California State University, San Bernardino

CSUSB ScholarWorks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations Office of Graduate Studies

5-2023

AUTHENTICITY, SUPPORT, AND IDENTITY MANAGEMENT IN THE

WORKPLACE FOR TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES
Raeven Jones
California State University - San Bernardino

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd

Part of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons

Recommended Citation
Jones, Raeven, "AUTHENTICITY, SUPPORT, AND IDENTITY MANAGEMENT IN THE WORKPLACE FOR
TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES" (2023). Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations. 1678.
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/1678

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Office of Graduate Studies at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It
has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of
CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@csusb.edu.
AUTHENTICITY, SUPPORT, AND IDENTITY MANAGEMENT IN THE

WORKPLACE FOR TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science

in

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

by

Raeven L. Jones

May 2023
AUTHENTICITY, SUPPORT, AND IDENTITY MANAGEMENT IN THE

WORKPLACE FOR TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

by

Raeven L. Jones

May 2023

Approved by:

Mark Agars, Committee Chair, Psychology

Ismael Diaz, Committee Member

Janet Kottke, Committee Member

© 2023 Raeven Jones
 ABSTRACT

Prior research has established the importance of understanding topics

such as identity management and authenticity in the workplace for the lesbian,

gay, and bisexual communities. However, minimal research has been conducted

on the unique experiences of transgender employees. Studying identity

management for transgender employees can help researchers understand

concealment and disclosure behaviors, which can impact employee work

experiences. Efforts can be made to promote authenticity through a supportive

environment inside the workplace and by encouraging inclusivity at work.

Through interviews with 10 participants, this study identified precursors to

authenticity for transgender employees, explored the support factors that

influence the work experiences of transgender employees, and explored identity

management among transgender employees in the workplace to inform

organizations on how to move forward as a more inclusive workplace. The

findings of this study suggest that support is tied to the positive and negative

experiences of the participants regarding authenticity and identity management.

Support was a central part of the participants' positive experiences, and the

negative experiences resulted from a lack of support in the workplace. This study

also outlines some notable support factors that contributed to the participants'

experiences, such as support groups and inclusive policies and procedures.

These findings suggest that organizational support is more than having

iii
supportive coworkers but entails much more, which is essential for creating an

inclusive environment for transgender employees.

Keywords: Authenticity, identity management, transgender community,

workplace support, organizational inclusion

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my family for encouraging me to reach for the stars.

This is for you mom, dad, Mykah, and Robyn. I could not have done it without

any of you. I also want to thank my beautiful husband for being my number one

fan and biggest supporter, and my best friend Sarah for always being there for

me.

I would like to thank Abraham Rico, Alexis Ford, Rocco Biscotti, and each

participant in my study. Thank you for making my study a success and all of the

hard work you put in.

Lastly, I would like to thank my committee, Dr. Mark Agars, Dr. Ismael

Diaz, and most importantly, Dr. Janet Kottke for being passionate about helping

me finish my thesis and challenge myself. I want to give a special thank you to

Dr. Janet Kottke, I would not be where I am today without your contribution to my

education.

v
 DEDICATION

This paper is dedicated to my sisters, Mykah, Robyn, and Sadie. Together

we can achieve anything, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. We are

limitless, strong women.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... v

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ vii

CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 1

Introduction ................................................................................................ 1

Identity Management....................................................................... 4

Support ........................................................................................... 7

Authenticity ................................................................................... 16

Present Study .......................................................................................... 20

Research Questions ................................................................................ 21

Identity Management ............................................................................... 22

Support .................................................................................................... 23

Authenticity .............................................................................................. 24

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 26

Participants .............................................................................................. 26

Procedure ................................................................................................ 27

Analyses .................................................................................................. 29

Validity ..................................................................................................... 31

Reliability ................................................................................................. 32

Description of Participants ....................................................................... 33

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS .......................................................................... 44

Identity Management..................................................................... 44

v
 Support ......................................................................................... 58

Authenticity ................................................................................... 80

Summary of the Findings ......................................................................... 90

Identity Management..................................................................... 90

Support ......................................................................................... 94

Authenticity ................................................................................... 98

Limitations.............................................................................................. 101

Support ....................................................................................... 102

Policies and Procedures ............................................................. 103

CHAPTER FOUR:: IMPLICATIONS ................................................................. 107

CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................ 109

Future Research ......................................................................... 109

Future Practice ............................................................................ 111

Conclusion .................................................................................. 114

APPENDIX A: DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY ....................................................... 115

APPENDIX B: RESPONSES BY QUESTIONS ................................................ 121

APPENDIX C: INFORMED CONSENT ............................................................ 125

APPENDIX D: DEBRIEFING STATEMENT ..................................................... 128

APPENDIX E: RESOURCE GUIDE ................................................................. 130

APPENDIX F: GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................... 132

APPENDIX G: IRB APPROVAL ....................................................................... 135

REFERENCES ................................................................................................. 138

vi
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics............................................................................. 43

Table 2. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Openness ...................................... 48

Table 3. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Transphobia .................................. 56

Table 4. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Mindful Coworkers ........................ 64

Table 5. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Allyship .......................................... 70

Table 6. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Need for Acknowledgment ............ 78

Table 7. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Authenticity (positive) .................... 83

Table 8. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Authenticity (negative)................... 88

vii
 CHAPTER ONE

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Prior research has explored the unique experiences faced by members of

the lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community,

allowing for a beginning understanding of topics like identity management,

discrimination against the LGBTQ community, and organizational diversity

related to the LGBTQ community. Croteau et al. (2008) defined identity

management as the method individuals use to present themselves at work.

According to Croteau et al. (2008), identity management consists of a myriad of

strategies employed that run on a continuum with passing (lying about their

identity) at one end and being explicitly out (being open about their identity) at

the other. However, it is essential to note that this definition of identity

management is based on sexual orientation. For this paper, this definition will be

based on the LGBTQ community to include transgender employees in the

conversation regarding identity management behaviors in the workplace because

the strategy an individual employs can lead to notable work-related outcomes for

transgender employees (Tatum et al., 2017). One of the possible consequences

is discrimination. Research by Ruggs et al. (2015) has shown that discrimination

against members of the LGBTQ community in the workplace has led individuals

to participate in identity concealment behaviors, which can have outcomes such

as the inability to be their authentic selves in the workplace. However, disclosing

1
an identity management strategy that can benefit members of the LGBTQ

community and under the right circumstances can lead to feelings of peer

support, higher levels of well-being, and authenticity (Tatum et al., 2016).

Authenticity is a critical component of healthy psychological functioning at

work. Although one might assume that transgender employees have similar

experiences as those who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB),

transgender employees have experiences that are unique to their transgender

identity. Unfortunately, policies that aim to create an inclusive environment for

members of the LGBTQ community often fail to realize the uniqueness of certain

groups (Jones, 2020).

Researchers including Button (2001) and Rummell and Tokar (2016) have

identified identity management strategies and precursors to authenticity in the

workplace for individuals who are part of the LGBTQ community; however,

minimal research has been conducted on the precursors of authenticity for

transgender employees. Martinez et al. (2017) researched authenticity and work-

related attitudes and experiences for transgender employees, finding that

expressing one’s identity was central to understanding job satisfaction amongst

transgender employees such that revealing a transgender identity led to an

increased congruence between one’s identity and the expression of that identity.

Participants in the study indicated that when they were able to express their true

selves at work, they felt that they could foster authentic relationships with others

without hiding any aspect of themselves. Martinez et al. (2017) emphasized the

2
importance of creating an inclusive environment for all employees, including

transgender employees, by recognizing the unique experiences they may face,

as the lack of representation and education about transgender employees can

lead to marginalization, exclusion, and underrepresentation at work.

As research on the work experiences of LGBTQ-identified employees

grows, emphasis must be placed on the unique needs of specific groups, such as

trans-identified workers. Researchers Tatum et al. (2017) and Cancela et al.

(2020) have sought to understand the experiences of transgender employees at

work by understanding the positive and negative effects of disclosure and

concealing an identity. The results of the research conducted by Tatum et al.

(2017) and Cancela et al. (2020) indicate that a supportive work environment is a

critical precursor of positive outcomes for transgender employees. More

specifically, Tatum et al. (2017) found that a supportive work environment led to

increased job satisfaction for those who disclosed a transgender identity, while

those who chose to conceal their identity did so because they feared the

consequences of coming out at work. The study by Cancela et al. (2020) noted

that a supportive work environment led to positive work attitudes and behaviors

when individuals disclosed their identity.

In contrast, concealing an identity can hinder obtaining support and lower

job satisfaction. Little research has considered the factors influencing a trans-

identified individual’s experience of authenticity in the workplace. Because

authenticity is critical for well-being, there is a need to understand the underlying

3
factors that contribute to authenticity in the workplace for transgender employees

and to inform organizations on how to create more inclusive environments for

their transgender employees. Understanding how to serve transgender

employees better can not only increase the well-being of their employees but

also combat discrimination, exclusion, and turnover rates in the workplace. The

purpose of this study is to address the gap in the literature surrounding the

precursors to authenticity in the workplace for transgender employees, add to the

literature about support in the workplace for transgender employees, and explore

identity management as it relates to support and authenticity in the workplace for

transgender employees.

Identity Management

Transgender employees must manage their identities at work and employ

identity management strategies that are constantly utilized because there is

always the possibility of being “outed” at work. The possibility of being outed at

work impacts their ability to work effectively because of their need to devote time

and attention to managing their transgender identity (Law et al., 2011). Identity

management can be defined as an individual's decision-making surrounding the

information shared about their identity (Mollet, 2021). Mollet (2021) also

emphasized that different contexts can influence what information about their

identity is shared and the amount of information.

It is essential to understand the factors that might influence an individual’s

decision to disclose or conceal a transgender identity in the workplace because

4
both disclosure and concealment of identity can potentially hurt the well-being of

a transgender individual if an organization is not proactive with awareness of the

experiences of their transgender employees. According to Tatum et al. (2017),

disclosure is an adaptive behavior that can have numerous benefits ranging from

positive affect and well-being to increased organizational commitment and fewer

feelings of isolation. A supportive environment and positive affect minimize the

expectation that coworkers will meet disclosure of a transgender identity with

discrimination and harmful actions, thus encouraging the trans-individual to feel

safe in revealing a transgender identity (Tatum et al., 2017). Transgender

employees who disclose their identity in the workplace will not only be able to

relieve themselves of constant self-monitoring to protect their identity, but the

disclosure can also educate coworkers who would like to be an ally or have little

knowledge about transitioning, thus breaking down stereotypes surrounding

transsexualism (Law et al., 2011). Although disclosure appears beneficial for

transgender employees, the effect of disclosure is dependent on the time and

reactions of those around the trans individual. Walworth (2003) explained, for

example, that premature disclosure could be detrimental and overwhelming for

individuals if they are not ready to handle the reactions of those around them.

Disclosure can also prompt adverse reactions from coworkers and create

anxiety for transgender employees. Using transgender employees as

participants, Budge et al. (2010) conducted a qualitative study of their disclosure

experiences in the workplace. They found that most of the experiences of the

5
individuals were labeled a crucial part of their well-being, but many of the

experiences were traumatic. Some interviewees felt “on edge” at work and like

their jobs were at stake due to the exclusion and retaliation they faced (Budge et

al., 2010). This “on edge” feeling and the adverse reactions may ultimately lead

to the trans-individual quitting their job because of its negative impact on their

well-being (Ruggs et al., 2015).

In contrast, concealment is an identity management strategy often

employed when an employee has not come out at work. It may convey a sense

of protection for the employees, preventing them from facing discrimination for

their identity (Tatum et al., 2017). One of the critical factors prompting the

concealment of a transgender identity at work is the fear of discrimination (Ruggs

et al., 2015). Jones (2020) explained that the fear of discrimination stems from

the established norm of expecting harassment and a lack of support in an

organization for transgender employees. Although concealment is a strategy

employed to ensure personal safety, concealing behaviors have been found to

have several adverse effects on individuals in the LGBTQ community (Tatum et

al., 2017). Psychological distress, depression, increased turnover intentions, a

lowered sense of life satisfaction, well-being, and exhaustion can all be attributed

to concealment behaviors (Tatum et al., 2017). Discrimination against

transgender employees may be in the form of verbal abuse, such as refusing to

call trans-individual by their preferred pronouns, and even physical abuse

(Walworth, 2003). The discriminatory behaviors can stem from a lack of

6
knowledge about transsexualism, prompting adverse reactions from coworkers.

When a trans-individual formally transitions at work, coworkers may feel that the

trans-individual is receiving special treatment, which is deemed unfair (Walworth,

2003). Trans-individuals actively avoid putting themselves in a position to be

harassed. While concealment behaviors may appear as a defense mechanism

for transgender employees to feel safe at work, the constant need to monitor

one’s identity can take a toll (Ruggs et al., 2015). They may become emotionally

drained, take their attention away from their work, and put more emphasis on

concealing behaviors, especially if they have yet to transition (Law et al., 2011;

Ruggs et al., 2015). Although concealment may appear to be the preferred

decision for some employees, support can play an integral role in the ability of

employees to feel comfortable at work. Coworker support in allyship can

strengthen anti-discrimination practices and encourage disclosure instead of

concealment, as coworker support can lead to positive work attitudes (Ruggs et

al., 2015).

Support

It is essential to understand the sources of social support, obstacles to

obtaining social support, and the types of social support for transgender

employees in both work and nonwork domains because they can act as a buffer

against negative experiences (Law et al., 2011). Social support can also lead to

better mental health and well-being for a trans-individual, as well as lowered

suicidality rates (Smith et al., 2018). According to Huffman et al. (2021), social

7
support is founded on interpersonal relationships that consist of emotional,

instrumental, and structural types of assistance. Emotional support can be in the

form of providing sympathy to others, instrumental support can entail trying to

help others, and structural can include having the ability to help others. Social

support includes making resources available for others and offering affection and

advice (Szkody & McKinney, 2019). Social support can lower stress and manifest

itself differently based on individual needs. Not only is social support necessary,

but perceptions of social support are integral to lowering stress and a

determinant of an individual’s mental and physical well-being. Lakey et al. (2010)

explained that perceived support consists of unique relationships between the

supporter and recipient, the ability of the recipient to view the supporter as

supportive, and the consensus between the supporter and recipient indicating the

degree of support received. A qualitative study of support and well-being of

transgender employees conducted by Smith et al. (2018) highlighted the

importance of support within numerous domains of life, including family and

friends, allies, communities, and the workplace. Having support in several

domains led to an increase in mental health and well-being. Most of their

participants expressed that familial and social support for the transitioning

individual diminished feelings of anxiety and increased well-being, buffering

against negative experiences they faced in other domains (Smith et al., 2018).

Perceptions of social support from friends and family can positively or

negatively impact an individual. Bámaca-Colbert et al. (2017) conducted

8
research on perceptions of social support, mentioning that a lack of perceived

support from friends and family could lead to psychological distress, depressive

symptoms, and anxiety, to name a few. When perceptions of social support exist,

outcomes tend to be the opposite indicating decreased depressive symptoms,

lowered stress, anxiety, and higher levels of self-esteem (Bámaca-Colbert et al.,

2017). Expanding on the research of Bámaca-Colbert et al. (2017), Szkody and

McKinney (2019) surveyed individuals about social support. The goal was to

identify social support from parental figures and close friends to examine

individuals' self-esteem results. Their findings suggested that perceptions of

social support and actual social support increased self-esteem for individuals.

Gacusan et al. (2021) mentioned that perceptions of being accepted by an

individual’s social network are essential because acceptance can boost self-

esteem and perceptions of value and worth. Familial acceptance extends beyond

parents and includes siblings and other family members. Sexual-specific support,

particularly by family members, is integral for an individual’s development and

acceptance of their identity.

Additionally, sibling relationships can be vital to increasing self-acceptance

because they may offer a sense of support outside of what one might expect

from a family member, and act as a friend instead (Gacusan et al., 2021). Aside

from familial support, peer support also plays a critical role in developing one’s

self-concept. Peers are thought to be more supportive of sexual-specific

situations, yet there is also the possibility of rejection. If an individual feels close

9
to their family, they are more likely to feel a sense of support, which promotes

increased feelings of worth. Increased closeness with peers also promotes

support, which acts as a buffer against problems, especially when an individual’s

identity challenges social norms (Gacusan et al., 2021).

Having coworker, supervisor, and organizational support validates an

individual’s transgender identity because they are less likely to face abuse for

their identities. (Tatum et al., 2017). Research conducted by Huffman et al.

(2021) explained that social support in the workplace could be present from the

interpersonal level, such as through coworkers and supervisors, and at the

organizational level through policies, procedures, and practices. Huffman et al.

(2021) explored ways coworkers and supervisors can engage in supportive

behaviors for transgender employees in the workplace and the impact the

support can have on employees. One of the crucial ways to show support in the

organization was through using the proper pronouns that the transgender

employee goes by. Using proper pronouns can increase positive job attitudes

because it conveys respect and increases perceptions of support, as it can

indicate acceptance of the individual as they are. Aside from engaging in

supportive behaviors, the workplace climate matters.

A supportive workplace climate consists of mutual perceptions of a

collective agreed-upon work environment amongst supervisors and coworkers

(Huffman et al., 2021). Supervisors are essential for creating a supportive

environment for transgender employees to thrive and feel safe. A structure for

10
employees to follow promotes supportive behaviors and improves job

satisfaction. The feelings of safety and support resulting from the supportive work

climate can lead transgender employees to feel more comfortable, allowing them

to be their authentic selves in the workplace. While having coworker and

organizational support through policies is vital to employee well-being, the most

significant contribution is coworker support (Cancela et al., 2020). Having

coworker support can lead to less anxiety in the workplace, higher levels of job

satisfaction, commitment, and lower turnover intentions (Cancela et al., 2020).

Coworkers can show their support by showing genuine concern and offering to

advocate for the individual through hardships that may occur at work, such as

discrimination (Webster et al., 2018). Huffman et al. (2021) expanded on the

importance of coworker support by emphasizing that coworker support is a

critical component of well-being. According to Huffman (2021), coworker support

was an essential aspect of job and life satisfaction, indicating that coworkers play

a large part in the experiences of transgender employees in the workplace.

Supportive coworkers can create a positive work environment by setting the tone

for organizational norms around inclusive practices, leaving little room for

discriminatory behaviors (Ruggs et al., 2015).

