Is there any feasible way to avoid outing myself as transgender to prospective employers?

Question

I'm planning to get back into actively job-searching in the somewhat-near future. I've thought of something that could potentially be a stumbling block, though; I'm a trans woman living in a not-too-big city in the Midwestern United States, and might potentially not want to immediately out myself to every prospective employer I interview with.

Is there any feasible way to avoid outing myself as trans to prospective employers when I'm applying/interviewing/etc (especially given that my deadname is typically-male-enough to potentially give a prospective employer accurate suspicions)? Or do I have to accept that going stealth in the workplace WRT one's higher-ups is simply not an option?

Answer 1

Being stealth in a workplace is unfortunately quite dependent on several key factors that are mostly beyond an individual's control. Whether you can be stealth in the workplace depends fully on whether the option makes itself available to you, and while there are steps you can take to make it more likely, there isn't much that can be done to purposefully guarantee it.

A background check may return past names, though this doesn't seem to bother employers much, since the purpose of background checks is to surface major red flags. "Has a past name, no longer used" is not really a red flag, and is in fact quite common. Many background check companies will surface past names used, but no professional background check company will surface "is transgender," because they would be playing with fire over legally-protected medical information. (It would be obscene, for example, for a background company to list the fabled F64.9 ICD diagnostic code on your report.)

So, aside from whether your hiring manager pays attention to past names on the background check... it also depends on whether your past employers and/or references know to identify you by your current name only. They may out you if they do not. You can politely inform them of the name change, but if you also don't want to be out to them, you may have issues facilitating a clean break. They may not understand the importance if they don't know the context, and they may not respect the importance even if they do. Even then, an honest mistake is possible. You will have to assess the character of your past professional references to determine your risk level.

So it is possible to do in the workplace if you get lucky, but only if. Unfortunately, while there are steps you can take, you actually don't have very much control over whether this is a possible option, since it depends entirely on assumptions other people will make about the information they receive. You can do your best on this front, but you should also be prepared with a backup plan if it does not work.

Answer 2

This may not be the most politically correct advice, but here goes: Don't hide it but make it visible. You are what you are: that's great and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. If any employer has a problem with this, it's better to find out sooner than later.

I had the privilege (or luck) to work for employers where transgender individuals were highly valued and actively supported including before, during and after the transition process. Such companies actually do exist and they are good places to work (regardless of your gendered-ness).

My recommendation would be to not hide it in your resume but also not make a big deal of it either. And yes, you'll probably will lose a few opportunities because of this, and yes, that's discrimination and it's wrong. But do you really want to work for a company like this? It's better to keep looking for a more welcoming environment.

Answer 3

You probably are going to have to "out yourself" to an employer at some point, but there is no need to do it immediately.

The issue of course is that previous employers and educational establishments know you by your "deadname". Unless you can go to all of them and convince them to always refer to you by your new name, someone at the place you apply to is going to find out about your previous name at some stage. But that doesn't have to be everybody and immediately.

I would not do this on your resume. Your resume goes to hundreds of people and is often copied all over the place. Don't put information in it that you don't want to be public. Prospective employers very rarely talk to previous employers or schools at the resume screening stage. So it's likely that nobody will do anything that reveals your previous name at this point.

The same is probably true of the interview stage. Interviewers rarely go and check previous history, and so what name you were known by won't come up. You may be unlucky, and one of your interviewers knows someone at a previous company who they talk to, who reveals that nobody named Jane Doe worked there but a John Doe did who matched the resume.

After the interview is when this will probably have to happen. You are going to have to reveal previous names for a background check or for following references. You probably want to avoid coming over as over secretive, but it is also reasonable to ask that the company only use previous names for the purpose of background check, and that they always refer to you by your preferred name. There's an argument for bringing the subject up at interview - both to make it clear you are not trying to hide your history, and also to test how the company is going to treat you. If they aren't happy about your identity then better to find it out at interview rather than after you join.

Answer 4

Consider outing yourself to your past employers instead.

This is a long shot since I don't have a clue how things work in the US, but if this were to happen to me in one of the EU countries that I'm familiar with, I would consider making sure that my references use the new name.

One can already get things like university diplomas re-issued under the new name (as part of the legal transition procedure where you get a new passport etc.), so the only thing left to address are references. Personally, I have always contacted my former colleagues before I listed them as references, so that sounds like a natural point where to make them aware of the changes.

In cultures where references are less about having a chat with your former boss to see what he has to say about you and more about HR confirming that XY indeed worked at ABC Inc. for five years, I suppose that notifying a former employer of the name change and requesting them to amend their records accordingly should do the trick.

The advantage is that while this still outs you to a lot of people, those people are presumably ones you haven't seen for years and will never see again, which makes the situation somewhat less awkward.

Answer 5

My best advice:

"Any relationship built on deception is doomed to fail"

Your business relationship is a relationship. One may be able to embellish the truth from time-to-time, but outright lying is never a good sign.

Being upfront about who you are may lead you to loose some job opportunities, but I would counter with: "The type of company who would not hire you for who you are, is probably not the type of company you wish to work for anyway".

For the record, I have long hair and a Beard and I'm a full-blown metalhead - and I've walked out of an interview because of a comment about my appearance telling them 'if that's an issue for you, then you aren't the sort of company I want to work for'.

Be yourself, be upfront and honest - that usually leads to the best long-term outcomes.

Answer 6

Given how SCOTUS ruled in Bostock and its interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, you may be safe from negative employment actions , such as firing , demotion etc. so from this angle, I would not worry too much.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf