International Trans* Visibility Day: it is estimated that the unemployment rate of trans people in Spain is 80%
Each March 31 Is celebrated the International Day of Visibility Trans *. A commemoration initiated by the transgender activist from Michigan Rachel Crandall in 2009, as a reaction to the invisibility hidden behind the acronym LGTBI. It is clear that a lot of progress has been made since then, especially in terms of visibility, but unemployment is a paralyzing stumbling block for many trans people.
According to data from UGT, 86,6% of the LGTBI community in Spain consider it necessary to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity in job interviews. The highest unemployment rate is found within the transsexual group, where it reaches 80%, although to date we have not been able to support this figure with any statistical report. In addition, it is estimated that it takes an average of more than three years to find a job, an average that also grows considerably in each generational section after 30 years.
Likewise, 38% of the trans people consulted in Spain acknowledge having suffered direct discrimination due to their identity when attending a job interview, which represents the fifth highest percentage among European Union countries, according to a 2020 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
transparent
To stage this lack of opportunities, the "Transparent" initiative launched by December 26 Foundation, REDI and LLYC Foundation. The objective of the action is to denounce the «employment discrimination, make visible the barriers to social and labor insertion of the transgender group in Spain and contribute to encouraging their hiring«.
The initiative has materialized in the installation of 15 transparent chairs in front of the Employment Office in Madrid's Plaza de Pablo Ruiz Picasso. Each endorsement contained the names and real periods of unemployment of trans people who wanted, in this way, to represent their respective personal challenge in the search for employment.
In addition, experts warn that the attempt to find work adds another problem: maintaining it. In that sense, they say, this group continues to face severe forms of employment discrimination, ranging from the reluctance of employers to accept their form of identity to greater exposure to harassment by their co-workers.
66 trans people have found work with the SOCtrans device*
The labor offices of SOC (Servei PuBlic d'Occupation of Catalonia) They have a personalized support device for job placement, aimed at trans* people who are in the process of seeking employment. So far there have been 66 trans people who have found work through the SOCtrans* programme.
SOCtrans* is the result of the joint task of the SOC and Secretary of Equality Through the Area for Equal Treatment and Non-discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex People (LGBTI) of the General Directorate of LGBTI+ Public Policies of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
The device SOCtrans* Its objective is to offer personalized support in the labor insertion process to trans* people who voluntarily request it, putting at their disposal the employment resources available at all times —to favor their incorporation into the labor market based on non-discrimination. —.