Organizational Inclusion as an Extension of Workplace Support. One key

to creating a workplace where transgender employees can thrive as their

authentic selves is to educate employees about transsexualism through training

and include gender identity as part of organizational diversity initiatives (Taylor et

11
al., 2011). In a comprehensive review of literature on handling workplace

transitions, Taylor et al. (2011) stated that educative opportunities to learn about

transsexualism must be made available to employees before an individual’s

transition because once an employee transitions, coworkers may attempt to

discover more about transsexualism from the employee, which may make them

feel pressured to talk about their transition or lead to sexual harassment (Taylor

et al., 2011). Aside from reducing the pressure on the transitioning employee,

educative initiatives can help reduce fear and ignorance surrounding

transsexualism in the workplace because it can break down the misconceptions

about transsexualism to create grounds for acceptance and support for those

who have a transgender identity (and decide to transition in the workplace)

(Taylor et al., 2011). Including diversity initiatives that affirm gender diversity and

expression and creating an inclusive environment is also critical to a successful

workplace.

Sawyer and Thoroughgood (2017) provide examples of policies and best

practices that can be implemented in the workplace to create an inclusive culture,

such as creating inclusive bathroom policies, ensuring that resources are

available to support those who are transitioning, educating employees on the

difference between gender expression and sexual orientation as well opening

doors to the transgender community to break down external stigmas. Sawyer and

Thoroughgood (2017) also noted that creating a gender-neutral dress code can

help shift the organizational dynamic to foster an inclusive environment. A

12
gender-neutral dress code can make it less obvious that an individual has

transitioned based on gender stereotypes surrounding clothing. Even if

coworkers do not take well to the transition, organizational leaders must ensure

that the transitioning employee does not feel ostracized or discriminated against,

upholding professional standards for all employees (Taylor, 2011). Sabharwal et

al. (2019) also highlight the importance of introducing inclusive policies because

it can help organizations move further away from a heteronormative organization

and push for an organization that embraces differences among employees

without heterosexuality being the reference group that one judges themselves.

Organizational inclusion efforts can lead to employees feeling valued and having

a voice in the organization. Inclusion can also create fairness across

departments and a sense of belonging (Sabharwal et al., 2019).

Sabharwal et al. (2019) stressed the importance of understanding both the

visible and invisible identities in the workplace because change can occur when

organizational leaders realize that identity is a central part of an employee. An

organization must indeed be inclusive for employees to bring their whole

authentic selves to work. Taking the extra step to understand and show genuine

care and concern for employees can reduce turnover rates, increase employee

well-being, and promote inclusivity across departments in the organization

(Sabharwal et al., 2019). Randel et al. (2018) define inclusion as the perception

of belonging to a workgroup through treatment that satisfies an employee’s need

for a sense of belonging and uniqueness. Furthermore, the effectiveness of

13
inclusion is partially dependent on a leader within the organization, such as a

manager. Managers and other organizational leaders are vital in influencing

perceptions of inclusion by treating employees and delegating tasks and

responsibilities. Organizational leadership is responsible for shaping the

organizational environment by governing what can and cannot occur in the

workplace (Randel et al., 2018). Randel et al. (2018) also stress that the leader

must satisfy both the need for a sense of belonging and uniqueness for

employees to feel included in a workgroup genuinely.

Additionally, organizational leaders can influence the environment through

their leader-member exchanges. High-quality relationships can promote

inclusivity and acceptance amongst workgroup members when the leader serves

as a proper role model for the behavior they want to observe in their employees

(Randel et al., 2018). Randel et al. (2018) mentioned specific behaviors that

leaders could exhibit, such as ensuring that justice and equity play an active role

in employee experiences, ensuring that group members feel that their voices are

heard through soliciting unique and different points of view from employees, and

ensuring that employees feel comfortable and can openly communicate with

others within the workgroup. Zeng et al. (2020) also defined inclusive leadership

from three perspectives. The first entails that inclusive leadership entails

encouraging autonomy and allowing employees to participate in decision-making

processes, communicating to employees that they are respected and valued by

their leaders. The second perspective includes fairness, which means that

14
inclusive leaders treat employees fairly in various contexts. The final perspective

of inclusive leadership entails the leader being inclusive of employees from

different cultures and employees with different values. Leaders must be able to

tolerate failures that may occur. Altogether, Zeng et al. (2020) concluded that an

inclusive leader is supportive, fair, and tolerant of failures, which impacts the

behavior of employees. The leader’s behavior is a crucial part of employee

behavior as employees seek cues from their leaders on how to behave at work.

Leaders that communicate inclusivity through promoting equality, support, and

respect enhance employees' ability to adapt and develop at work.

Organizations that foster an inclusive environment for their transgender

employees have increased organizational commitment and helped prevent

discrimination against transgender employees (Taylor et al., 2011). Promoting

inclusivity in the workplace can also lay the foundation for creating guidelines for

employees managing a transition at work. A set of guidelines can help ensure a

comfortable transition for the employee and eliminate unnecessary stressors or

barriers that prevent them from being their authentic selves at work (Taylor et al.,

2011). Because organizational leaders play an integral role in providing support

and assistance with a workplace transition, proactivity is critical for the

implementation of new guidelines and determining how transitions will be

handled in the workplace to avoid any issues or adverse reactions from

coworkers that could have been avoided (Taylor et al., 2011).

15
Authenticity

Authenticity is the ability to express oneself congruently with one’s true

self outwardly. Authentic individuals can be genuine in their self-expression and

feel like others see them as they see themself. Authenticity can be broken into

four components (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). The first component is awareness.

Awareness is perceived as being “in tune” and trusting in one’s emotions and

feelings (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). The awareness component allows individuals

to integrate their qualities and characteristics into a complete representation of

their true selves. Goldman and Kernis (2002) explain that authentic individuals

can see the full scope of their qualities and abilities, building themselves into a

cohesive unit. Based on the situation, certain attributes can make themselves

more apparent than others.

The second component is unbiased processing. Unbiased processing can

be acknowledging strengths and weaknesses without distorting experiences or

what an individual expresses externally (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). Individuals

who engage in unbiased processing can employ behaviors consistent with fair

knowledge of areas of weakness and are also objectively aware of their

strengths (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). With knowledge about their true self,

individuals can make decisions that best represent them, which can have

significant short and long-term implications for their overall well-being. Goldman

and Kernis (2002) explain that the more influential the outcome of a situation, the

more critical accuracy becomes, highlighting that biased processing would lead

16
to distorted decisions that will not be beneficial to the individual compared to

unbiased processing. It is also important to note that the distortions caused by

biased processing often come from insecurities, leading to poor psychological

outcomes.

The third component is authentic behavior. An individual must act by their

values by choice, and the individual is not bound by control and does not desire

to act in ways to please others (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). Goldman and Kernis

(2002) explain that authentic behavior results from the honest interpretation of

the true self through awareness and unbiased processing components. Once

these components are acknowledged and achieved, individuals can behave by

their true qualities.

The final component is relational orientation. An individual must truthfully

reveal who they are (including both strengths and weaknesses) to those they

share close relationships with and trust (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). Once

awareness, unbiased processing, and authentic behaviors are enacted,

individuals can make their best decisions. Although decisions may be difficult or

complex, Goldman and Kernis (2002) explain that the decisions may act as

experiences that promote personal growth, promoting a greater sense of well-

being and authenticity.

The components of authenticity are interrelated and do not all have to be

enacted simultaneously. Goldman and Kernis (2002) use the example of the use

of awareness and unbiased processing when presented with a situation that may

17
be perceived as threatening. Individuals may react with over-defensiveness if

they lack awareness and unbiased processing, but the behavioral and relational

orientation components are not activated. Whether only one or multiple

components are activated, higher levels of authenticity can lead to better emotion

and problem-based coping strategies and lower psychological distress, vitality,

and self-esteem (Goldman & Kernis, 2002).

Research by Aw et al. (2019) explored authentic emotional displays and

surface acting to explain the outcomes associated with both. Authentic emotional

displays consist of genuine feelings and expressions of emotion. Surface acting

is known as an inauthentic display of emotion. Surface acting is perceived as

being inauthentic and can lead to feelings of psychological strain and withdrawal

behaviors, among several others, compared to Authentic emotional displays (Aw

et al., 2019). Using empaths as an example, Aw et al. (2019) explained that

those who lack empathic behaviors are more likely to have trouble feeling

emotions that are called for in a given situation, needing to consciously put more

energy into surface acting to act by norms surrounding the expression of emotion

for a given situation (Aw et al., 2019). However, those who exhibit empathic

behaviors are more likely to naturally feel good about helping others because

empaths are in tune with their own emotions and well-being and are also able to

have a more significant concern for the well-being of those around them.

Individuals naturally inclined to express emotions are more likely to express them

frequently, reducing the need to surface act. When individuals can partake in

18
authentic emotional displays, there are more significant positive outcomes such

as authenticity, increased psychological well-being, and increased job

performance. Positive outcomes associated with authentic emotional displays

come from the individual’s ability to avoid the need to put more energy into

consciously monitoring their emotions, reducing emotional strain, and allowing

the individual to experience higher levels of work performance (Aw et al., 2019).

Similarly, Barber et al. (2021) studied outcomes related to authentic

interpersonal relationships, noting that individuals who establish authentic

interpersonal relationships can develop a higher sense of self and more authentic

relationships with others. Individuals that do not express themselves authentically

are said to hide their authentic selves, putting on a social front that does not align

with their genuine emotions (Barber et al., 2021). Barber et al. (2021) label

inauthentic behaviors as safety behavior. Safety behavior can conceal emotions

and adverse outcomes such as social anxiety disorder (Plasencia et al., 2016).

Participating in safety behaviors hinders one’s ability to embrace authenticity and

its positive outcomes, such as creating genuine connections with others based

on their authentic selves and not a synthetic version of themselves (Plasencia et

al., 2016). Feelings of authenticity in the workplace are critical for transgender

employees because they can establish authentic relationships with coworkers,

have more positive attitudes toward their job, enhance career outcomes, and

have a greater sense of well-being (Lent et al., 2021). Being authentic at work

19
also allows transgender employees to break down stigmas and stereotypes

surrounding transgender employees held by their coworkers (Law et al., 2011).

Although authenticity can benefit members of the transgender community

in the workplace, transgender identities are typically overlooked by organizations

(Jones, 2020). More specifically, Jones (2020) noted that organizations might not

understand how trans-identities are different from sexual orientation, thus leading

to dismissive behaviors regarding transgender employees being a separate

group. Overlooking transgender identities can also come from believing that a

gay-friendly workplace is trans-friendly, reinforcing misconceptions that a

transgender identity is a fragment of sexual orientation. Organizations also have

cisnormative ideas embedded in the workplace that can breed a safe space for

LGB individuals. However, transgender employees do not fit within the

cisnormative parameters and frequently are left without a voice at work (Cancela

et al., 2020). While some experiences may be shared with LGB individuals,

transgender employees have unique experiences in the workplace that should be

understood to increase employee well-being and ensure that the organization is

creating a positive environment for transgender employees to thrive at work

(Jones, 2020).

Present Study

The purpose of this study was to explore the precursors to authenticity for

transgender employees, the different components of support that contribute to

the experiences of transgender employees, such as personal, peer, and

20
organizational factors, and their approach to identity management. While

researchers have explored the experiences of transgender employees at work, it

is also imperative to understand the precursors of authenticity, support factors,

and identity management approaches to inform organizational practices and

researchers about the needs of the transgender community in the workplace.

Research Questions

The purpose of this study was to explore the precursors to authenticity for

transgender employees, the different components of support that contribute to

the experiences of transgender employees, such as personal, peer, and

organizational factors, and their approach to identity management. While

researchers have explored the experiences of transgender employees at work, it

is also imperative to understand the precursors of authenticity, support factors,

and identity management approaches to inform organizational practices and

researchers about the needs of the transgender community in the workplace.

Background Questions

1. Tell me a little about your organization.

2. What kind of work do you do?

3. How many people do you work with?

4. How would you describe your work environment?

5. Are there any other identities that you are managing while at work?

21
 Identity Management

For this study, managing a transgender identity is defined based on a

modified definition provided by (Tatum et al., 2016) which states that managing a

stigmatized identity in the workplace entails understanding what decisions

transgender employees make surrounding whether or not to disclose and how

much information is revealed, keeping in mind that “outness” is not a

dichotomous status, but continuously changing through interaction with other

individuals (Lent et a., 2021). According to Seiler-Ramadas et al. (2021), identity

management decisions depend on age, religion, and job factors. Seiler-Ramadas

et al. (2021) gave the example of someone living in a more progressive area

being more inclined to disclose their identity at work. Personality traits have also

been noted to influence an individual’s decisions regarding managing their

workplace identity. An example would be extroverted individuals yearning for

social interaction, and because extroverts are thought to need social

connections, they are less likely to participate in concealing behaviors (Reed &

Leuty, 2016). Keeping this in mind, inquiring about an individual’s identity

management strategies allows us to understand the different contextual

influences that help individuals make decisions regarding their identity before

diving into the precursors to authenticity at work.

Identity Management Questions

1. How do you navigate being transgender at work?

2. What are the challenges of being transgender at work?

22
 3. What has been the most impactful experience as a transgender individual

in the workplace (positive or negative)?

Support

Support is another critical area that was focused on during the interview.

Questions regarding support inside and outside the workplace can hold vital

details about an individual’s support needs. Huffman et al. (2008) noted that

support at the coworker, supervisor, and organizational level has different unique

influences on an individual’s well-being. As previously mentioned, coworker

support can influence both life and job satisfaction, potentially because coworker

relationships can mirror that of friendships, providing more support through

mitigating personal stressors related to issues both inside and outside of the

workplace. Supervisor support increases job satisfaction because employees are

more likely to feel that the support received is motivated by the organization, not

through a more collaborative relationship. The organization can communicate its

support to employees by creating formal policies and encouraging inclusive

practices to be carried out by coworkers and supervisors. Questions surrounding

support in and outside the workplace may elicit responses that further support

the idea that a supportive work climate helps promote authenticity. Support

outside the workplace is also necessary because it can impact an individual’s

self-perceptions and buffer against negative experiences (Gacusan et al., 2021).

Asking about an individual’s support outside the workplace can provide critical

23
details about the importance of building supportive relations and how they can

help develop or diminish one’s sense of self.

Support Questions

1. As a transgender individual, what has been the biggest support at work?

2. As a transgender individual, who has been the biggest support at work?

3. What could your organization do to support you and other transgender

employees at work?

4. To what extent do you feel supported outside of work?

5. As a transgender individual, what kind of resources do you wish you had

to support you in the workplace?

Authenticity

The final critical area was based on one’s ability to be authentic and the

challenges that transgender employees may face in the workplace when trying to

be their authentic selves. Allowing transgender employees to open up about how

they can be their authentic selves in the workplace can allow for elaboration on

their ability to be authentic and what factors have influenced their ability or

inability. Additionally, understanding the barriers that make it difficult for

transgender employees to be their authentic selves to work can create grounds

for change. Research conducted by Martinez et al. (2017) has established action

authenticity as being essential to avoiding conflicting behavior and beliefs

regarding one’s gender. Action authenticity in this context refers to the

congruences between one’s conceptualization of their gender and their

24
expressed gender. However, it may be that not all transgender employees feel

the need to disclose their identity to have congruences between their gender and

outward expression. Known factors such as fear of discrimination, isolation,

psychological distress, and decreased life satisfaction have already been noted

as outcomes related to disclosure and concealment regarding one’s transgender

identity; however, more research needs to be established on how challenges

impact one’s ability to be authentic in the workplace regardless of their disclosure

status. Inquiring about the factors that make it difficult for transgender employees

to be their authentic selves in the workplace can help build on the literature

surrounding what organizations can do to support transgender employees and

what organizations should avoid.

Authenticity Questions

1. To what extent do you feel that you can be your authentic self in the

workplace?

2. As a transgender individual, what factors have made it difficult for you to

be your authentic self at work?

25
 CHAPTER TWO

METHODOLOGY

Participants

Dr. Edwards recommended between six and ten participants for interviews

because it allows the researcher to explore participant experiences in-depth

compared to larger samples (Baker & Edwards, 2012). Korstjens and Moser

(2018) mentioned that data saturation occurs when data collection is no longer

necessary because new data would not elicit new information essential for the

study as determined by the coders and recommended up to 10 participants for a

phenomenological study. The coders felt that the themes created were a good

representation of participant responses, patterns were also found within

responses and notable quotes that represent what participants discussed were

extracted, leading to the conclusion that sampling more than 10 participants was

unnecessary.

Ten participants who identified themselves as transgender working

individuals were recruited for this study. 50% of the participants identified as

female to male (FTM), 20% as male to female (MTF), 20% as biologically male,

and 10% as genderqueer. Regarding ethnicity, 40% of participants identified as

Black or African American, 40% identified as being white, 10% as Hispanic or

Latino, and 10% identified as being Two or More. The participants’ ages ranged

from 23 to 30 years old. Regarding the geographic region of the participants,

26
40% of the participants stated that they were from the west, 30% from the

Northeast, 20% from the Southwest, and 10% from the Midwest. For employment

type, 70% of participants worked full-time, 20% worked part-time, and 10%

identified as contracted workers. 80% of the participants were considered

associates, 10% were considered managers, and 10% were considered interns.

60% of participants worked in white-collar jobs (jobs requiring a high skillset such

as those working in finances, stockbrokers, and doctors), 20% worked in blue

collar jobs (jobs that usually require manual labor such as packagers, mechanics,

and electricians) 10% worked in pink-collar jobs (jobs that are people-oriented

and require customer interaction such as sales, entertainment or secretaries) and

10% in gray-collar jobs (jobs that require a high skillset but do not require

employees to have postbaccalaureate degrees, such as IT personnel,

technicians, and childcare professionals). Lastly, 50% of participants worked in

the public sector, and 50% worked in the private sector. The selection criteria for

this study were trans-identifying individuals who were currently employed for at

least three months and were between 18 and 34 years old. (See Table 1).

Procedure

Because the interviewer does not identify as transgender, it was essential

to connect with the transgender community to incorporate the perspective of

trans-identifying individuals on the interview questions and to learn about the

community. The interviewer met with a staff member from a Queer and

27
Transgender Resource Center to learn more about transgender identities,

connect with the community as an ally, and approach the interviews with respect

to avoid causing anguish to the participants.

10 Participants were recruited through LGBT support groups and a

university resource center at a university in Southern California and snowball

sampling. Snowball sampling is a method used to recruit participants that fit

target characteristics through referrals of current participants. Naderifar et al.

(2017) describe this method as efficient because it can locate participants that

may not be easily accessible and offer greater comfort with communication as

the researcher is seen as an extension of the referee. The email encouraged

employed individuals who identify as transgender and between the ages of 18 to

34 years to volunteer to participate in a research study about their workplace

experiences. The email also indicated that the study's goal is to better

understand the positive and negative workplace experiences of transgender

employees and their experiences of identity management, support, and

authenticity at work through interviews conducted via a zoom call. Participants

were also informed that they would be awarded a $20 gift card for completing the

interview. Interested participants were encouraged to reach out directly through

email, and suitable participants were contacted regarding the study. A link to a

Qualtrics informed consent form was sent via email to participants, informing

them of the nature of the study and was required to be agreed to before

scheduling interviews.

