Transgender job seekers face uphill battle
By Blake Ellis @CNNMoney February 22, 2013: 7:06 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/22/pf/transgender-unemployment/ (http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/22/pf/transgender-unemployment/)
Rebecca Juro, 50, has been unemployed for the last four years and she can't help but think it's because she's transgender.
She has applied for almost 100 jobs and has gone on close to 20 interviews, but there have been no offers. No one says they aren't hiring her because she's transgender. But some employers tell her the job has been filled even though she continues to see postings for it online. Others have "laughed in my face."
"With as many non-trans people out of work as there are, it seems almost no one is going to hire a trans woman when there's another choice," said Juro, who lives at home with her mom as she job hunts.
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Transgender financial struggles: 'How we get by'
These six people are transgender and unemployed, homeless, living on food stamps or facing piles of debt.
Name: Diana O'Brien
Age: 42
Hometown: Wilton Manors, Fla.
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2013/02/21/transgender-debt/index.html (http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2013/02/21/transgender-debt/index.html)
I was working at a spa while I finished transitioning, and my boss insisted I couldn't present myself as female at work -- and even bought me men's polo shirts to wear as soon as I bought women's shirts.
It created such a hostile work environment that I left in mid-December and I've been looking for work since.
I've applied for 213 jobs. A coffee equipment company offered me a job a couple days ago and I just needed to meet with the technician to get trained. But after I discussed the name change with the employer on the phone, I got a call saying 'we changed our mind,' and they gave me some excuse.
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Transgender and unemployed for 4 years
Rebecca Juro is just one of thousands of transgender individuals across the country struggling to find and keep a job.
http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/02/21/n-transgender-job-pains.cnnmoney/index.html (http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/02/21/n-transgender-job-pains.cnnmoney/index.html)