August 27, 2012
On the Job Market as a Transgender Candidate
By Rachel McKinnon
http://chronicle.com/article/On-the-Job-Market-as-a/133958/ (http://chronicle.com/article/On-the-Job-Market-as-a/133958/)
Most trans people in academe wait for the job security of tenure before undertaking the risky process of a gender transition. The reason is obvious: There's still a tremendous amount of discrimination and harassment toward us.
But what about identifiably trans people who either have managed to finally land a tenure-track job, or are seeking a tenure-track position in a poor job market? Where are their stories, and what are some of the special barriers that they face in hiring?
In my previous column, I wrote about my experiences explaining my transgender status to my classes. Here, I want to focus on what it's like being a transgender academic on the job market.