28
 One-on-one interviews were scheduled based on the availability of the

interviewer and participant, and a graduate student conducted the interviews. To

ensure participant privacy, participants were encouraged to elaborate on each

question as much or as little as they wanted. Any information that may identify

participants was redacted during the coding process. Participants were also free

to have their cameras on or off. Participants were asked to complete seven

closed-ended questions through Qualtrics regarding their organization’s

practices, and ten demographic questions were asked about their identity. Before

the interview began, the informed consent was read to the participant, and the

participant could ask questions about the study or interview before getting

started. Interviews lasted 45 minutes on average and after the interview, the

participants were debriefed and provided a list of resources such as the phone

number of a counseling and psychological service center, National Suicide

Prevention Lifeline, Trans Lifeline, Crisis Text Line, and the email address to the

Action Now for Mental Health (ANMH) for the convenience of the participants if

any adverse effects occurred because of the interview.

Analyses

This study took a phenomenological approach to study participants’

experiences. According to Creswell and Creswell (2018), the phenomenological

approach allows researchers to understand phenomena resulting from participant

experiences. Through phenomenology, the researcher can identify emergent

29
themes based on the lived experiences of participants from predefined criteria

(Korstjens & Moser, 2018). This study specifically emphasized the experiences of

identity management, support, and authenticity in the workplace for individuals

that fit within the predefined criteria of being transgender, currently employed, or

having previously been employed for at least three months and between the

ages of 18-24. Four coders were used for this study, consisting of two

undergraduate students and two graduate students trained on how to code using

the proposed coding methods. Before coding, the interviews were transcribed

through the use of the Zoom transcription feature and reviewed for grammatical

errors. Once the errors were fixed, participant identifiers were redacted and the

transcription was given to the coders. Various coding methods were employed to

capture the essence of the participant responses. Attribute coding was used to

understand the demographic characteristics of the respondents as they may offer

unique contextual information based on respondent characteristics. Structural

coding was used to categorize participant responses into segments based on

commonalities to begin theme development. Structural coding allowed the

researcher to look at identity management, support, and authenticity separately

and draw out the main themes from the interviews. Saldaña (2016) noted that

structural coding allows the initially created themes or “codes” to be further

broken down into subcodes to gather data related to specific topics of interest

such as identity management, support, and authenticity. Structural coding also

allows the researcher to highlight the relationships within the segments (Saldaña,

30
2016). Because this study involves a marginalized community, it was vital to

ensure that they had a voice and that their community is preserved by presenting

the findings through the lens of the transgender community. Because of this, In

Vivo coding was used to capture the terms and phrases that are part of the

participant’s vocabulary regarding the topic to allow participants to have a voice

within the analysis and retelling of data (Saldaña, 2016). Saldaña (2016) noted

that pattern coding is a method used to gather the segments created from the

first coding cycle to create more meaningful categories that can be broken down

further to allow for significant themes to emerge from the data. After structural

and in vivo coding were used as the first cycle coding methods to capture codes

and subcodes that arose from the data and kept the meaning of the voices of

participants, pattern coding was used to develop significant themes found within

the data to serve as the foundation for statements that described the major

themes. Pattern coding allowed the researcher to examine other patterns,

common themes, relationships, and significant themes in the data. Pattern

coding helped paint a more cohesive picture of how identity management,

support, and authenticity come together to create participants' experiences.

Validity

Internal validity was established through triangulation. According to

Creswell and Creswell (2018), triangulation refers to using data from multiple

participants to build a cohesive theme based on patterns found in the data. The

31
participants' responses in this study were used as the foundation for creating the

emerging themes. Thick, rich description was also used to strengthen the validity

of the study. Creswell and Creswell (2018) note that using thick, rich descriptions

is a method used to increase validity by allowing for detailed descriptions of the

experiences of participants that may include descriptions of emotion, behaviors,

and the setting in which the experiences occur. The detailed descriptions help

readers visualize participant experiences and how they relate to emergent

themes and how those different perspectives contribute to them. This helps build

a detailed description of experiences that is rich in detail, realistic and from

multiple perspectives that the readers can understand and create a clear

connection to the themes created. An external auditor was employed as another

validity-enhancing method to assess the themes created in alignment with the

participant responses and the research questions (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).

The external auditor, with no prior exposure to the study, assessed the research

questions in alignment with the data, assessed the data throughout the stages of

theme development, and assessed the themes and definitions created by the

coders along with the responses of the participants to assess how closely the

codes and definitions matched the responses of the participants.

Reliability

Multiple reliability procedures suggested by Creswell and Creswell (2018)

were used in this study. All transcripts were checked for errors and corrected as

32
needed. Definitions created for codes were checked against participant

responses directly to ensure that the definitions accurately represented

participant responses. Because multiple coders were used, the group shared the

analysis, and meetings were regularly scheduled for cross-checking the codes.

Inter-rater reliability estimates were calculated to determine the degree of

agreement of emergent themes. Creswell and Creswell (2018) noted the

importance of cross-checking the codes and developing an intercoder

agreement. Ideally, the coders who are cross-checking the themes and

corresponding definitions would be in agreement at least 80% of the time

(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). All themes and corresponding definitions were

cross-checked for intercoder agreement and the intercoder agreement was

reached 100% of the time.

Description of Participants

Participant 1 identifies as female to male (FtM) and has formally disclosed

their transgender identity at work, and that their transgender identity is extremely

important to them. Participant 1 works for a distribution facility, processing, and

shipping packages out. In their response to the closed-ended questions about

their organization’s practices, they stated that there are written organizational

policies that aim to protect transgender employees from discrimination, and there

are also opportunities for employees to get educated about transitioning in the

workplace and what it means to be transgender. Participant 1 noted that there

33
are resources readily available for transgender employees (i.e., gender-neutral

restrooms, trans-inclusive healthcare, hotlines, and support groups), and efforts

are made by the organization to make accommodations for transitioning

employees. Lastly, considerable efforts are made by the organization to create

an inclusive environment (i.e., holding staff accountable for inclusive policy

violations toward transgender employees, using gender-neutral language,

gender-neutral attire policy, and respecting pronouns). Some responsibilities

include taking customer returns, fixing products, and reselling items. They are

trained in all departments and work with anywhere between 15 to 100

employees. They describe their work environment as being friendly and relaxed,

with time to “smell the roses,” but occasionally, work can get overwhelming,

leaving little time to socialize and interact with other employees.

Participant 2 identifies as FtM and is the only participant from the Midwest

as well as the only participant working a gray-collar job. The participant has

formally disclosed their transgender identity at work, and their transgender

identity is extremely important to them. Participant 2 works as a chef, and their

work in their organization is cooking. Based on the participant’s response to the

closed-ended questions about their organization’s practices, they stated that

there are written organizational policies that aim to protect transgender

employees from discrimination, and they are unsure if there are opportunities for

employees to get educated about transitioning in the workplace and what it

means to be transgender. They are also unsure if there are resources readily

34
available for transgender employees. Their organization makes efforts to make

accommodations for transitioning employees. Lastly, no considerable efforts are

made by the organization to create an inclusive environment. They work with

servers, on-call staff, and employees responsible for cleaning. The number of

employees they work with depends on the shift they take, but most of the time,

they work with seven other employees. They described their work environment

as "cool," and the atmosphere changes based on whom they are working the

shift.

Participant 3 is a FtM transgender individual who was the only Hispanic or

Latino participant in this study. The participant works at a warehouse and

describes their work as overnight sitting at the warehouse with 10-15 employees,

including leads and managers. They are currently concealing their identity at

work, and their transgender identity is extremely important to them. Based on

their response to the closed-ended questions about their organization’s practices,

they are unsure if there are written organizational policies that aim to protect

transgender employees from discrimination, and they stated that there are no

opportunities for employees to get educated about transitioning in the workplace

and what it means to be transgender. There are no resources readily available

for transgender employees, and they are unsure if their organization makes

efforts to make accommodations for transitioning employees. Lastly, no

considerable efforts are made by the organization to create an inclusive

environment. They described their work environment as good, however, they

35
mainly stick to themselves because no one knows they are transgender. In their

organization, employees speak freely without regard for others. They gave an

example of some things they heard, stating that they overheard coworkers in the

breakroom making comments about transgender individuals and questioning if

they felt that transwomen were real women. They also stated that although they

do not want to make a big fuss about it, they still do not appreciate it because it

creates an uncomfortable environment.

Participant 4 identifies as FtM and works at a pet grooming salon that

began as a small business but now belongs to a national corporation. They have

informally disclosed their transgender identity in the workplace and noted that

being transgender is not an important aspect of their identity. Aside from their

transgender identity, they manage other identities, such as being gay and having

a disability. Based on their responses to the closed-ended questions about their

organization’s practices, there are written organizational policies that aim to

protect transgender employees from discrimination. There are no opportunities,

however, for employees to get educated about transitioning in the workplace and

what it means to be transgender. There are resources readily available for

transgender employees, and the organization makes efforts to make

accommodations for transitioning employees. Lastly, considerable efforts are

made by the organization to create an inclusive environment. Although new

managers were brought into the organization, most of the employees operate as

their own managers and communicate with each other to collectively take on

36
different responsibilities in the salon. The participant was hired as a pet groomer

but takes on many responsibilities that a manager would be required to complete.

They occasionally work as a salon receptionist and manage customers, vendors,

coworkers, and managers. The number of employees they work with varies, with

6-7 coworkers, 1-3 managers, and 10+ veterinarians. They described their work

environment as “a close-knit group of individuals trying to thrive in a stressful

environment.” The salon employees work well together but rarely work with the

veterinarians and managers.

Participant 5 identifies as biologically male and conceals their transgender

identity in the workplace. They feel that being transgender is moderately

important to their identity. Outside of being transgender, they manage being

Muslim at work, which they get judgment for. Based on their responses to the

closed-ended questions about their organization’s practices, there are written

organizational policies that aim to protect transgender employees from

discrimination. There are opportunities for employees to get educated about

transitioning in the workplace and what it means to be transgender. There are

resources readily available for transgender employees, and the organization

makes efforts to make accommodations for transitioning employees. Lastly,

considerable efforts are made by the organization to create an inclusive

environment. Participant 5 works in a software development organization,

working on system updates and managing staff. Participant 5 works with

approximately 20 people and described their work environment as being “okay”

37
and “manageable,” noting that the environment is not one where an employee

can build trusting relationships or thrive in.

Participant 6 also identifies as biologically male and has formally

disclosed their identity at work. They feel that being transgender is moderately

important to their identity. Participant 6 works at a financial institution as an

assistant, working to help people understand international finances. Based on

their responses to the closed-ended questions about their organization’s

practices, there are written organizational policies that aim to protect transgender

employees from discrimination. There are opportunities for employees to get

educated about transitioning in the workplace and what it means to be

transgender. There are resources readily available for transgender employees,

and the organization makes efforts to make accommodations for transitioning

employees. Lastly, considerable efforts are made by the organization to create

an inclusive environment. For their workplace responsibilities, they described that

they take care of finance awareness research which entails conducting research

around international business and finance for both large and small businesses.

They work with approximately 16 people, with 60 in their department. They

described the work environment as serene and “okay” regarding staff and

management. Employees can coordinate quickly and do what they must to get

their jobs done.

Participant 7 identifies as MtF (male to female) and is the only participant

who reported working as an intern. Participant 7 has formally disclosed their

38
transgender identity being transgender is very important to their identity. Based

on their responses to the closed-ended questions about their organization’s

practices, there are written organizational policies that aim to protect transgender

employees from discrimination, but the participant was unsure if there were

opportunities for employees to get educated about transitioning in the workplace

and what it means to be transgender. They were also unsure if there were

resources readily available for transgender employees and Participant 7 was the

only participant that stated that there were no efforts made by the organization to

make accommodations for transitioning employees. There were also no

considerable efforts made by the organization to create an inclusive environment.

Participant 7 worked as an intern for a K-12 institution, mainly helping where the

institution needed extra help. Their supervisor tasked them with facilitating the

school’s technology. During their time as an intern, they worked with other

interns, teachers, yard aids, administrative staff, facilities, and principals, among

other staff. They stated that they worked with 22 teachers, and the work

environment was “toxic but nice.” Participant 7 stated that there were a lot of

passive comments made that would escalate and become very aggressive,

which is what led to the end of their time working as an intern for the institution.

They stated, “There issue was widespread within the school the number of times

that that stuff had happened to me and other people, and I honestly just didn't

want to be there anymore. I had already considered quitting for quite a while

39
before that and kept coming back essentially because I've kept holding on to

hope that things would get better, and they didn't.”

Participant 8 identifies as FtM (female to male) and has formally disclosed

their identity at work. Being transgender is also very important to their identity.

Based on their responses to the closed-ended questions about their

organization’s practices, there are written organizational policies that aim to

protect transgender employees from discrimination. There are opportunities for

employees to get educated about transitioning in the workplace and what it

means to be transgender. There are no resources readily available for

transgender employees. The organization makes efforts to accommodate

transitioning employees, and considerable efforts are made to create an inclusive

environment. Participant 8 leads a group of specialists on projects. Their job

entails doing software design in Vietnam and the United States. They work with

30 other employees and describe the work environment as quiet but tense when

they have meetings because that is their opportunity to connect and share ideas.

However, meeting days often entail workplace gossip.

Participant 9 identifies as MtF and has informally disclosed their

transgender identity at work. They also feel that being transgender is very

important to their identity. As for other identities, they actively manage their

cisgender identity when they go out in public and their online persona. Based on

their responses to the closed-ended questions about their organization’s

practices, the participant is unsure if there are written organizational policies that

40
aim to protect transgender employees from discrimination and unsure if there are

opportunities for employees to get educated about transitioning in the workplace

and what it means to be transgender. There are no resources readily available

for transgender employees, and the participant is unsure if the organization

makes efforts to make accommodations for transitioning employees. Lastly, the

participant is unsure if the organization makes considerable efforts to create an

inclusive environment. Participant 9 works for an insurance broker company and

is currently navigating the name change process before getting licensed to sell

products. The organization sells life insurance and mortgage, and if something

happens to the individual with the policy or their family member, the company will

pay the mortgage of the policyholder or their dependents until they can continue

to make payments. Most of their work is not done in an office setting; therefore,

they primarily work alone, but they have contact with the person who hired them,

and they are part of a larger group that is considered their community. Because

they primarily work from home, their work environment consists of a quiet place

in their home unless they have to visit the homes of individuals who might be

interested in purchasing a policy. Because they are still navigating the name

change process, they have not yet started selling because changing their name

after licensing is particularly difficult. They are nervous to begin selling because

they are unsure how customers might react if they discover the individual is

transgender.

41
 Participant 10 is the only participant that identifies as being genderqueer.

They have formally disclosed their identity at work and being transgender is very

important to their identity. Aside from managing their transgender identity,

Participant 10 also identifies as queer and manages an invisible disability that

others sometimes do not understand. Based on their responses to the closed-

ended questions about their organization’s practices, there are written

organizational policies that aim to protect transgender employees from

discrimination but no opportunities for employees to get educated about

transitioning in the workplace and what it means to be transgender. There are

also no resources readily available for transgender employees, but the

organization makes efforts to make accommodations for transitioning employees.

Lastly, the participant is unsure if the organization makes considerable efforts to

create an inclusive environment. Participant 10 works for a software service

company as a sales representative. In their position, they sell software to

nonprofit public sector agencies based on the territory that they are assigned.

They search through the list, and their goal is to get customers to meet with them

and potentially sell software that will help the customers better serve the clients

in their organizations. The participant mentioned that the number of people they

work with varies and can be anywhere from 8 to 200 people, with over 2,000

employees in the organization because of merging with other software service

companies and locations. Like Participant 9, Participant 10 works remotely,

42
stating that their job is composed of independent work but has daily meetings in

the morning to ask questions and catch up.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics

43
 CHAPTER THREE

FINDINGS

The following section is composed of the major themes created based on

the responses of participants regarding identity management, support, and

authenticity. Each theme is defined and supporting literature is presented to help

with breaking down each of the themes before direct quotes from the participants

are provided to convey the importance of their experiences.

Identity Management

The main themes that arose from interviewing participants on their identity

management strategies and experiences were openness, defined as individuals

being able to be honest about their identity and feel respected and accepted by

coworkers for who they truly are, and transphobia, which entails treating

transgender employees as if they are "lesser than normal" or abnormal through

hate speech, physical altercations, or microaggressions. Notable examples

include making inappropriate comments, not taking them seriously, or accepting

them, and transgender individuals missing out on job opportunities because of

discrimination. The main themes of openness and transphobia had two

subthemes: Lack of social support and condescending staff, which will be

discussed in greater detail in the following sections.

Openness and Identity Management. Huffman et al. (2021) explored

openness as it pertained to gender identity. They noted that individuals at one

44
end of the spectrum could be open about their gender identity while at the other,

they conceal their identity. Huffman et al. (2021) stated that being open at work

results in several things that coworkers and the organization can enact.

Participants in the study noted that having the ability to use preferred pronouns,

gender-neutral restrooms, access to medical benefits, workplace policies, and

inclusive practices, amongst many other things, were essential for creating an

organizational climate that participants felt that they could be open in. One of the

most significant contributors that led to increased feelings of openness at work

was having coworker support, stating that it was a factor that led to increased

health and well-being. (Huffman et al., 2021). Because establishing connections

were so important to the participants, it was important for the organizations to

have opportunities for employees to bond and get to know each other after

establishing policies and procedures that promote inclusivity. Five of the ten

participants stated that they simply are themselves and are open about their

transgender identity at work. Openness in this study's context can be defined as

individuals being open about their identity in the workplace and feeling respected

and accepted by coworkers.

Participant 1 noted that they have overall had a positive experience and

described their work environment. They explained:

They’re pretty cool about like if you identify as such If you feel as such

whatever day, you can go into that restroom so like if females identify as

male for the day, they can use the male restrooms. Individuals who are

45
 not binary, they can use a female restroom, male restroom, wherever they

feel.

Additionally, their coworkers are very respectful which contributed to the

participant’s feelings of being able to be open at work, participant 1 stated:

Everything from HR, managers, associates like everyone's pretty like

friendly, basically make it kind of like homey and welcoming. They try and

respect your pronouns like they even have little cards that say like “she

her hers” and other pronouns that you can put behind your badge. It's

pretty cool.

Referring to another company that they worked for, Participant 3 talked about

their ability to open, stating:

In my other job it was a good experience, you know, with LGBT, because

you could tell they weren't like weird about it, because they would hire

everybody from LGBT like we've had lesbians, we've had bisexuals, gays,

we've even had a, you know, a poc (person of color) gay man as one of

our managers. So, when that happened, you know I was way more

comfortable being trans there than like having a live this secret life.

