The State of Unemployment in the Trans Community
This was posted by Jillian Barfield on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm.
http://www.tjobbank.com/wordpress/?p=124 (http://www.tjobbank.com/wordpress/?p=124)
Unemployment rates appear to have reached critical levels in the transgender community with no end in the foreseeable future.
So what makes me make this stark announcement? The number of messages that I'm receiving from trans-people who are out of a job and who can't find another - along with the lack of opportunities posted by prospective inclusive employers on TJobBank.
So, where do I get off making this announcement with no statistics to back it up? There are no statistics. Trans people aren't counted and even if they were, the numbers would be skewed because of fear on the part of the respondents of being outed.
This honestly scares me. I'm in college now and I feel that protects me from reality, but I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm out. The only other trans people I know personally do sex work. :-\ I think it has some validity.
If you can manage it, try to stay in school for a post grad degree. That would take a couple years and you'd have a better chance to get a good position when you re-enter the workforce.
I didn't do that and if I only I could go back in time, that's one of the few things I would do differently.
hugs & smiles
Emelye