UPDATE: Transitioning at Work and Going full-time

[AlyssaJ]

I just got an email from my HR today.  Seems everyone in management is on-board with me officially transitioning in the workplace on November 1.  So I confirmed and it is now official.  What's even more exciting is that I've been planning to coordinate my full-time date with my work transition, so this means my Full-Time date is also set for November 1!!  I'll be FT before the holidays, I'm super excited about that.

HR also started to layout their thoughts on how to handle the transition.  She wants to put together a company wide learning session to discuss our non-discrimination and  harassment policies, present what transgender means and offer a Q&A.  We will be discussing more about whether to reveal my transition to the full company at that time or at a later point. Right now I'm not really sure about what makes more sense (any thoughts y'all have on this would be appreciated).

For communication with our clients, they're actually going to engage a PR Firm that has dealt with this type of thing before. Most of our clients have very progressive policies for Trans Inclusion and diversity in general but obviously interactions with our specific contacts in these large organizations could yield a different attitude.  I thought engaging a firm like this was a really good idea.  The fact that they're willing to pay consultants to help structure this right tells me I've got a lot of support from my company.  I mean that's a pretty sizeable investment in keeping me around.

So now the real work begins.  I need to decide when I come out publicly and how big of an audience that should be.  I think that too will probably sync up with the "big reveal" at work since there will be bleed over from my professional world into my personal world and vice-versa.  I've also begun looking into name and gender change processes and making a list of everywhere that I need to make my name & gender changes once it's legally complete.  Sadly, the one thing that won't change anytime soon is my Birth Certificate.  Wisconsin requires GCS in order to make that change and get and amended BC.  Oh well, one battle at a time

[Cheaney]

How cool is that!? Congrats Alyssa!

Vicki

[TonyaW]

Hey Alyssa.
Congrats.  Been doing a little googling myself on Wisconsin name change.

Think the needed forms are here.

https://www.wicourts.gov/services/public/selfhelp/namechange.htm

Will be a bit before I can do it myself though.  Also ran across a form to correct an error on birth certificates.  Think we could   go at it that way for a gender change?  ☺

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[Dena]

I am working on this currently and it appears you need a court order from a judge for both name and gender change. I have the court order from an Arizona judge (got it thursday) so now all I need to do is follow the instructions.

[AlyssaJ]

Thanks Tonya, yeah I found my way to those forms as well.  Right now I'm planning to try for a confidential name change.  The public outing of the newspaper ad is so archaic.  Given our current politics I think I can justify that publishing that info would create a threat to my safety.

Gender is actually pretty easy on everything except BC.  All you need is a doctor's letter for your DL and their policy says your doctor gets to decide the definition of "appropriate steps to change your gender".

Not sure the correction avenue would work, but it'd sure be worth a try.  Get the right judhe and who knows, could set a valuable precedent.

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[Dan]

Wow, Allyssa, this sounds exciting. It's especially good and encouraging to hear that HR is backing you. I hadn't thought about going to HR and talking to them about it. But now I am definitely thinking of doing that. Our HR does seem proactive in such things and I have seen them delivering company wide training sessions when something like this became an issue. This is a fantastic opportunity to educate at least part of the local population and to show employees that HR actively supports transgender people. 

Thanks for sharing this. I'm feeling much encouraged to do the same. Things are moving so fast! November isn't far away at all.

[TonyaW]

I'll be watching to see how the confidential change goes for you.
I'd rather do it that way but am not too concerned if I have to go the newspaper route. Who reads those things?   Be nice to at least not have to pay for the ads.   

Probably wouldn't work to try the error correction route for the BC.  Not sure how that happens and what proof they'd want. Kind of found that funny as "error on the birth certificate" was the line I used when I told my mom and siblings.



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