Participant 3 could be open about their transgender identity at work because the

organization made efforts to be inclusive. Having other LGBTQ+ individuals in

the workplace made it easier for them to feel comfortable being themselves.

Participant 4 also felt that they can be open about their identity stating, “I am just

46
me, and that includes being trans just as much as it includes being disabled or

being gay.” Also, noting that they can be open and feel accepted:

I am very lucky that I am allowed to just be me, and I am accepted. I can

be quite open to my coworkers, although I tend not to overshare. They ask

me questions occasionally, but for the most part, I’m just a guy.

Participant 6 makes their best effort to be themselves, explaining:

I honestly just try to be me and do what I have to do. It’s easier when I’m

in some departments but in other departments and some others might not

be accepting simply because of my identity and I might not mesh with

anybody.

While they may have difficulty being open in some departments, in others, they

feel it is easier to be open about their transgender identity because they are

surrounded by individuals who understand them. They described their

experience in a department other than their own, stating that it was nice being

around other LGBTQ+ individuals and being able to see how they were free to be

themselves. Participant 9 spoke about being open at work, mentioning:

Now that I've got my name and gender marker changed, I get to go

present as female. I get to go and tell them my name is [Redacted]. There

is a bit of a you know a general sort of “be professional” l and wear clothes

that aren't generally my thing but that's work it's not a big deal.

Participant 9 could be open about their transgender identity, which made

them feel safe and enjoy their job. Participant 10 felt they could also be open

47
about their identity at work. They explained “I navigate being transgender at work

by just being really loud about it. I spent a lot of time in therapy unlearning being

ashamed of myself and being ashamed of being trans and also ashamed of my

disabilities.” Participant 10 elaborated on an experience with being open about

their transgender identity and its impact, stating that they had the opportunity to

be a teacher to the child of the principal of the school, which led to several

conversations about inclusivity and both the participant and principal were able to

work together to create a positive change in the district.

Table 2. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Openness

48
 Transphobia and Identity Management. Transphobia was a theme that

arose as something that affected participants’ identity management decisions in

the workplace. Participants experienced transphobia or feared that they would

experience transphobia in the future, and as a result, many kept quiet about their

transgender identity. This is a form of anticipated stigma which entails individuals

expecting to experience prejudice and discrimination by others (Stults et al.,

2022). According to Liu et al. (2022) on a study of LGB individuals, individuals

who witness discrimination on other sexual minorities fear that they would be

subjected to the same discriminatory behavior. A similar statement can be made

for the transgender community. In a study conducted by Whitehead et al. (2016)

on the health of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Whitehead et al. (2016)

noted that transgender individuals are likely to have lower levels of health

because of anticipated stigma which creates fears that prevent them from

seeking healthcare when they need it. In the context of this study, transphobia is

defined as treating transgender employees as if they are "lesser than normal" or

abnormal through hate speech, physical altercations, or microaggressions.

Notable examples include making inappropriate comments, not taking

transgender individuals seriously or accepting them, and transgender individuals

missing job opportunities because of discrimination. Mizock et al. (2018) explored

transphobia in the workplace, explaining how transphobia manifests itself in the

workplace and what can be done to combat transphobia. Mizock et al. (2018)

explained that many transgender individuals miss opportunities in the workplace

49
due to transphobia, and the safety of transgender individuals is compromised

when they reveal a transgender identity or if the information is made public

without their consent. Hartzell, Frazer, Wertz, and Davis (2009), who found that

over 50% of transgender employees felt the need to change career routes or

switch jobs after disclosing a transgender identity in the workplace. One of the

issues that can lead to this is that despite an organization having established

policies and procedures that are meant to increase inclusivity in the workplace, is

that the policies and procedures are not enforced, followed, or enacted despite

existing in the workplace (Mizock et al., 2018). In addition to this, there is limited

legal protection for transgender employees. Organizations may also lack policies

and procedures that protect transgender employees altogether, such as some

employers lacking healthcare that covers transgender healthcare services but

having services that cover cisgender employees (Mizock et al., 2018).

Lack of social support is one of the subthemes that fall under the category

of transphobia that prevents individuals from being able to be open about their

transgender identity in the workplace. Lack of social support can be defined as a

lack of policies and resources, such as social support, specific to marginalized

communities stemming from willful ignorance and lack of compassion. Lack of

social support can lead to an individual concealing their identity, which in this

study can be defined as trying to hide their gender expression to avoid unwanted

comments, questions, and harassment and to ensure job security. Participant 2

50
has a lack of social support and fears negative reactions from others. Participant

2 stated:

Maybe there's some scenarios where you have to hide your gender

identity. But it could be cool if you know everyone could be open about it

but maybe sometimes you just fear, you know someone can discriminate

against you, but just live in the fear of that so you don’t say anything.

Elaborating on their fears, they explained, “Maybe Some people may look down

on you or they might be ok with you, but you don’t know how someone will react

if they know.” This makes it challenging to manage their transgender identity

because they are unsure how someone will react upon finding out. How they

navigate their transgender identity depends on the shift. They can be comfortable

during some shifts because of supportive coworkers; however, in other shifts,

they are supposed to have disclosed their identity to management only for safety

precautions. Overall, Participant 2 ensures that mistakes cannot be attributed to

their identity and stated:

I give it my everything because I don’t want them to think of my identity to

be the reason that I'm not giving my maximum output like I'm giving less,

or the manager, directors, or my colleagues start saying that maybe I’m

doing less because of my identity.

Participant 3 feels they must live a secret life at work and cannot speak with HR

about their identity. They are reserved at work, explaining:

51
 I just keep to myself at work because like I know everybody like they don't

know. Obviously, I want to pass, too. But I just stick to myself you know. I

don't know it shouldn't be like that. It should be more open, but you just

never know who's against it, and like I use the men's restroom, and I just

ain't even trying to get involved in anything so I stick to myself really that's

like how I navigate being a trans person, I guess.

Participant 3 hopes to pass as cisgender because they fear what might happen if

they disclose their transgender identity at work. Participant 4 explained that there

is always a chance that a new coworker is not as accepting as their current

coworkers. They also noted that if a coworker is good enough at “covering their

tracks,” they will not get in trouble (for transphobic behaviors). Participant 5

stated that policies and procedures are in place to protect employees, but

everyone just does what they want:

Sometimes when I need to work with people who don’t accept me for my

identity, I just stick to myself, which can get boring, but I know that It’s not

safe to try and talk to others. It really sucks because if an opportunity to

get promoted comes up I get scared that they will deny me because I'm

trans, even if I work hard.

Participant 6 felt they do what they must despite some coworkers not being

accepting. In some departments, some individuals accept them for who they are,

but in others, they feel that they may not have a good relationship with anyone

and try to mentally prepare for what may come when they enter a department

52
that is not as accepting. As stated in the previous section about openness and

identity management, Participant 6 feels they can connect with LGBTQ+

employees in other departments because they understand them. In the

department they currently work in, they wish they had the opportunity to be more

open about their identity. Participant 9 stated that they worry about people

making snarky comments that “fly close to the sun without directly harassing,”

and they feared that upper management would not take corrective action.

Despite fearing the possibility of experiencing transphobia at work, Participant 9

tried to keep a positive mindset and stated:

Most people aren't really on the lookout for trans people, you know, I was

telling my mom earlier. I think if you're presenting very feminine, and

you're not bringing it up, I think most people are either not going to be

paying enough attention to notice, or they're going to be too afraid to

mention it, just because what if they're wrong, they'd feel really weird. So, I

think I have that going for me….

Participant 10 mentioned that relying on the company for protection and

insurance was challenging when the company is only inclusive at face value and

does not make honest efforts to create an inclusive environment. They explained:

I think the challenges that I face are just general lack of actual protections

by law like companies. It should not the ones leading the change for

inclusivity, we don't need capitalist policies need actual meaningful laws to

force everyone to follow it, because then, I think, sometimes people will

53
 get taken advantage of by progressive companies, because they say,

look, we include these people, we’re doing such a good job, buy our stuff,

and I feel like my company is definitely guilty of that.

One of the subthemes of transphobia that arose was condescending staff.

Outside of being ignored, condescending staff members make additional efforts

to impact the workplace experiences of transgender employees negatively.

Condescending staff in this study can be defined coworkers that purposefully

misgender, willfully ignore, or berate transgender employees for correcting them

about their behavior. Participant 7 has had a challenging time with their

organization acknowledging them as a transgender individual, stating that they

legally changed their name. “I honestly had a lot of issues trying to get them to

change it in the system to the point that after I was terminated, I've now trying to

collect my savings benefits that are mandatory.” The organization never made

efforts to update their information, making it difficult for them to access their

valuable information. Participant 7 also spoke of their work experiences, detailing

some of the negative situations they had to manage at work:

People intentionally misgendering me, intentionally being cruel to me,

making these assumptions about who I vote for in presidential elections,

my wider political beliefs, whether I think it's okay to be pedophilic towards

children implying that I'm somehow a child predator or something for being

a transgender person who works at a school and playing into that whole

crappy stereotype.

54
Participant 8 stated that they try to actively participate in their job without talking

too much about their identity. They have had experiences with transphobia in

addition to condescending staff, mentioning that people ask demeaning

questions and challenge the concept of being a transgender individual, as well as

personal questions that create an uncomfortable environment simply to create

hostility. While it may seem beneficial to seek assistance from the human

resources (HR) department, the participant stated that sometimes people make

comments that are mostly implied, making it challenging to build a case against

them with HR. They also stated: “I might get tired of going there and reporting the

same things over and over, and they have to be tired of my face by now too.”

Participant 9 stated that they worry about people making snarky comments that

“fly close to the sun without directly harassing,” and they feared that upper

management would not take corrective action. Despite fearing the possibility of

experiencing transphobia at work, Participant 9 tried to keep a positive mindset

and stated:

Most people aren't really on the lookout for trans people, you know, I was

telling my mom earlier. I think if you're presenting very feminine, and

you're not bringing it up, I think most people are either not going to really

be paying enough attention to notice, or they're going to be too afraid to

mention it, just because what if they're wrong, they'd feel really weird. So, I

think I have that going for me….

55
Table 3. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Transphobia

Unique Responses to Identity Management. Participant 10 responded to

the questions about identity management and provided a unique response.

Although this study is primarily composed of themes that are the result of what

several participants have said, it is also important to note the unique responses.

Unique responses in this study are defined as information that no other

participant mentioned regarding each topic but indicate an important part of the

experiences of transgender individuals. For example, a participant might share

56
information regarding identity management that may not have previously been

thought to affect identity management but does. Participant 10 was the only

participant to have a unique response regarding identity management. They

mentioned that relying on the company for protection and insurance was

challenging when the company is only inclusive at face value and does not make

honest efforts to create an inclusive environment. They explained that the

problem is a lack of protection by law, noting that there should be laws enforced

to ensure that organizations are being inclusive instead of just saying they are.

Participant 10 is open about their transgender identity and felt their organization

could do more to be genuinely inclusive instead of calling on LGBTQ+ individuals

when it benefits the organization. Participant 10 was the only participant to

mention that the problem goes beyond the organization in their response to

identity management but not overall. However, it is imperative to understand the

dynamic between transgender individuals and the organization. More specifically,

if organizations call on LGBTQ+ employees for information solely used for

marketing purposes and not to create a more inclusive workplace, employees

may feel exploited and resort to concealing or lying low about their transgender

identity.

Overall, transphobia is an issue that make it difficult for transgender

employees to be themselves in the workplace. Specific quotes regarding

transphobia from participant experiences are included in Table 3. As explained

by Mizock et al. (2018), creating opportunities to increase social support through

57
training and upholding anti-discrimination policies can make a significant

difference and have more social events to acquaint employees with one another.

Mizock et al. (2018) also mention that policies and procedures geared toward

creating a more inclusive environment can be beneficial if management is willing

to enforce the policies in the workplace as they are not strong enough to stop

discrimination and transphobia on their own. Some of the experiences the

participants in the study have experienced have led them to engage in more

concealing behaviors. They may opt to hide their transgender identity because

they do not feel like they have a supportive environment and may face abuse for

their transgender identities.

Support

The significant themes regarding support in and outside the workplace

were participants' mindful coworkers, which were defined by their ability to create

a sense of care and concern through upholding anti-discrimination policies and

creating a friendly and welcoming work environment through standing up against

transphobia and respecting pronouns and allyship, defined as people who do not

identify as LGBTQ+, but recognize and are willing to stand up to the injustices

that members of the LGBTQ+ community face. The last theme, need for

acknowledgment entails the desire for upper management to recognize and

acknowledge the need for accessibility to gender-neutral restrooms, stronger

anti-discrimination policies and more (gender) inclusive practices.

58
 Mindful Coworkers and Support. Fletcher and Marvell (2021) discussed

efforts that should be taken to create an inclusive environment for transgender

employees from the standpoint of allies in the workplace, noting that coworkers

need to do more than passively support transgender employees. Fletcher and

Marvell (2021) explained that organizations should further their efforts through

active engagement with the community. This also means that coworkers must

show continuous support for the transgender community over time because this

can help build a strong sense of support in the workplace. In organizations where

support exists, there are norms surrounding acceptance, support, and being

helpful toward other employees (Fletcher & Marvell, 2021). In diverse

organizations that promote inclusion, coworkers are praised for their inclusive

behaviors because they align with the organization's values. The research by

Fletcher and Marvell (2021) sought to explore allyship as it pertains to the

transgender community at work, explaining precursors to feelings of allyship from

transgender employees in the workplace. Their findings suggested that feelings

of allyship were positively related to feelings of psychological safety, feeling

authentic in the workplace, and higher levels of engagement and life satisfaction.

Transgender employees having their voices heard in the workplace can also

influence knowledge and promote inclusive practices for transgender employees

by allowing them to educate others about the transgender community.

In this study, one of the most prominent themes to arise regarding support

was the theme of mindful coworkers. Mindful coworkers entail having supportive

59
coworkers and upper management, creating a sense of care and concern

through upholding anti-discrimination policies and creating a friendly and

welcoming work environment by standing up against transphobia and respecting

pronouns. Six out of 10 participants mentioned having support from coworkers,

upper management, or policies and procedures in their organization. Participant

1 detailed that their coworkers create a welcoming environment by making the

workplace feel “homey” with efforts made to respect pronouns by providing

access to badges with their pronouns for others to see. Participant 1 stated, “I'm

very open since everyone is respectful like, even with religion and things like that

but that's actually never even been a problem.” Participant 1 also detailed how

coworkers are mindful of pronouns and create a comfortable environment and

stated, “My badge says like he and they respect it. I'm comfortable enough to use

the men's restroom, and everyone just respects it, everything's cool everyone's

pretty respectful and if they don't know like they'll apologize actually, you know.”

Participant 4 experienced transphobia and detailed:

...being called an “it”, being outed to customers, being called a tranny,

having my request customers being given to another groomer, notes in

our system for my dogs being deleted, outright lies said to customers/put

in notes, fetishized, and more.

However, having supportive coworkers allowed them to feel safer at work.

Coworkers reported the transphobic behaviors on their behalf. While having

supportive coworkers who stand up against discrimination, this participant also

60
mentioned how general support from coworkers makes a big difference, stating,

“I am thankful that my coworkers that are currently employed here are supportive

and even more so than the higher-ups at corporate have the sense to act as if

they care.” For participant 7, there were a few individuals at work that they

considered highly supportive because they seemed to care about the participant

genuinely:

There are a few specific individuals who I would describe as allies so

really seem to care. Most of them are other interns. There was another, I

would say the highest was around I believe she would be considered

fourth in command in the school hierarchy. She seemed too often

dissented, too when people were saying and doing stuff they weren't

supposed to, and I would say she was a big help to me. Then there were a

few specific teachers who we didn't always get along with, but they seem

to genuinely care about me and the other interns and their students.

Outside of the workplace, Participant 7 lacked familial support but had support in

others, stating “I do have a few specific friends that are also transgender that

share my beliefs and discussion.” Participant 8 mentioned a coworker who

ensured they felt their voice was heard in the workplace, ensuring they were not

talked over when they had something to say. Standing up against discrimination

against transgender employees has also been considerable support and

communicates that there is care and concern for the well-being of transgender

employees at work. Similarly, to the experiences of Participant 1, two coworkers

61
of Participant 10 make great efforts to ensure that people are not misgendering

and are more than willing to call out people for being transphobic:

Both of those coworkers really go the extra amount they're like hey, Insert-

person-here uses these pronouns, fix yourself, or hey that was

transphobic or hey that's not okay and I think that really is because they

both come from the nonprofit and education world like one of them used to

be a case worker that worked with the phone and the other was a high

school teacher like myself, and so I think they are less corporate than

other folks that I work with, and, as a result are more willing to speak up

and I appreciate that because some people are really hesitant when to

speak up.

Fletcher and Marvell (2021) note that an environment where employees are

inclined to feel accepted leads to employees feeling like they can have a voice in

the workplace and have increased levels of psychological safety. Efforts made by

their organization to allow employees access to badges to express their

pronouns create an environment where employees can feel accepted. Situations

where coworkers are willing to stand up against transphobia on behalf of a

transgender individual also create an environment where the employee can feel

accepted, safe, and comfortable building relationships with coworkers (Fletcher &

Marvell, 2021).

Two of the participants felt that from the organizational standpoint, the

biggest support had been the policies and procedures that take place in the

62
organization. Transgender healthcare was a significant support for Participant 6,

who appreciated having access to finances for their transition. Participant 10

appreciated being able to use their chosen name and pronouns, they stated:

Honestly the biggest support is the fact that I'm allowed to put my name on

things so like [Redacted] isn't my legal name I'm working on it but that's

hard to navigate sometimes and I'm allowed to use my name, I'm allowed

to use my pronouns, and for the most part people follow my correct

pronouns for me, and that's really nice because I really had to fight in my

last job quite a bit to use correct pronouns. I had to use my dead name

and that wasn't great.

Their organization also created a Slack channel dedicated to LGBTQ+ support,

with sub-channels dedicated to transgender and gender non-conforming

individuals. While this has been immense support, their organization could also

make more efforts to increase education efforts to minimize the number of

questions that LGBTQ+ and transgender and gender non-conforming individuals

receive about themselves. Participant 10 also appreciated that their organization

is re-doing the trans healthcare policy they offer employees to cover more

medical needs. Having policies and procedures followed in the organization

specifically for promoting inclusive practices for transgender employees can

promote a sense of belonging and acceptance for the transgender community in

the workplace. Fletcher and Marvell (2021) stated that giving transgender

employees a voice and asking for their opinions on what they want to see in the

63
organization can help lay the foundation for making changes to create a more

inclusive environment. Overall, despite some participants having negative

experiences with others, having supportive coworkers, management, or

organizational policies helped buffer against those negative experiences and

reinforced the idea that they have support at work.

