because they all seemed so inaccessible – mostly American and prominent in the media, so that definitely impacted my confidence when I started working because I wasn’t seeing anybody like myself in a corporate space. I made the decision to become the role model I wanted so that I could create the path for trans people to follow. Over the years that has greatly changed thanks to meeting other corporate trans folk through organisations such as Trans in the City.

What do you think is the next course of action to improve conditions for trans people in the workplace and in wider society?

For the workplace, I would say there is no excuse for any organisation not to have a trans policy and for their healthcare benefits packages to cover gender-affirming healthcare, including top and bottom surgery. Workplaces should make an active effort to champion their trans colleagues and listen to them. There is a lot of anti-trans rhetoric appearing in the press on a daily basis and organisations can help by signing open letters to the PM and public statements that make it clear that trans rights are human rights and checking in with their colleagues and clients.

It is vital that we don’t feed into the manufactured moral panic that the trans community are facing at this time and cis allies show up for us. We cannot achieve equality if trans people’s very identity is invalidated. Let’s all continue to shout and make our voices heard.