Employment Discrimination Among People Who Are Transgender Or Gender Non-Conforming: a Mixed Methods Secondary Data Analysis
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Employment Discrimination Among People Who Are Transgender or Gender Non-Conforming: A Mixed Methods Secondary Data Analysis By Gina Rosich A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Doctoral Dissertation Committee: Manoj Pardasani, PhD Chair Tina Maschi, PhD Faculty Advisor and Reader Tarynn Witten, PhD External Reader i ProQuest Number:10258740 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10258740 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 ii Abstract Discrimination in the workplace is widespread among transgender (trans) and gender non-conforming (GNC) people. In a national study of transgender discrimination, an overwhelming 90% of respondents reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment in the workplace (Grant, Mottet, & Tanis, 2011). A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2008 California Transgender Economic Health Survey (N = 646). This was a quantitative-prioritized mixed-methods study with a concurrent nested design, using Marshall’s theory of social citizenship, which was supported in both the quantitative and qualitative components. Content analysis was the qualitative method used to examine barriers to employment. The aim of this study was to examine workplace discrimination among transgender and gender non-conforming adults with a mixed- method inquiry into perceptions and lived experiences. Qualitative results on perceived barriers to employment included exclusion as intersubjective experiences, beliefs, anticipatory fears, overt discrimination, lack of legal protections against discrimination, lack of education or training about trans employees, employer fears associated with hiring trans people, and the problems associated with poverty, lack of healthcare, housing, education, and training. Quantitative results included that about 67% of respondents reported experiencing some form of workplace discrimination. Transmen (FtM) were 132.6% more likely to experience discrimination in the workplace than transwomen (MtF). They were most likely to report being misgendered and having a breach of privacy. Male to iii female (MtF) respondents were more likely to experience a wider variety of types of discrimination. Those who were out to co-workers were 292.4% more likely to experience discrimination in the workplace than those who were not. Those who indicated needing help with documents were 98.9% more likely to experience discrimination in the workplace than those who did not. Those with higher income were less likely to need assistance with changing identifying documents and more likely to pass/blend. Those who were less likely to pass/blend faced higher unemployment. Misgendering decreased with age. White respondents were less likely to experience a privacy breach. These findings were consistent with the literature and the concepts of cis gender entitlement and transmisogyny. This study contributes to the knowledge base because there is little evidence-based research on employment discrimination and people who are transgender. Research is needed to support litigation in the courts, pass civil rights laws, promote economic redistribute policies, expand social work curricula, educate faculty and the public at large, and enhance the work of human resources personnel and employee assistance programs. iv Copyright Notice Copyright © 2017 by Gina R. Rosich. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright holder. v Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my spouse Taras Hnatyshyn, for his endless hours and days of leaving me alone to work when he’d have much preferred distracting me with silliness. You read drafts. You banished yourself to Forbidden Planet so I could work (and didn’t buy anything!). And you never stopped believing in me. Your love and support have meant more than I could ever express. This also goes out to Faberge, Nymphadora, Calliope and Penny, kitties past and present, whose furry purry faces kept me company in all the best spots on my desk. To my father, Mike Rosich, and stepmother, Arlene Rosich, who have supported me and who continue to tell me how proud they are of me. It has meant a tremendous amount. To my brother, Ricky, and sister-in-law, Svetlana, who despite knowing nothing about trans issues, managed to relate to RuPaul and the right to work into their questions about what I was working on. I love you all and am forever grateful for the love and support you have shown me. To my brother Michael and sister-in-law, Nanci, for cheering me on when I needed it. To Jayna and Mila Pavlin, who showed me emotional support from all the way in San Francisco at a time when I so dearly needed it, Mila who then led me to this data set, and for trusting in me with it. To Jasmin Ditcham, surrogate trans mom to so many, whose friendship, wisdom, and academic advice on and off LiveJournal provided me with much needed guidance and perspective. To Kim Woo who saved me I don’t know how much time by introducing me to Dedoose. And to all my friends in the Harry Potter and Doctor Who fandoms who used COSplay to explore their gender identities, your friendships taught me more about community and identity than any study ever could. vi Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, CA, for generously allowing me to utilize their data for this dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the members of my dissertation committee for their patience and understanding. Thank you Manoj Pardasani for taking on the role of chairperson and for staying on after your time got crunched. I am so glad we crossed paths during my theory comp exam. Your patience, experience, and friendliness helped me stay sane. To Tina Maschi—I never took a class with you and only chatted while passing you in the hallways or at a conference until you joined my committee. Yet you remained approachable and offered guidance for years and graciously and patiently supported me once agreeing to join. To Tarynn Witten—your keen eye and indispensable advice have pushed me to leave no stone unturned. Your passion for this work and the community are evident in every margin comment. Your insight on gender is invaluable. To Cathy Berkman—there was not a day of preparing or writing that had not gone by where the classes I took with you did not apply. Every doctoral student everywhere should have to take your data management course. Even though I was saddened you did not have the time to stay on my committee, you will always have a halo effect on me. To Dr. Meredith Hanson, who helped me consider entering the program and allowed me to stay enrolled long after my best by date. Thank you for your understanding as life threw one hurdle after another in my way. Your passing was heartbreaking and you are profoundly missed. To Peter Vaughn, who would have thought when we met at Penn that we would cross vii paths again at Fordham? Thank you for your words of encouragement and belief in my abilities. I only wish I had finished before you retired from Fordham. To my fellow doctoral students, I say never give up and never surrender. If I could get this far after so much time and so many obstacles, so can you. To Thalia MacMillan, it seems like forever ago that we studied for our comps together. I’m finally catching up with you. Thanks to your support, I still have hair that hasn’t been pulled out in frustration. viii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Copyright Notice ................................................................................................................. v Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction and Study Aims .......................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................