Table 4. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Mindful Coworkers

64
 Allyship and Support. Gorman et al. (2022) researched social support for

transgender individuals. They expressed that perceived familial support could

lead to lowered feelings of depression and anxiety. When participants felt that

they had social support, they could better manage the stress related to their

gender identity. Gorman et al. (2022) noted that their findings suggest that

support can be in the form of correct pronoun usage and more proactive methods

of validating transgender individuals. Lewis, Doyle, Barreto, and Jackson (2021)

sought to explore social support between transgender individuals and family and

friends. Lewis et al. (2021) suggested that having support in the form of

friendship is vital to the well-being and defined friendships in terms of

unorganized, organic friendships and friendships developed through organized

support groups. Lewis et al. (2021) stated that friendships allow transgender

individuals to be open about their identity and other aspects of their life. With

friendships resulting from organized groups, transgender individuals can find

support in others who understand their experiences and broaden their

understanding of gender identity. Connecting with the LGBTQ+ community also

offers unique perspectives that cannot be obtained through connecting with

cisgender individuals and providing a sense of belonging through the

communities in spaces where transgender individuals can feel like themselves.

Alternatively, connecting with family and friends can offer a great deal of support

for transgender individuals by allowing them to be open to discussing topics

65
surrounding their gender identity, such as transitioning, fears, gender norms

relating to their trans-identity, and allowing transgender individuals to provide

emotional support (Lewis et al., 2021).

In the context of this study, Allyship is defined as people who recognize

and are willing to stand up to the injustices that members of the LGBTQ+

community face and support transgender individuals through providing

assistance and acceptance of a transgender identity. All 10 participants felt that

they had a great support system outside of work comprising a combination of

friends, family, a significant other, or in-person support groups or online support

groups. The support systems reported by the participants are consistent with

what has been reported by literature, with Puckett et al. (2019) reporting that

having some form of support is far more common than no support, and if support

is not present in one domain, it can be found in another (i.e. if support is not

present at the familial level, transgender individuals are likely to find support

through friends or other communities). Participant 1 stated that their biggest

support was their girlfriend, “She's the one that usually corrects people. Yeah, I'm

not one to basically like correct people about my pronouns, I'm just doing my job,

I don’t really have time or the energy to just keep correcting people.” The

participant’s girlfriend also works in the same organization.

Additionally, Participant 1 found support in group chats via Twitter and

through friends stating:

66
 Social media group chats I got into it from like Twitter, secondly, there's

trans individuals that I just recently found out about, even like friends, I

didn’t expect them to be so open about it, but they were and of course

some said they already knew but they even started calling me by my

changed name.

Participant 2 stated that all their family support their transgender identity,

contributing to their feelings of support. Participant 3 has support from family and

friends, mentioning that one of their parents is still working on being more

accepting, but detailed their support stating:

I have small like certain amounts of friends in my life that's 10 years plus,

and those are the ones that really matter. So those are the ones that are

the most supportive and they're really cool with it too. So, I do get a lot of

support outside of work.

Participant 4 believes coworkers would support them outside of work if needed,

but their primary support comes from their significant other, friends, and family.

They also found support in customers that they have come across and an

individual they met through the local LGBTQ+ resource center. In addition to

family and friends, Participant 5 found support in online communities, noting that

they share a lot. Participant 6 noted that although they feel that they have

support from their friends and family, they prefer to keep to themselves regarding

their transgender identity. They stated, “When I came out, no one said anything

67
that made me feel like they wouldn’t be there for me if I ever did seek advice

about transitioning or anything related.”

Participant 7 voiced that they have friends who are also transgender and

share the same beliefs as them, and working in the education sector, they were

able to have stimulating conversations on the issues with societal views on the

transgender community and how the issue is much larger than what meets the

eye. Additionally, Participant 7 has support from a grandparent, and most of their

support comes from their chosen family, consisting of a mixture of friends they

occasionally meet up with, exclusively online friends, and friends of their

significant other. They also make significant efforts to be their support by

engaging in extracurricular activities that make them happy and incorporate their

interests into their professional life. Participant 8 stated that they have much

support from family and friends and elaborated on their support, explaining:

My family was surprisingly supportive, and I was so scared to tell them. A

few family members were offput by it but I'm glad that people like my

parents, grandparents and close members are supportive. I lost a few

friends too but if they didn’t want to be friends with me over my identity

then I feel like they didn’t need to be in my life anyways so I'm ok with that.

Participant 9 stated that their mother works in the same organization and has

dramatically supported them. The participant's mother worked at the organization

before the participant. She helped them understand the necessity of making

name change arrangements before being hired by the company because the

68
process would otherwise become tedious. Participant 9 also found support in

others:

I feel pretty supported. I have you know I have a very loving and accepting

boyfriend. My family has, you know, for years now been pretty accepting

of my transgenderism. I have plenty of trans friends and even though

you’d think otherwise living in Texas like I do, which is obviously a very

conservative state. Honestly, most people I meet in day-to-day life,

medical staff, store people, you know, just the people I see often. They're

cool about it.

Participant 10 stated they had grown far away from family, but they have found

support in strangers and friends that are also part of the LGBTQ+ community and

outside of the LGBTQ+ community. Like Participant 7, Participant 10 found

support through extracurricular activities, noting that they actively participate in a

book club for LGBTQ+ individuals reading books by LGBTQ+ authors or books

that contain LGBTQ+ characters, making several friends. Lastly, they also find

support through online communities such as Reddit.

All participants felt they had great support outlets from family, friends,

significant others, or communities online or locally. The participants noted having

support as beneficial, and participants have been able to have a sense of

belonging with others and establish meaningful relationships through connecting

with both online and local communities. Gorman et al. (2022) stated that

transgender individuals are more likely to experience discrimination, rejection,

69
and lack of social support compared to cisgender individuals. Transgender

individuals are also more likely to feel unsafe in an environment that a cisgender

person may not think twice about, leading transgender individuals to be more

likely to both create and take part in communities to create a safe space for

themselves and others and actively seek out support, which is what has been

demonstrated through some of the experiences of the participants in this study.

Table 5. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Allyship

70
 Need for Acknowledgment and Support. Sawyer and Thoroughgood

(2017) stressed the need for organizations to make honest efforts to create an

inclusive environment for transgender employees instead of doing what is

necessary to get by from a legal standpoint. Organizational efforts can help

combat instances of discrimination and create more feelings of safety and that

transgender employees are valued by their organization. Sawyer and

Thoroughgood (2017) also stated that organizations should develop

organizational regulations to extend their protection beyond the protected classes

established by the EEOC and include gender identity and gender expression as

a protected class to take additional steps to protect transgender employees from

discrimination and an uncomfortable environment. Ensuring that information is

clear regarding a department or individual for transgender employees to go to

when facing hostility or discrimination can make a substantial difference in the

employees' experience. It can promote authenticity and feelings of safety for

transgender employees if the organization acts when employees seek out

assistance. Sawyer and Thoroughgood (2017) also detailed that including gender

identity in training on diversity and inclusion can send the message that gender

identity is an essential part of diversity efforts and eliminate stigmas and

stereotypes surrounding transgender individuals and provide education on what it

means to be transgender and how to be inclusive. Having gender-neutral

restrooms can also help push for an inclusive environment and show transgender

employees that they are a vital part of the organization. Gender-neutral

71
bathrooms can eliminate an issue in the workplace that prevents transgender

individuals from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity, making

it difficult for transgender individuals to fully represent their gender identity at

work (Sawyer & Thoroughgood, 2017). Another recommendation by Sawyer and

Thoroughgood (2017) was for organizations to take the time to assess the needs

of transgender employees regarding healthcare to ensure that employees have

sufficient assistance for a safe transition or general transgender healthcare.

Providing these resources to transgender employees will allow them to be more

open about their identity, and organizations that try to provide healthcare

services for transgender employees are perceived as being more inclusive and

are more likely to receive more opportunities to hire non-gender conforming

employees (Sawyer & Thoroughgood, 2017).

Eight of the ten participants felt that their organization could have more

educational opportunities, authentic outreach, and resources for the transgender

community, leading to the need for acknowledgment theme. Need for

acknowledgment can be defined as the desire for upper management to

recognize and acknowledge the need for accessibility to gender-neutral

restrooms, more robust anti-discrimination policies, and more gender-inclusive

practices. In this study, the need for acknowledgment theme is seen as an

extension of the concept of voice, which can be defined as the ability of

employees to partake in the organization's decision-making processes or express

opinions (Kwon et al., 2016). Multiple participants felt that their organizations fell

72
short in areas that would help create an inclusive environment in the workplace.

Participant 1 noted that although their organization allows employees to use

whichever restroom they need, they would still appreciate a gender-neutral

restroom. At this time, their organization's only restroom considered gender-

neutral is a one-stall restroom far from where many employees work. According

to Participant 1, the workplace can be overwhelming at times:

The workplace is sometimes overloaded. I've also been really stressed

like no one really understands except other transgender individuals

because we experience it like unfortunately, 10 times more. Then we have

to deal with that stress of like the restrooms.

When elaborating on the restrooms, Participant 1 stated, “They don’t

have at least that basic things that make everyone feel like they can go to the

restroom in peace like even if it's disabled employees, LGBT, and you still don't

make enough accommodations for the rest.” Participant 2 also calls for

accommodations to be made in organizations for transgender employees and

gave an example, not specific to their organization, but based on their experience

with another company and stated, “I went to the interview, and the moment I

stated that I'm transgender, the deal was off.” Prompting the participant to call for

organizations to be more open to the transgender community in hiring practices.

Participant 3 noted that they did not feel comfortable speaking with HR in

their organization talking about an experience they had at work with HR,

stating: (She) already started to not accept my doctor's notes when I

73
 started to transition, I don't know how you can not accept the notes, but it

was for my transition. I had to go pick up my meds, and I had to get a new

ID, you know, I'm out. She said that she can't accept my doctor's note, so

just things like that, you know, I feel like it could be better like I don't know,

there should be at least one person in every work area that you could talk

to about anything, you know, and if it's not HR, then Who? Who? the heck

is it gonna be?

This would have been an excellent opportunity for the organization of Participant

3 to display concern regarding the participant’s transition. However,

unfortunately, they made the situation more complicated, leading Participant 3 to

feel unsure of whom to go to for support. Participant 5 mentioned that their

organization needed stronger anti-discrimination policies. Elaborating on this

idea, Participant 5 explained:

They need to do a better job at making sure we aren’t discriminated

against because they talk about us, call us things like “others” instead of

addressing us properly and just make us feel like we don’t belong and like

we aren’t welcome.

Hostile and uncomfortable environments are created when coworkers do not

address transgender employees correctly. Participant 6 stated that their

organization could do more to create an inclusive environment because they are

more comfortable in some departments than others, and they would prefer

74
equality across departments regarding how employees are treated. Participant 6

stated:

Sometimes I need to put forth more effort because of the side eye and

assumptions about me but like I mentioned earlier, it depends on the

department, so in my own I feel fine being myself, in another I feel like I

need to be more reserved just to be comfortable.

Like the experience of Participant 3, Participant 7 stated:

No one knows what they're doing to the point of saying, well, we've never

had a complaint before, so we don't know how to handle this. There’s a lot

of discrimination on campus, and despite how prevalent it is, they don't

know who to even talk to about this. It's not stated in employee manuals

it's very vague.

Participant 7 also said they did not wish for a department specifically for

transgender employees. However, they wish they knew whom to speak to when

issues arise because the HR department in their organization was unreachable.

After all, the phone number to the HR department was disconnected. Like

Participant 3, this uncomfortable situation left Participant 7 unsure whom to go to

for support or assistance. Participant 8 felt that support groups or opportunities to

get educated about the transgender community would be an excellent

opportunity for employees to get to know each other, namely because there is

much gossip that happens during meetings and stated:

75
 …the scariest part is going in not knowing if they are going to be talking

about you at lunch or hear something about you before the meeting,

during the intermissions or afterward. Everyone probably gossips more

than they actually talk about what we are meeting for.

Leading the participant to feel that more training can be created to address

professionalism at work.

Participant 9 wanted to see more assistance with name changes and

financial assistance, through an insurance group. A statement of support for the

transgender community would also be appreciated to show that transgender

employees are accepted, according to Participant 9. Participant 9 also felt that

more outreach could be made to create an inclusive environment by creating

support groups for transgender employees as well as help facilitate name

changes which can be costly. Overall, their organization falls short of being

inclusive for transgender employees. Participant 10 felt that more authentic

outreach to the LGBTQ+ community at their organization could be beneficial.

While the organization ensures that employees can use their preferred pronouns

and are not forced to use their dead names, the organization only supports the

LGBTQ+ community at face value. Participant 10 elaborated on this, stating:

I haven't seen a lot of internal efforts to support our clients, and they also

kind of take like things that we say and use them in their marketing but

then like not give us credit. So just kind of some of the some of the, I

guess, like company activism If I were to say, is really inauthentic in my

76
 opinion, and that, coupled with the lack of organization, so that they're not

relying on certain groups of people to do all the educating and teaching is

really annoying.

In addition to more authentic outreach, Participant 10 also felt that a guide to

help navigate healthcare for transgender employees is a resource their

organization could adopt to support transgender employees. It was also

important to note that there may be services in an organization to help with

healthcare in general. Participant 10 noted that they had to spend an extensive

amount of time researching to find a primary care physician that is willing and

able to provide education and help transgender individuals have a safe transition,

which would have been less challenging if the organization had someone present

to support them. Another resource that Participant 10 felt that their organization

could have is an “About Me” or an opportunity for employees to obtain training,

and they shared:

I wish there was something that I could have for my coworkers when

they're asking me questions. I had to write someone asking me why, a

novel on why not all non-binary people call themselves transgender, and

that's like a whole freaking conversation, and I didn't know how to explain

it correctly. And I had to do a little bit of digging to ensure that I said things

properly because I'm just one freaking person. I do not represent the

whole trans community...

77
Explaining that they invested a significant amount of time trying to educate the

individual, but it would be appreciated if their organization had resources for

employees to get educated.

Table 6. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Need for Acknowledgment

Unique Responses to Support. Three participants had responses that did

not overlap with anything stated by other participants in this study, thus being

labeled as being unique responses regarding support. Participant 3 felt that their

biggest support at work was themselves because transgender individuals are not

widely accepted at work and have not disclosed their identity to HR. Participant 3

also noted that there might not be room for change, mentioning that the best

78
thing their organization can do is to leave employees to work in peace. This

response was unique, as most participants named someone else their biggest

support at work. This may be very telling information about the organization’s

efforts to create a supportive environment for employees. In this case, the

organization lacks support for transgender employees, leaving them to find a way

to manage independently. Participant 5 felt that other transgender individuals

could relate well to them and labeled them as being “on the same team” while

also mentioning that they care about those who are going through a transition

like they are. While most participants said someone else when discussing

support, Participant 5 noted that they care about other transgender employees.

This is interesting because they did not elaborate on whether they had support at

work despite stating they are on the same team. It is possible that they feel that

there is mutual support between themselves and other employees, or they

provide support to other transgender employees because it is something they

wish to receive. Participant 7 felt that the issue is that there are systematic

injustices toward the transgender community that is deeply rooted. The entire

organization would need to start over and build from the bottom to the top to find

the underlying cause of it. They stated, “…when the issue becomes systematic,

it's no longer an issue of trans rights, as much of it's just an issue in general of

this organization is corrupt and or even the people running in are transphobic

themselves….” Like Participant 10 and their response to identity management,

79
Participant 7 felt that the issue stems far beyond the organization itself, and it will

take a lot to make effective changes in the workplace.

The experiences of Participants 3, 5, and 7 are representative of

individuals who have to navigate being transgender in the workplace but lack the

support that they need to thrive. Organizational leadership fails to provide

adequate efforts to create a safe environment, leaving transgender employees to

fend for themselves. Organizational leadership can provide employees with the

opportunity to thrive in a safe, supportive environment by minimizing anxiety for

transgender employees as much as possible by condemning both subtle and

more obvious forms of discrimination and transphobia in the workplace, making it

known that such abuse is not tolerated or welcomed, providing gender-neutral

restrooms, and providing more robust anti-discrimination policies and more vital

training models to include gender identity (Huffman et al., 2021).

Authenticity

The main themes for authenticity are full authenticity, meaning that

participants felt that they could use their chosen name, be open about their

identity, and are respected by other employees, and the second major theme

was discriminatory behaviors with a subtheme of stereotyping, meaning that

participants either experienced or feared experiencing discriminatory behaviors

because of their transgender identity, with some noting that they experienced

being stereotyped.

80
 Full Authenticity in the Workplace. Several participants felt that they could

be fully authentic in the workplace, which is beneficial for the individual’s well-

being and may also indicate a supportive work environment that values diversity

and inclusion—according to Fletcher and Everly (2021), being authentic means

that an individual can be themselves inside the workplace and out. This also

includes bringing their personal beliefs and values to the workplace to represent

themselves. Fletcher and Everly (2021) also note that being authentic can lead to

increased life satisfaction because individuals can make decisions based on their

inner desires, values, and beliefs compared to those who are inauthentic and find

themselves making decisions and modeling themselves after their environment.

In an organization that values diversity and inclusion, individuals may have more

opportunities to be comfortable in their skin in a supportive environment with

shared values. They also have the chance to express themselves more openly

(Fletcher & Everly, 2021).

Five of the ten participants felt they could be their authentic selves in the

workplace. Participant 1 mentioned that everyone knows them by their chosen

name, is respectful, and the participant feels comfortable using their respective

restroom without issues. Participant 3 felt that they were able to be authentic

because of their ability to pass as cisgender:

I feel like I could be my authentic self, but that also just goes for how I

present and choose to live my life. You know I'm more of a like a trans

masculine person, and I'm very able to pass off as a Cis person, so that's

81
 why I know I have an advantage compared to other people. I know that

they might not have an advantage, so they might not feel as comfortable

as I do.

