The Importance of Trans Allyship

Georgina Partington, Software Developer at Valtech and the UK rep on the Valtech Global Council for Diversity & Inclusion shares their thoughts on the importance of trans allyship.

Hi Georgina! What does true allyship to the trans community look like for you?

A true ally to the trans community is aware of the state of trans issues in their country and goes out of their way to support the community. They also engage in trans activism of some kind, be it avoiding sending money to companies or individual with known transphobic histories, raising awareness of trans people when casual transphobia is seen, or being able to recognise transphobic bias both in the world and in themselves. Also, Allies can use their privilege to boost trans voices and enable discussions about trans people and their rights. The clear indication of an Ally as that they will do these things even when it is inconvenient for them.

Why is it important that we continue to shine light on the trans community and increase visibility?

Making trans people more visible and commonplace helps to stop demonisation of the community. Right now, there is a focus on trans rights within the UK, and the current government in power have been using their power to reduce the rights of trans people – for example, by dropping the gender self-identification plan for trans people or by blocking Scotland’s amendments to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

If people have personal connections, either direct or indirect, to trans people, it creates a greater awareness of what it’s truly like to be a trans person in the U.K., instead of only knowing what the trans experience might be through government and media voices.

How would you describe the situation of trans employees in the UK (or the country you work in, if outside the UK) compared to other countries? What do you think are the next steps for further inclusion?

Trans rights in the UK are going backwards at the moment. For now, the workplace has largely been unaffected by this, but hate crimes against trans people are rising and this includes at workplaces. I have some statistics for this one. The majority of companies in the UK have some biases when hiring. In some sectors, as much as 75% of companies say that they would either not hire a trans person or would be less likely to hire a trans person due to their trans status. Two thirds of UK companies do not have a transitioning policy, and more than half of all UK companies don’t any kind of awareness or inclusion training that relates to transgender people. It could certainly be much better, and if the backwards trend continues, we could see a walk-back of protections for trans people at the workplace. Potentially, trans people could be fired for being trans, and could legally be not hired based purely on them being trans, and trans people might not be able to raise issues of harassment based on their trans status.

It is a scary time to be trans at the moment, however many companies are taking the initiative to create transgender and transitioning policies, which can help with protection and inclusion of trans people at those companies, and I am hopeful that this trend continues.

What is your advice to people that wish to be visible trans allies?

It is important to first note that your support for any of the LGBTQ+ community should not depend on whether or not your support is recognised or praised. However, if you want to be visible to trans people, to show that you support them and that they are safe around you, then be at pride events, call out casual transphobia when you see it and consider using pronouns in your bio or email signature. Anyone can simply claim to be supportive, it’s another thing to demonstrate that support.

Have you attended a Trans Pride? Tell us about it

I attended my first trans pride in Bristol last year, and it was absolutely amazing. I was at the front of the march with my partners, we had a sign, and we walked for an hour or so. What I loved most was being able to look behind us and see a massive crowd of people holding signs, various pride flags, and shouting their support for the trans community. It must have been well over a hundred metres long, and it was certainly very visible to the city. I’ve never felt more accepted by the community around me.

It ended at a venue that hosted stalls run by people in the trans community, and there were loads of opportunities to talk with people, see what other people were up to, and buy more pride related things that aren’t from giant faceless corporations. What I especially appreciated at that venue was how accessible it was, it was made sure that it was wheelchair accessible, there were free ear defenders for people with auditory sensitivities to use and there was all sorts of dietary requirements catered for at the café. Pride is about including everyone, and I really liked the intersectionality demonstrated by Trans Pride South West, which is the organisation that arranged the whole thing. If you’re part of the community yourself or an Ally I highly recommend going to Trans Pride, it’s such a great atmosphere of love and support.