Participant 4 also feels that they can be their authentic self in the

workplace and, on occasion, get questions but avoid oversharing. Overall, they

feel that they are treated well, and in addition to being openly transgender, they

are openly gay, and “nobody bats an eye.” Participant 8 described their ability to

be authentic, stating, “I think I can be pretty authentic, I’m not a very out there

type of person at work or outside of work so I’m not super in your face.” However,

they stated the same as Participant 3 about other transgender employees,

stating that it may be a different experience for other transgender employees,

and they may feel uncomfortable about their identity, and they feel lucky as a

result. Participant 9, who works remotely outside of with customers, stated that

they can be authentic at work and are thankful for having people around them

that are cool; however, they noted that they live in a conservative state and

would prefer to move to a more liberal state for a better experience. Participant

10 feels they can be pretty authentic in the workplace; however, they did

experience some awkwardness at a work social, stating, “…I decided to wear a

skirt that day. I was feeling really cute and wanted to wear something swishy, you

know, and people were a little weird towards me because I was wearing a skirt. I

have a beard…” and went on to discuss the frustration and beliefs people hold

about transgender individuals stating:

82
 It’s less acceptable for someone who's perceived as being masculine to

dress femininely, and so, even though people, for the most part, used

correct pronouns for me that night, there was an air of awkwardness, so

people wouldn’t engage with me, and I could tell that it was because of the

way I was dressed. It's not like it was just inappropriate. I'm just a person

with a beard and a skirt. But you can just tell that when people are kind of

awkward around you or are overthinking interactions with you instead of

just acting like a normal fucking person is testing alone.

Table 7. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Authenticity (positive)

Discriminatory Behavior and Authenticity. Follmer, Geiger, Beatty, and

Follmer (2022) noted that fear of experiencing discrimination is a common

stressor amongst stigmatized individuals. These fears can lead an individual to

hide their true identities out of fear of being discriminated against. These fears

are often valid, and these individuals risk facing discrimination for their

83
stigmatized identity or continue to face increased stress levels from fearing

discrimination and being unable to be their authentic selves in the workplace

(Follmer et al., 2022). Martinez et al. (2017) noted that being authentic can be

beneficial and have several positive outcomes under the right circumstances.

However, employees are less likely to embrace their authentic identity in an

environment with scarce coworker and supervisor support.

Seven out of ten participants experienced or feared experiencing

discrimination by others in the workplace, including transphobia. Transphobia

can be defined as treating transgender employees as if they are "lesser than

normal" or abnormal through hate speech, physical altercations, or

microaggressions. Notable examples include making inappropriate comments,

not taking transgender individuals seriously or accepting them, and transgender

individuals missing job opportunities because of discrimination. Participant 2 felt

that feeling abnormal and being made to feel that they are lesser than normal

has made it difficult for them to be their authentic self in the workplace.

Participant 2 mentioned that they feel that, on occasion, they must hide their

gender identity. However, if they know that everyone is open about it, it may be a

different experience. They also expressed that sometimes there is the fear that

someone may discriminate against them, so they do not say anything. Participant

4 felt that transphobia made it difficult for them to be their authentic self in the

workplace. Participant 4 had a manager who did not treat them as a man and did

84
not take them seriously. The Participant detailed their experience with their

manager:

He was very two-faced at times, and would either be friendly or catty, and

he wouldn’t really treat me like a man. He was also openly gay and

bothered me a bit, as if I wasn’t also a gay man, even if he never outright

called me a woman. He also allowed a transphobic coworker to get away

with all of her transphobia and waved it all away as me being paranoid or

complaining too much. He and the transphobic coworker would gang up

on me sometimes. He got carried away with the high school drama of it all

sometimes.

Thankfully, the participant no longer has coworkers or customers that are

transphobic toward them, and they are glad that they are no longer being treated

as “Inspiration Porn,” which they defined as “a term in the disabled community for

when an able-bodied person tells a disabled person “You’re so brave!” And looks

at the disabled person like, “If he can do it, anyone can do it!” Because the

participant also has an invisible disability that they are managing. Participant 5

felt they could not be their authentic self in the workplace, mainly because their

coworkers do not think they can relate to them because they are both

transgender and Muslim:

A lot of people don't really feel like they can relate to me because I'm a

transgender person and I’m Muslim. They don’t see anything we might

have in common because they look at me as trans and that's it, so I

85
 definitely feel sad about it, sometimes depressed because I have support,

but I don’t want to push my problems onto anyone, but it sucks when they

treat you so different.

In turn, the participant has feelings of depression and sadness. Participant 5

also stated that they stick to themselves when they work with others who do not

accept them for their identity, which they stated can get boring, but they do not

feel it is safe to talk to others. Despite working hard, they also fear that they may

miss out on opportunities to get promoted because of their transgender identity.

Participant 6 has already transitioned and stated that they forget that not

everyone is accepting. They explained:

I can forget that people might be uncomfortable with something as simple

as my hair. It catches me off guard sometimes with reactions from others,

but I end up a little sad because I just want to feel accepted; I’m just here

to be me and do my job like everyone else.

Participant 6 also did not feel like they could be their full authentic self at work,

noting that they need to put forth more effort because of assumptions and people

side-eying them. Participant 6 detailed that they feel more comfortable in their

department; however, in others, they feel that they need to be more reserved to

be comfortable. Participant 7 stated that they knew that transphobia was already

prevalent in their workplace and spoke on an experience where a coworker told

others to address them incorrectly, noting that it “was a massive slap in the face

when she continued doing it. After I told her to stop for months, I eventually

86
stopped doing everything I could to stop interacting with her entirely.”

Unfortunately, the situation was not resolved, and the participant noted that no

one was doing anything about it. Participant 7 also stated:

And I didn't want to subject myself to that anymore. So, it was people like

her, other individuals, essentially people who thank you for something

while misgendering you, and you correct them, and then they do it more

on purpose.

Lastly, Participant 7 mentioned that their authentic self was toned down for the

workplace. They explained that they struggled with their body image while

working as an intern. They shared, “Essentially, I would wear jeans. I would

heavily resist wearing dresses or skirts, even though I wanted to because I was

afraid of discrimination that would come of it.” Noting that they had a family

member push them to “tone it down.” However, once they were in a better space,

they frequently wore skirts and other clothing they wanted to wear, but when they

went to work, they kept clothes with them to make themselves androgynous.

They also stated that they

…wanted to keep the consistency going, and not make it seem like I'm

escalating or have people think I'm having the stereotypical manifestation

of a mental breakdown or psych break, or whatever when it's really just my

situation at home has changed, and I can be more open.

Stereotyping is a subtheme of the main discriminatory behavior theme,

with stereotyping being defined as people's projections of their false

87
stigmatization or expectancy of how a trans person is "supposed" to act and

present themselves via their clothing, mannerisms, and other qualities. 2 of the

participants felt that fears of standing out as transgender make it difficult for them

to be their authentic selves in the workplace. Participant 8 explained that they

fear not knowing how things are going to be if they do stand out for being

transgender and gave an example:

Like if I wear my hair in a certain style or wear a certain article of clothing

that doesn’t fit with what people would expect me to wear. Am I going to

be the hot topic of the week because I wore something different? You

know, it might put me in the center of drama which always makes me

anxious because I wouldn’t know how to handle it.

Participant 10 also fears standing out as a transgender individual at work. They

are thankful their name changed and can present as female. However, they fear

that if others think they are transgender, they may lose sales, be harassed,

assaulted, or be killed. Participant 10 feels that there is a risk with every

customer they visit and that they may be taking a chance on their safety, making

them feel inclined to pass as quickly as possible by building their wardrobe and

purchasing other products that can help with their presentation so that they do

not have to keep pretending to be a cisgender male anymore.

Table 8. Noteworthy Statements Regarding Authenticity (negative)

88
 Unique Responses to Authenticity. Regarding authenticity, two

participants had responses that did not overlap with other participant responses,

thus being labeled as being unique. Participant 3 stated “if I were to speak up

about something, no one would understand it, because no one really cares for

like Trans people...” They try to be their authentic self as much as possible, but it

is challenging to be authentic if they are not in a comfortable environment. Their

experiences show that it may take more than being satisfied with one’s identity to

be authentic in the workplace because of the environment. Participant 10 stated

that reactions to them being disabled and transgender has made it difficult for

them to be their authentic self at work, explaining, “It's just too much for people's

brains to handle and so the fact that I'm different in more than just one way, I

89
think, is difficult for some people to go around understand, and accept.”

Participant 10's disability has made it more difficult for them to navigate being

authentic at work. Not only do they have to navigate their transgender identity but

having an invisible disability has made it more difficult for them to be authentic

because of the reactions they receive from coworkers.

Overall, feelings of authenticity depended on the environment that the

participants worked in. With more open and respectful environments, participants

felt more comfortable being authentic and felt accepted compared to those who

did not have an environment where they felt respected, or their environment was

somewhere in the middle, leading them to feel as if they sometimes could be

their true selves, but other times, they must be more cautious. Because multiple

participants felt the need to hide their identity at some point at work, future

research can focus on the different situations in which transgender employees

feel that they can be their authentic selves in and the situations that they feel

they must hide their identities in. Further research in this area can help highlight

how organizations can take additional action to create an environment where an

individual can feel fully authentic without regard to department or who they are

around in the workplace.

Summary of the Findings

Identity Management

Based on participant responses regarding identity management,

participants felt that one of the biggest attributes of the organization that

90
encouraged them to be open about their transgender identity was having an

inclusive environment with others who support them. This finding aligns with the

idea presented by Tatum et al. (2017), stating that identity management

strategies largely depend on the individual's environment. Suppose an individual

is in a more supportive work environment. In that case, they will be more likely to

be open about their identity compared to an environment that is less supportive,

which would typically lead to more concealment behaviors. Several participants

in this study had experiences that aligned with the idea that individuals could be

more open in a supportive environment. These participants felt they could either

be fully open about their identity or did not manage it and were just themselves in

an environment that values them for who they are. In the non-supportive

environments, participants were inclined to hide their identity or avoid talking

about it out of fear of what might happen next. The experiences of these

participants aligning with the findings of Tatum et al. (2017) regarding identity

management help strengthen the argument that a supportive environment allows

employees to feel more comfortable in their skin. Many participants who spoke

about their transgender identity mentioned having coworkers who accepted

them. A central goal to create an inclusive environment was to call out

transphobia and respect pronouns. Some participants were able to find support

through being around other LGBTQ+ individuals at work. Some participants felt

they could be open about their identity depending on whom they were working

with at the time because some coworkers were more supportive than others,

91
which leaves them on the fence about managing their identity at work. These

participants were comfortable with being open around supportive coworkers,

which included other LGBTQ+ employees who were able to be open about their

identity. Although it seems that an individual makes decisions regarding their

identity management based on internal factors, external factors play a significant

role in identity management in the workplace. In contrast, other participants felt

they could not be open about their transgender identity and opted to conceal or

avoid talking about their identity overall. One of the significant findings that arose

from discussing identity management was a lack of support. A lack of support at

work created numerous fears for the participants, including concerns about

disclosing their identity because of the reactions of others and fears of facing

transphobia. Although disclosure of a transgender identity will not always lead to

discrimination or transphobia, the lack of support in the workplace makes it more

likely that transgender individuals will face abuse for their identity, leading them

not to take the risk and conceal or avoid talking about their identity. Lack of

support from staff can manifest itself as discrimination and transphobia by other

coworkers, as well as withholding resources/opportunities from transgender

employees. Participants felt they could not be open about their transgender

identity or feared experiencing transphobia without regard to how lack of social

support manifested. Condescending coworkers was also another subtheme that

arose regarding identity management. Unlike lack of support, condescending

staff was a theme primarily seen in participants who disclosed their transgender

92
identity. These participants faced microaggressions and other transphobic

behaviors from coworkers, which is what the participants who are quiet about

their identity fear might happen to them if they disclose their transgender identity

in the workplace.

One of the most notable findings regarding identity management was that

participants spoke more about their environment being an influence on their

identity management than internal factors such as their feelings about

themselves. Participants mainly spoke of having support in the workplace and

having a lack of support which influenced decisions regarding their identity.

According to Lynch and Rodell (2018), social cognition influences an individual’s

actions in a certain environment to accommodate others around them. Because

of this, individuals may make decisions regarding their identity based on what the

environment calls for, not internal factors. The degree to which the participants

felt that they fit in could have also impacted their identity management strategies.

In the work environment, employees categorize themselves and gravitate toward

those that they feel they fit in with. In a more supportive environment, the

participants felt more comfortable because they felt accepted and not confined to

a specific group such as other transgender individuals. They were able to be

open about their transgender identity and had support from their coworkers. The

environment was also a considerable influence on those who did not have a

supportive environment, and internal factors were not the primary concern with

identity management. In a non-supportive work environment, employees are

93
aware of how they are viewed by others, which can impact how they are treated.

Despite how they feel about themselves, positive or negative, individuals are

going to engage in more concealing behaviors out of protection. The results of

the responses regarding identity management highlight the idea that the

environment plays a much larger role in dictating how an individual manages

their identity at work. The participants emphasized the impact of the work

environment on how they manage their identity, and interestingly, none of the

participants spoke of internal factors as an impact on their identity management.

Support

The findings from participant experiences regarding support were primarily

positive, with participants finding support in many ways. The most prominent

forms of support for most of the participants came from coworkers and allies. As

mentioned earlier, support can act as a buffer against negative experiences (Law

et al., 2011). This was true for many participants. Those who had negative

experiences in the workplace were still able to be open about their identity

because they felt that others in the workplace had their back. The negative

experiences did not deter them from being open about their transgender identity.

Support from coworkers allowed the participants to feel safer at work, with many

of them feeling that their coworkers would stand up against transphobia on their

behalf. Some participants felt cared for, felt that their workplace valued inclusivity

and that their overall environment welcomed transgender individuals. Participants

also found support through allies such as family, friends, social media, and

94
communities found online and in person. Connecting with others, whether family,

friends, social media, or communities, was meaningful to the participants

because they felt that they could receive support when they needed it, whether it

be emotional support or support with something like navigating the name change

process. Participants also found support in communities where they could

express themselves with other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Outside of

coworkers and allies, the organization provided support outlets by creating group

chats for coworkers to get to know each other and connect and acknowledging

name changes and pronoun usage.

Support, however, was not always present in the workplace for

participants. Another finding suggested organizations need to do more to ensure

they are attentive to their employees' needs. In a participant’s experience in a

non-supportive environment, they did not feel that they had been supported other

than themselves at work, they also had negative experiences and did not feel

comfortable being open about their transgender identity. Support outside of the

workplace is also essential. As stated earlier, Szkody and McKinney (2019)

referenced literature by Bámaca-Colbert et al. (2017) on perceptions of social

support, mentioning that a lack of perceived support from friends and family can

lead to psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety, amongst other

feelings. Participants with a family that was not the most supportive expressed

having negative feelings, with one participant wanting to “go back into the closet”

regarding their transgender identity. When there are perceptions of social

95
support, individuals are said to have the opposite feelings, with lowered

depressive symptoms, lowered anxiety, and lower levels of psychological

distress. Participants who did have perceptions of social support from friends and

family were grateful for having that support.

Participants presented ideas for what their organizations need to listen to

employees and are interested in genuinely fostering an inclusive work

environment. Many participants noted that their organizations needed more

clarity regarding whom they can go to when facing issues with transphobia or

discrimination and policies and procedures that discourage abusive workplace

behaviors. It has already been established that policies and procedures are

essential for establishing rules for the workplace. However, employees may not

take them seriously unless they are enforced, knowing they are unlikely to get

reprimanded for their abusive behavior. Participants need more support in the

form of resources. Some of the changes employees want to see in their

organization are opportunities to get educated about what it means to be

transgender, gender-neutral restrooms, and resources for transitioning

employees in the form of transgender healthcare. If an organization makes

genuine outreach efforts to its transgender employees to understand what they

need to thrive at work, these are some responses they may receive.

One of the critical findings of this study regarding support was how

important it was for participants to have support from others. Two questions were

asked to assess who their biggest support was and what their biggest support

96
was. The purpose of the question asking what the biggest support was to provide

participants with the opportunity to talk about any resources, work policies, or

anything else that supports them as transgender individuals aside from people;

however, the participants communicated that a coworker, manager, family

member, or friend was their biggest support, despite being asked what their

biggest support was. This finding highlights the importance of having supportive

people inside and outside of the workplace. One of the major ways support was

presented outside of the workplace was through social groups. Transgender

individuals connect with others through social groups because they desire to

establish close relationships with those they can relate to, seek out emotional

support, find opportunities to learn more about themselves or express

themselves (Cipolletta, Votadoro & Faccio, 2017). Participants may also greatly

benefit from having groups in the workplace. Having work groups can be

beneficial for fostering a supportive environment for employees. These groups

can act as communities for employees to build connections and establish a

collective voice that they can use to express the needs of the group members.

For transgender employees, having a work group that they can identify with

allows them to find support from other employees and have their voices amplified

and express what transgender employees need at work. Having a voice through

a work group can provide employees with the opportunity to provide their

opinions on change in the organization as well give employees the floor to

express their ideas (Morrison, Wheeler-Smith, & Kamdar, 2011). Employees

97
feeling inclined to speak up can give them an outlet to discuss their needs and

the changes they want to see. This could be beneficial for understanding the

needs of transgender employees as well as encouraging them to find support

within each other while creating an environment where having a voice is a

workplace norm.

Authenticity

The findings of this study regarding authenticity revealed experiences

ranging from being fully authentic to participants being unable to be authentic

about their identity in the workplace. Several participants were able to be fully

authentic in the workplace. Participants were able to be either fully authentic and

open about their transgender identity or authentic but felt that they had to be

reserved about their transgender identity. The participants who could be fully

authentic and open about their identity reported having supportive coworkers,

and they did not face any issues. The participants who were able to be authentic

in the workplace and were more reserved about their identity described feeling

like they were lucky that they could be authentic at work. Other transgender

employees may not feel as comfortable being authentic at work. Many

participants felt they could not be their authentic selves in the workplace.

Participants either experienced transphobia or feared experiencing transphobia,

which prevented them from being their authentic selves in the workplace. Most

participants who faced transphobia and discrimination for their transgender

identity were open about their identity in the workplace. However, the

98
discrimination and transphobia acted as a barrier to them being able to be their

authentic selves at work, which led to facing abuse for their identities or fearing it

may happen.

The biggest finding regarding participants’ ability to be authentic at work

was how much it tied into the environment. While half of the participants felt that

they could be their authentic selves, some of the same participants reported

fearing discrimination or having a negative experience with stereotyping that

made it difficult to be authentic. This finding is interesting because even though

participants gave different responses to the questions, their responses

collectively answer the question: “To what extent do you feel that you can be

your authentic self in the workplace?” The collective answer would be to the

extent that their environment allows them. For this same reason, support also

had a direct role in feelings of authenticity. In more supportive environments

transgender employees felt more comfortable being authentic because they had

coworkers who would stand up for them or their organizations had environments

compared to those who lacked inclusive environments and had abusive

coworkers. Barber et al. (2021) stated that individuals who could establish

authentic relationships with others could have more positive interpersonal

relationships because their relationships are established from the authentic

version of themselves compared to being inauthentic as a safety mechanism to

protect oneself. Some of the findings of this study regarding authenticity showed

patterns of participants having better workplace experiences when they were

99
able to be their authentic selves, despite some individuals experiencing

discrimination. The support received from coworkers helped buffer against the

discrimination faced. For other participants, safety behaviors, including masking

their true identity, were some of the safest ways to get through work. While some

experienced discrimination or transphobia, others felt on edge at work and feared

experiencing discrimination or transphobia.

The unique findings regarding authenticity show that more research needs

to be conducted on intersectionality to understand the experiences and needs of

individuals that are part of multiple marginalized communities. Lee et al. (2022)

explored intersectionality among transgender individuals who needed to access

healthcare, noting that instead of focusing on the intersections of the individual,

the focus should be placed on understanding intersectionality, how it impacts

individuals, and how we can be better allies. These findings also strengthen the

idea that having support in the workplace is imperative for employee success.

Not only does having support increase feelings of safety, but it also promotes

authenticity amongst transgender employees. Having a supportive work

environment can buffer against negative experiences, and in organizations where

discrimination and other unfavorable behaviors occurred, the organization had a

poor work environment.

The findings of this study all point to support in the workplace being the

central concept that can make or break the experiences of transgender

employees. Having support at work can enhance one’s ability to be authentic in

100
the workplace and feel comfortable managing their identity how they choose to.

Transgender employees were able to experience congruence between their true

selves and outward expression in supportive work environments. Supportive

work environments entail having coworkers that are accepting, willing to speak

out against discriminatory behavior, and report activity that is not consistent with

an inclusive environment. From the organizational side, support includes gender-

affirming policies, procedures, and resources such as anti-discrimination policies

that include gender as well as gender-neutral restrooms and the use of

pronouns.

For employees who lack a supportive environment, discrimination,

stereotyping, and other undesirable behaviors at work hindered an employee’s

ability to be authentic and they resorted to hiding their true self for protection

against undesirable behaviors. The findings of this study also show that having

support in one domain is not sufficient for transgender employees to feel

comfortable being authentic and open about their identity in the workplace. Some

participants reported having policies and procedures in place, but with no

enforcement of policies and procedures meant to protect employees,

transgender employees must actively decide how to manage their identity at

work for safety and sacrifice their authenticity.

Limitations

The biggest limitations of this study were restricting the study to the age

range of 18-34 and individuals who are currently working or have worked for at

101
least three months. It was important to establish specific parameters for the study

to assess any patterns that may arise in a specific group, particularly because of

the small number of participants. However, this restriction created a

representation of trans-identified individuals who fit the desired characteristics of

the study but does not represent the population of transgender individuals who

identified as transgender and may have notable experiences but do not fit within

the age or employment preferences of this study. Opening the age range could

allow for more responses to help enrich the data and potentially open the doors

for a more representative sample of the population. Another limitation is that

there were some inconsistencies with the responses. Some participants gave far

more detail and elaboration than others to the interview questions because of

fears of not being anonymous or being tracked down based on their responses.

Other participants were unable to elaborate because they lacked knowledge of

policies and procedures in their organization. Although the responses answered

the questions and contributed to the development of themes, the reluctance of

some participants made it difficult to elaborate on the experiences of the

participants to explain their experiences better.

Support

Having support in the workplace can lead to more favorable job attitudes

and higher levels of commitment (Goldberg & Willham, 2022). A supportive work

environment can help ease job strain and buffer against discrimination. For those

who fear experiencing discrimination or transphobia for their identity, having

102
support can also buffer against these fears, according to Goldberg and Willham

(2022). Participants who had support had more positive experiences than those

who did not, even when participants faced transphobia in the supportive

environment. Participants called for more opportunities to get acquainted with

coworkers and more support groups to create bonds between themselves and

their coworkers, which may help buffer against toxicity in the workplace.

Employees who have support groups can connect and use their collective voice

to have a say in workplace affairs. Organizations need to ensure that employees

can build rapport with one another and provide opportunities for employees to

join support groups because building relationships at work can be beneficial for

fostering an inclusive environment.

Policies and Procedures

Elias, Johnson, Ovando, and Ramirez (2018) stated that many

organizations have yet to increase inclusion efforts to accommodate individuals

outside of the male and female binary, leaving transgender individuals to either fit

into a traditional male or female role or face challenges with trying to be

themselves because their workplace does not embrace gender fluidity. With

these challenges of trying to fit into a place that is not made for individuals who

do not fit within the male and female binary, Elias et al. (2018) also state that

managers are still largely unaware of what it means to transition and how to be

an ally to transgender employees who are transitioning. This lack of knowledge

from management can cause even further complexities. There is a dire need for

103
gender-inclusive policies and practices outside of what has already been

established by the EEOC. Organizations need to expand their policies and

procedures to include transgender individuals and their needs to make the

experience at work smoother for both the organization and the employees.

Policies that condemn discrimination and transphobia, and policies promoting

gender-inclusive language, can be essential to creating an inclusive workplace.

Practices such as training to increase knowledge of what it means to be

transgender and resources that help guide transgender individuals through

transitions or support groups can also be helpful. The findings in this study

regarding policies and procedures suggest that organizations should try to create

an inclusive environment for their employees, keeping in mind that the

employees appreciate authentic efforts over efforts that are limited such as the

inaccessible support groups in the organization of Participant 1 and the lack of

authentic outreach in the organization of Participant 10. Several participants also

stated that educating others in the workplace is up to them, which is why

organizations must take responsibility for enhancing LGBTQ+ competency.

Organizations that practice authenticity regarding their diversity and inclusion

efforts ensure that initiatives are present and representation is found at every

level of the workplace. Not only are there resources present for smaller

communities that exist within the workplace, but policies, and procedures

surrounding diversity and inclusion are taken seriously, there are opportunities

104
for team building, mentoring, and employees are encouraged to create bonds,

respect one another and hold each other accountable (Smith et al., 2012).

The participants in this study outlined several practices that would help

them feel seen and heard in the workplace— resources like transgender

healthcare, support groups, gender-neutral restrooms, and encouraging the use

of pronouns. Policies that prohibit discrimination and other inappropriate

behaviors based on gender identity and procedures for reporting discrimination,

transphobia, and other inappropriate workplace behaviors are additional ways

organizations can make their workplace more inclusive of their transgender

employees. These organizational practices work in tandem with organizational

support. The participants in this study often noted coworkers as their biggest

support at work. Support was communicated through coworkers standing up on

behalf of transgender employees when transphobia, discrimination, and other

unfavorable events happened at work. These actions allow coworkers to build

stronger relationships with one another and help foster an inclusive environment

by condemning unfavorable behavior. Some participants indicated they had

organizations that had policies and practices that supported inclusion. Still, the

lack of enforcement prevented participants from feeling comfortable being

authentic at work. The findings of this study allowed the participants to highlight

how inclusive organizational policies and procedures and support work together

to ensure that transgender employees can thrive at work.

105
106
 CHAPTER FOUR

IMPLICATIONS

The findings of this study indicate that organizations need to make

additional efforts to foster an inclusive environment through organizational

supportive practices, policies, and procedures. Organizational practices

promoting an inclusive environment are essential for transgender employees to

feel comfortable. Practitioners should ensure that their organization has inclusive

policies and procedures. Not only can having inclusive policies and procedures in

the workplace be beneficial for setting the foundation for employees, but it also

gives employees ways to develop supportive practices because they have the

means to do so (Sawyer & Thoroughgood, 2017).

The results of this study also indicate the importance of giving a voice to

transgender employees in the workplace. Many of the participants that felt

compelled to detail their workplace experiences also lack a voice in the

workplace and may have felt the need to talk about their experiences to evoke

change. Although some of the organizations stated that they were moving toward

creating a more inclusive environment, few of them made genuine efforts, leaving

the participants to face discrimination and transphobia despite having policies

and procedures to protect them. Many of the participants were also responsible

for educating other employees and advocating for trans-inclusivity on top of their

regular job responsibilities. It is important for the organization to play an active

role in creating an inclusive environment, meaning that they should advocate for

107
their transgender employees instead of leaving them to find their voice in a

workplace that does not value what they have to say. The implications of this

study indicate that personnel within industrial/organizational psychology and

human resources can begin to foster an inclusive and safe environment for

transgender employees by listening to and respecting their needs. Participants in

this study were open about what they needed to be their authentic selves and

feel supported in the workplace, and the results of this study can serve as a step

in the right direction for understanding the needs of transgender employees and

can be used as a standard for best practice for people working in human

resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion. This can also serve as an example

of how learning about the experiences of transgender employees can set the

tone for creating change in the workplace. These findings can also be used to

initiate the development of new measures designed to understand diversity and

climate surrounding transgender employees to create ways to recognize issues

that transgender employees may face and begin the process of understanding

how to tackle them. Developing new measures can also serve as the foundation

for introducing new policies that are grounded in research to create valid reasons

for organizational change.

108
 CHAPTER FIVE

RECOMMENDATIONS

Future Research

Future research should continue to emphasize the importance of

understanding smaller communities that may exist within their organization,

particularly the transgender community, as many individuals are still unaware of

how gender identity differs from sexual identity, leading them to miss out on

opportunities to provide better resources for the transgender community in the

workplace. Studying the transgender community in the workplace can help shed

light on what organizations are doing right and what organizations need to

improve on through the experiences of transgender individuals themselves.

Researchers can also look at how managing multiple identities can impact the

experiences of individuals because even if they work in a transgender-friendly

work environment, they may have other identities that they are managing.

Because this study focused on 10 participants with varying yet limited

demographic information, future research can focus on a specific feature and

identify trends in the data about the transgender community. An example would

be researching participants working white-collar jobs or living solely on the East

Coast. This can help identify trends that exist based on the features specified.

This may help pave the way for more focused studies, which can lead to larger-

scale comparisons for a greater understanding of how working as a transgender

109
individual in a white-collar job differs from working as a transgender individual in

a blue-collar job, for example.

Having coworker support and organizational support through practices,

policies, and procedures are a vital part of ensuring that transgender employees

can be their authentic selves and manage their identity as they see fit in the

workplace, and not have to manage their identity in ways that are inauthentic to

them to protect themselves from a harmful work environment. One of the

surprising findings of this study was how many participants found support in

online and local communities. Future research should assess to what extent

online and local communities contribute to feelings of support for transgender

individuals because it may play a significant role alongside family and friends,

especially for those who may not have much familial support. Online and local

communities may be where these individuals look for additional support.

Future research should continue using other methods to obtain more data

to bring awareness to the strengths and weaknesses of organizations as it

relates to their transgender employees. Continuing to experiment with the type of

design and number of participants can also yield different results. Using a

narrative method, for example, can yield results that highlight different aspects of

an individual’s life, rather than focusing on specific results that could be beneficial

to opening the floor to transgender employees. Creswell and Creswell (2017)

detailed the benefits of using different research designs, stating that narrative

research can highlight the participant’s life and, in the case of studying

110
transgender employees, may help researchers understand the individual's lived

experiences through different jobs they may have held thus far. Using a mixed

design can also be an excellent option for deeper exploration. Creswell and

Creswell (2017) explained that using a mixed method design can minimize the

limitations of both qualitative and quantitative designs yet harness the benefits of

both, giving the example of using several methods of data collection from both

qualitative and quantitative designs to analyze the data.

Future Practice

Future Participants in this study who were unable to be their authentic

selves had to manage their identity in a way incongruent with how they felt about

themselves and lacked support at work. Organizations can ensure support by

having strong policies and procedures that transgender employees and their

coworkers can take advantage of. Although employees may research how to go

about reporting instances of discrimination, the reality is that a lack of

enforcement of policies and procedures or a lack of protection can potentially

lead to employees having to take matters into their own hands which can cause

larger issues. For employees who had support at work, coworkers had the proper

outlet to report discrimination on behalf of transgender employees. Ensuring that

employees have someone to report discriminatory behavior to and upholding

policies and procedures can be essential for preventing widespread toxicity

across the organization by showing the employees that discrimination will not be

tolerated. This includes policies and procedures protecting individuals based on

111
gender identity, which many organizations have yet to do. Encouraging support

in the workplace is also important for buffering against toxicity at work, but

employees need to have the means to seek out support through talking to

coworkers and building relationships, groups, and other resources.

Support played a significant role in this study and played a part in the

experiences of the participants’ identity management and feelings of authenticity.

In mostly every aspect of the experiences of the participants, support played a

critical role in buffering against negative experiences, fostering an inclusive

environment and increasing feelings of safety. Because support was a major part

of many experiences of transgender employees, it is important for organizations

to recognize how valuable it is to acknowledge the use of preferred pronouns,

allow employees to create support groups that represent smaller communities,

promote supportive behaviors such as prompting coworkers to condemn

discrimination and other inappropriate behaviors, and allowing transgender

employees to have a voice at work. This means that organizations should

promote supportive behaviors amongst employees and should make the effort to

listen transgender employees, especially regarding what they need in the

workplace to feel supported. Organizations should increase inclusivity by

providing training and access to additional resources to help employees build a

better understanding of smaller communities within the organization. Having

pronoun badges, gender-neutral restrooms, a gender-neutral dress code, and

access to resources for non-binary individuals are ways that an organization can

112
create a supportive work environment for employees while also building

knowledge about the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. This also moves the

organization away from the male and female binary into a more fluid way of

approaching gender at work without the need to force employees into a male or

female role.

Giving employees a voice at work can be beneficial for understanding how

to create a more supportive environment. It is crucial to note that these efforts

must be genuine for employees to feel supported. An essential way to show that

an organization is sincere about its efforts is to give employees a voice and allow

them a say in what happens in the organization. Employees should be able to

voice their concerns and their needs, especially in smaller communities within the

organization. Giving transgender employees a voice in the workplace can take

the shape of providing transgender employees with the opportunity to create

support groups for the smaller communities to come together. Support groups

can make it easier for voices to be amplified because they are able to unite and

speak as one group rather than one individual. Another way to provide

employees with a voice in the organization is by actively asking for input and

creating a workplace environment where employees can feel comfortable

verbalizing concerns and providing opinions. Discouraging discriminatory

behaviors and encouraging openness can encourage transgender employees to

be involved in their organization at a deeper level.

113
 Overall, organizations should focus on promoting inclusive practices and

supportive behaviors in the workplace. Providing employees with opportunities to

support one another and encouraging support through upholding policies and

procedures that protect transgender employees is vital to creating an

environment where transgender employees feel that they can thrive as their

authentic selves in.

Conclusion

The findings in this study align with much of the previous literature

studying identity management, support, or authenticity in the workplace for

transgender individuals. The participants' lived experiences in this study help to

support the ideas presented in the research and enrich the data on topics such

as identity management, support, and authenticity for transgender individuals.

The findings of this study suggest that having support in the workplace is the

center of feelings of authenticity and identity management. Support comes in the

form of having inclusive policies, procedures, practices, and resources available

to transgender employees as well as encouraging employees to report instances

of discriminatory behaviors. Other ways that an organization can support its

transgender employees is through ensuring that employees feel heard, and

fostering an environment where employees feel safe and comfortable thriving as

their authentic selves in.

114
 APPENDIX A

DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY

115
Q1 Please select your gender

o Biologically Male (1)

o Biologically Female (2)
o female to male (FTM) (3)
o male to female (MTF) (4)
o Genderqueer (5)
Q2 Ethnicity

o White (1)
o Black or African American (2)
o American Indian or Alaska Native (3)
o Asian (4)
o Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (5)
o Hispanic or Latino (6)
o Two or more (7)
Q3 Age
________________________________________________________________

116
Q4 Geographic Region

o Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI) (1)
o Northeast (CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) (2)
o Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV) (3)
o Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX) (4)
o West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY) (5)
Q5 Employment Type

o Volunteer (1)
o Part-time (2)
o Full-time (3)
o Temporary (4)
o Contract (5)
Q6 Job Title

o Intern (1)
o Assistant (2)
o Associate (3)
o Manager (4)
o Director (5)
o Owner (6)

117
Q7 Industry

o White-collar jobs (1)

o Blue-collar jobs (2)
o Gray-collar jobs (3)
o Pink-collar jobs (4)
o Gold-collar jobs (5)
Q8 Sector

o Public sector (1)

o Private sector (2)
Q9 How many years have you worked?

________________________________________________________________

Q10 On average, how many hours do you work each week?

________________________________________________________________

Q11 Current status of identity at work

o Concealing (1)
o Formally disclosed (2)
o Informally disclosed (3)

118
Q12
Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely
important important important important important
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
How
important is
being
transgender o o o o o
to your
identity? (1)

Q13 Are there any written organizational policies that aim to protect transgender
employees from discrimination?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)
o Maybe/Unsure (3)
Q14 Are their opportunities for employees to get educated about transitioning in the
workplace and what it means to be transgender?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)
o Maybe/Unsure (3)

119
Q15 Are there resources readily available for transgender employees (i.e., gender neutral
restrooms, trans-inclusive healthcare, hotlines, support groups)?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)
o Maybe/Unsure (3)
Q16 To your knowledge, does the organization make necessary accommodations for a
transitioning employee?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)
o Maybe/Unsure (3)
17 Are considerable efforts made by the organization to create an inclusive environment
(i.e., holding staff accountable for inclusive policy violations toward transgender
employees, using gender neutral language, gender neutral attire policy, respecting
pronouns?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)
o Maybe/Unsure (3)

120
 APPENDIX B

RESPONSES BY QUESTIONS

121
Table 9
How do you navigate being transgender at work?
Response Number of Mentions
Being Open 4
Avoid talking about identity 3
Therapy/Counseling 1
Concealing Identity 1
They don't 1
It depends 1

Table 10
What are the challenges of being transgender at work?
Response Number of Mentions
Other people 4
Harassment 3
Misgendering 2
Lack of gender neutral
restrooms 1
Nobody knowing 1
Feeling ignored 1
Lack of protection 1
Lack of support groups 1

Table 11
What has been the most impactful experience as a transgender individual in the workplace (positive)?
Response Number of Mentions
Being around other LGBTQ+
individuals 4
Finding allies 3
Having supporting colleagues
2
Being able to relate to others 2
Name change/pronoun
support 1
Being able to be open 1

122
Table 12
What has been the most impactful experience as a transgender individual in the workplace (positive)?
Response Number of Mentions
Negative Experiences
Feeling helpless 1
Fetishizing and dehumanizing 1
Transphobia 1
Being told to only disclose to
management 1

Table 13
What has been your biggest support at work?
Response Number of Mentions
Coworkers 3
Allies/Friends 3
No Discrimination 2
Name Changes 2
The Company 1
Myself 1

Table 14
Who has been your biggest support at work?
Response Number of Mentions
Coworkers 5
Managers 3
Allies/Peers 2
Girlfriend 1
Myself 1
Mother 1

123
Table 15

What could your organization do to support you and other transgender employees at work?
Response Number of Mentions
Opportunities for education
on what it means to be
transgender 3
Gender-Neutral Restrooms 2
Stronger anti-discrimination
Policies 3
Supporting Name
changes/Pronouns 2
Inclusivity 2
Authentic outreach 2
Financial assistance 1
Trans Healthcare 1
Trainings 1

Table 16
To what extent do you feel supported outside of work?
Response Number of Mentions
Well supported by family 4
Well supported by friends 3
Well supported through social
media 2
Well supported by Partner 2
Well supported by coworkers
1
Decent amount of support 1
Not supported, Lost family
and/or friends 3

124
 APPENDIX C

INFORMED CONSENT

125
Consent to participate in a research study at California State University, San Bernardino
(CSUSB)

The following study is designed to explore authenticity, support, and identity

management in the workplace for transgender employees. This study is being conducted
under the supervision of Dr. Mark Agars, Professor of Psychology at CSUSB. This study
has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at CSUSB.

PURPOSE: This study aims to explore authenticity, support, and identity management in
the workplace for transgender employees through qualitative interviews.

DESCRIPTION: In this study, you will be asked to answer a series of 15 questions

regarding your feelings of authenticity, identity management, and workplace support in a
one-on-one interview with a student researcher via zoom.

DURATION: This interview will take approximately 60-90 minutes to complete. The
interview duration largely depends on the response to each question and may be longer or
shorter as necessary.

COMPENSATION: Participants will receive a $20 gift card for completing the interview.

CONFIDENTIALITY: All responses will remain confidential and no IP addresses or

other identifying information will be made available to anyone outside of the primary
researcher and faculty member. Presentation of the study results will be reported in an
anonymous format in a thesis paper and no identifying information will be used in any
publications. All data will be stored on password-protected computers in the possession
of Dr. Mark Agars and his research assistants and will be destroyed 7 years after
collection.

PARTICIPATION: Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary and you are
free to withdraw your participation at any time. Additionally, you may choose not to
answer a question at any time.

RISK AND BENEFITS: This study does not provide any direct benefits or risks to
individual participants. However, in the event that you experience adverse effects from
participating in this research, please contact our on-campus counseling center: 909-537-
5040, the Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860, or the Crisis Text Line: HOME to 741741. If
you need help locating a counseling center in your area, please contact Dr. Mark Agars
(mark.agars@csusb.edu or (909) 537-5433).
CONTACT: If you have questions about this study, your rights as a participant, or need
to contact someone in the event of a research-related injury, you may contact the
Principal Investigator of the study, Dr. Mark Agars at mark.agars@csusb.edu or (909)
537-5433. If you have questions or concerns about your rights as a participant in this
study, please contact Michael Gillespie: mgillesp@csusb.edu.

126
CONFIRMATION STATEMENT: I acknowledge that I have been informed of and
understand the nature and purpose of this study, and I freely consent to participate. I
acknowledge that I am at least 18 years of age.

127
 APPENDIX D

DEBRIEFING STATEMENT

128
 Study of Authenticity, Support, and Identity Management in the Workplace for
Transgender Employees

This study you have just completed was designed to investigate the factors that influence

an individual to be their authentic self in the workplace, the different components of

support that contribute to the experiences of transgender employees, such as personal,

peer, and organizational factors, and your approach to identity management.

Thank you for your participation in this interview. If this interview has had any negative

impact on you, do not hesitate to reach out to any of the resources listed in the Resource

Guide emailed to you. A pdf of additional resources is linked at the bottom of the

Resource Guide. If you have any questions about the study, please contact Raeven Jones

or Professor Mark Agars at (909) 537-5433.

129
 APPENDIX E

RESOURCE GUIDE

130
National Suicide Phone: (800) 273-8255 “Offers 24/7 free and confidential assistance from
Prevention Lifeline trained counselors for yourself or to offer support if
you are concerned about someone else.”

Trans Lifeline Phone: (877) 565-8860 “A 24/7 lifeline run by and for trans people,
providing direct emotional and financial support to
trans people in crisis.”

Crisis Text Line Text: HOME to “Connect with a crisis counselor 24/7 to receive
741741 high-quality text-based mental health support and
crisis intervention.”

Trevor Lifeline Phone: (866)-488-7386 “The Trevor Project is the leading national
organization providing 24/7 crisis intervention and
suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young
people ages 13-24.”

CSUSB CAPS Phone: (909) 537-5040 CSUSB Students Only

(Counseling and Hours:
Psychological Center) Monday - Thursday:
8:00 am- 5:00 pm
Friday
9:30 am- 5:00 pm

Additional Resources: SMSU Queer & Transgender Resource Center Guide for the
Greater Inland Empire Area and Coachella Valley
Source: Find help now. Take Action for Mental Health. (2022, April 14). Retrieved May 27, 2022, from
https://takeaction4mh.com/find-help-now/

131
 APPENDIX F

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

132
 MtF: A person assigned male sex at birth and whose gender identity is

girl/woman (Gender Spectrum, n.d.).

Non-Binary: An umbrella term for gender identities that are not exclusively

masculine or feminine (Gender Spectrum, n.d.).

Sex: The classification of people as male or female. At birth, infants are assigned

a sex based on a combination of biological characteristics, including chromosomes,

hormones, and reproductive organs (Luther, 2008, p.2).

Sexual Orientation: Describes a person’s enduring physical, romantic,

emotional, and spiritual attraction to another person. Gender identity and sexual

orientation differ (Luther, 2008, p.2).

Transgender: (sometimes shortened to trans) encompasses people who

experience and express their gender differently from conventional or cultural

expectations — either in terms of expressing a gender that does not match the sex listed

on their original birth certificate (i.e., designated sex at birth) or physically altering their

sex (Luther, 2008, p.2).

Transition: Refers to how a person modifies their physical characteristics and

gender expression to be consistent with their gender identity. Gender transition may, but

does not necessarily, include hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgeries, and other

medical or surgical components. The process may also involve telling one’s family,

friends, and co-workers and changing one’s name and gender on legal documents

(Luther, 2008, p.3).

133
 Transsexual: Refers to a person who has changed, or is in the process of

changing, their biological sex to conform to their internal sense of gender identity. The

term can also describe people who, without undergoing medical treatment, identify and

live their lives full-time as a member of a gender different from their designated sex at

birth. In contrast to the term ―transgender, ―transsexual is not an umbrella term, and

many people who identify as transgender do not identify as transsexual. Those

transitioning from male to female are often referred to as ―MTFs or ―transwomen, and

those transitioning from female to male are frequently called ―FTMs or ―transmen

(Luther, 2008, p.3).

134
APPENDIX G

IRB APPROVAL

135
136
137
 REFERENCES

Aw, S. S., Ilies, R., & De Pater, I. E. (2020). Dispositional empathy, emotional

display authenticity, and employee outcomes. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 105(9), 1036.

Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., Tilghman-Osborne, E. M., Calderón-López, S., & Moore,

A. M. (2017). Perceptions of support from mothers, fathers, and friends:

Direct and indirect associations with the psychological adjustment of

Mexican-origin girls. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 5(3), 142.

Baker, S. E., Edwards, R., & Doidge, M. (2012). How many qualitative interviews

is enough? Expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and

cases in qualitative research.

Barber, K. C., Michaelis, M. A., & Moscovitch, D. A. (2021). Social anxiety and

the generation of positivity during dyadic interaction: Curiosity and

authenticity are the keys to success. Behavior Therapy, 52(6), 1418-1432.

Budge, S. L., Tebbe, E. N., & Howard, K. A. (2010). The work experiences of

transgender individuals: Negotiating the transition and career decision-

making processes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(4), 377.

Button, S. B. (2001). Organizational efforts to affirm sexual diversity: a cross-

level examination. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 17.

Cancela, D., Hulsheger, U. R., & Stutterheim, S. E. (2020). The role of support

for transgender and nonbinary employees: Perceived co-worker and

138
 organizational support’s associations with job attitudes and work behavior.

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

Chung, Y. B., Chang, T. K., & Rose, C. S. (2015). Managing and coping with

sexual identity at work. Psychologist, 28(3), 216-219.

Cipolletta, S., Votadoro, R., & Faccio, E. (2017). Online support for transgender

people: an analysis of forums and social networks. Health & Social Care in

the Community, 25(5), 1542-1551.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative,

quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

Croteau, J. M., Anderson, M. Z., & VanderWal, B. L. (2008). Models of workplace

sexual identity disclosure and management: Reviewing and extending

concepts. Group & Organization Management, 33(5), 532-565.

Elias, N. M., Johnson, R. L., Ovando, D., & Ramirez, J. (2018). Improving

transgender policy for a more equitable workplace. Journal of Public

Management & Social Policy, 24(2), The-purpose.

Fletcher, L., & Everly, B. A. (2021). Perceived lesbian, gay, bisexual, and

transgender (LGBT) supportive practices and the life satisfaction of LGBT

employees: The roles of disclosure, authenticity at work, and identity

centrality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(3),

485-508.

Fletcher, L., & Marvell, R. (2021). Furthering transgender inclusion in the

workplace: advancing a new model of allyship intentions and

139
 perceptions. The International Journal of Human Resource Management,

1-32.

Follmer, K. B., Geiger, M., Beatty, J. E., & Follmer, D. J. (2022). The

Consequences of not Being Me: Longitudinal Examination of the Relations

Among Anticipated Discrimination, Authenticity, and Counterproductive

Work Behaviors. Group & Organization Management,

10596011221107720.

Gacusan, C. G. D., Uy, D. M. S., Yu, D. A. B., & Hechanova, M. R. M. (2021).

Sexual identity management of GLB emerging adults in social support

contexts. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 17(1), 63-83.

Goldberg, C., & Willham, V. (2022). Lean on me when you’re not out: interactive

effects of coworker support and concealment on transgender employees’

commitment and effort. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International

Journal, (ahead-of-print).

Goldman, B. M., & Kernis, M. H. (2002). The role of authenticity in healthy

psychological functioning and subjective well-being. Annals of the

American Psychotherapy Association, 5(6), 18-20.

Gorman, K. R., Shipherd, J. C., Collins, K. M., Gunn, H. A., Rubin, R. O., Rood,

B. A., & Pantalone, D. W. (2022). Coping, resilience, and social support

among transgender and gender diverse individuals experiencing gender-

related stress. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender

Diversity, 9(1), 37.

140
Hartzell, E., Frazer, M. S., Wertz, K., & Davis, M. (2009). The state of

transgender California: Results from the 2008 California transgender

economic health survey. San Francisco, CA: Transgender Law Center.

Huffman, A. H., Watrous, Rodriguez, K. M., & King, E. B. (2008). Supporting a

diverse workforce: What type of support is most meaningful for lesbian

and gay employees? Human Resource Management: Published in

Cooperation with the School of Business Administration, The University of

Michigan and in Alliance with the Society of Human Resources

Management, 47(2), 237-253.

Huffman, A. H., Mills, M. J., Howes, S. S., & Albritton, M. D. (2021). Workplace

support and affirming behaviors: Moving toward a transgender, gender

diverse, and non-binary friendly workplace. International Journal of

Transgender Health, 22(3), 225-242.

Jackson Levin, N., Kattari, S. K., Piellusch, E. K., & Watson, E. (2020). “We just

take care of each other”: Navigating ‘chosen family’ in the context of

health, illness, and the mutual provision of care amongst queer and

transgender young adults. International Journal of Environmental

Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7346.

Jones, S. E. (2020). Negotiating transgender identity at work: A movement to

theorize a transgender standpoint epistemology. Management

Communication Quarterly, 34(2), 251-278.

141
Korstjens, I., & Moser, A. (2018). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative

research. Part 4: Trustworthiness and publishing. European Journal of

General Practice, 24(1), 120-124.

Kwon, B., Farndale, E., & Park, J. G. (2016). Employee voice and work

engagement: Macro, meso, and micro-level drivers of

convergence? Human Resource Management Review, 26(4), 327-337.

Lakey, B. (2010). Social support: Basic research and new strategies for

intervention.

Language of Gender. Gender Spectrum. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2022,

from https://genderspectrum.org/articles/language-of-gender

Law, C. L., Martinez, L. R., Ruggs, E. N., Hebl, M. R., & Akers, E. (2011). Trans-

parency in the workplace: How the experiences of transsexual employees

can be improved. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(3), 710-723.

Lee, J. J., Leyva Vera, C. A., Ramirez, J. I., Munguia, L., Aguirre Herrera, J.,

Basualdo, G., ... & Robles, G. (2022). ‘They already hate us for being

immigrants and now for being trans—we have double the fight’: A

qualitative study of barriers to health access among transgender Latinx

immigrants in the United States. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health,

1-21.

Lent, R. W., Morris, T. R., Tatum, A. K., Wang, R. J., Moturu, B. P., & Ireland, G.

W. (2021). Predictors of workplace sexual identity management behaviors:

142
 A test of the social cognitive career self-management model. Journal of

Vocational Behavior, 127, 103566.

Lewis, T., Doyle, D. M., Barreto, M., & Jackson, D. (2021). Social relationship

experiences of transgender people and their relational partners: A meta-

synthesis. Social Science & Medicine, 282, 114143.

Liu, F., Ye, Z., Chui, H., & Chong, E. S. (2022). Effect of perceived public stigma

on internalized homophobia, anticipated stigma, shame, and guilt:

Outness as a moderator. Asian Journal of Social Psychology.

Luther, S. (2008). Terminology. In Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace: A

Human Rights Campaign Foundation Report. essay, Human Rights

Campaign Foundation. Retrieved from http://transexualia.org/wp-

content/uploads/2015/03/Legal_inclusionworkplace.pdf.

Lynch, J. W., & Rodell, J. B. (2018). Blend in or stand out? Interpersonal

outcomes of managing concealable stigmas at work. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 103(12), 1307.

Martinez, L. R., Sawyer, K. B., Thoroughgood, C. N., Ruggs, E. N., & Smith, N.

A. (2017). The importance of being “me”: The relation between authentic

identity expression and transgender employees’ work-related attitudes and

experiences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(2), 215.

Mizock, L., Riley, J., Yuen, N., Woodrum, T. D., Sotilleo, E. A., & Ormerod, A. J.

(2018). Transphobia in the workplace: A qualitative study of employment

stigma. Stigma and Health, 3(3), 275.

143
Mollet, A. L. (2021). “It’s easier just to say I’m queer”: Asexual college students’

strategic identity management. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

Morrison, E. W., Wheeler-Smith, S. L., & Kamdar, D. (2011). Speaking up in

groups: a cross-level study of group voice climate and voice. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 96(1), 183.

Naderifar, M., Goli, H., & Ghaljaie, F. (2017). Snowball sampling: A purposeful

method of sampling in qualitative research. Strides in Development of

Medical Education, 14(3).

Plasencia, M. L., Taylor, C. T., & Alden, L. E. (2016). Unmasking one’s true self

facilitates positive relational outcomes: Authenticity promotes social

approach processes in social anxiety disorder. Clinical Psychological

Science, 4(6), 1002-1014.

Puckett, J. A., Matsuno, E., Dyar, C., Mustanski, B., & Newcomb, M. E. (2019).

Mental health and resilience in transgender individuals: What type of

support makes a difference? Journal of Family Psychology, 33(8), 954.

Randel, A. E., Galvin, B. M., Shore, L. M., Ehrhart, K. H., Chung, B. G., Dean, M.

A., & Kedharnath, U. (2018). Inclusive leadership: Realizing positive

outcomes through belongingness and being valued for uniqueness.

Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), 190-203.

Reed, L., & Leuty, M. E. (2016). The role of individual differences and situational

variables in the use of workplace sexual identity management strategies.

Journal of Homosexuality, 63(7), 985-1017.

144
Ruggs, E. N., Martinez, L. R., Hebl, M. R., & Law, C. L. (2015). Workplace

“trans”-actions: How organizations, coworkers, and individual openness

influence perceived gender identity discrimination. Psychology of Sexual

Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2(4), 404.

Rummell, C. M., & Tokar, D. M. (2016). Testing an empirical model of workplace

sexual identity management. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and

Gender Diversity, 3(1), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000144

Sabharwal, M., Levine, H., D’Agostino, M., & Nguyen, T. (2019). Inclusive work

practices: Turnover intentions among LGBT employees of the US federal

government. The American Review of Public Administration, 49(4), 482-

494.

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. The Coding

Manual for Qualitative Researchers, 1-440.

Sawyer, K., & Thoroughgood, C. (2017). Gender non-conformity and the modern

workplace. Organizational Dynamics, 46(1), 1-8.

Seiler-Ramadas, R., Markovic, L., Staras, C., Medina, L. L., Perak, J.,

Carmichael, C., ... & Grabovac, I. (2021). “I don’t even want to come out”:

the suppressed voices of our future and opening the lid on sexual and

gender minority youth workplace discrimination in Europe: a qualitative

study. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 1-21.

Smith, A. J., Hallum-Montes, R., Nevin, K., Zenker, R., Sutherland, B., Reagor,

S., ... & Brennan, J. M. (2018). Determinants of transgender individuals’

145
 well-being, mental health, and suicidality in a rural state. Journal of Rural

Mental Health, 42(2), 116.

Smith, A. N., Morgan, W. B., King, E. B., Hebl, M. R., & Peddie, C. I. (2012). The

ins and outs of diversity management: The effect of authenticity on

outsider perceptions and insider behaviors. Journal of Applied Social

Psychology, 42, E21-E55.

Stults, C. B., Abreu, R. L., Tjia, L., Kaczetow, W., Brandt, S. A., Malavé, D. M., &

Chumpitaz, M. (2022). Enacted and anticipated stigma related to

consensual nonmonogamy among LGBTQ+ adults. Psychology of Sexual

Orientation and Gender Diversity.

Szkody, E., & McKinney, C. (2019). Indirect effects of social support on

psychological health through self-esteem in emerging adulthood. Journal

of Family Issues, 40(17), 2439-2455.

Tatum, A. K., Formica, L. J., & Brown, S. D. (2017). Testing a social cognitive

model of workplace sexual identity management. Journal of Career

Assessment, 25(1), 107-120.

Taylor, S., Burke, L. A., Wheatley, K., & Sompayrac, J. (2011). Effectively

facilitating gender transition in the workplace. Employee Responsibilities

and Rights Journal, 23(2), 101-116.

Walworth, J. (2003). Managing transsexual transition in the workplace. HR

Magazine, 1.

146
Webster, J. R., Adams, G. A., Maranto, C. L., Sawyer, K., & Thoroughgood, C.

(2018). Workplace contextual supports for LGBT employees: A review,

meta-analysis, and agenda for future research. Human Resource

Management, 57(1), 193-210.

Whitehead, J., Shaver, J., & Stephenson, R. (2016). Outness, stigma, and

primary health care utilization among rural LGBT populations. PLoS

ONE, 11(1), e0146139.

Zeng, H., Zhao, L., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Inclusive leadership and taking-charge

behavior: roles of psychological safety and thriving at work. Frontiers in

psychology, 11, 62.

147