Trans Individuals face challenges in the corporate workplace
Vaeshnavi Kasthuril
Paras Dogra, a 19-year-old trans man, struggled to find work despite his bachelor’s degree in literature.
“It was hard to get a corporate job. I was rejected from one interview for being overqualified but I don’t think that was the reason,” said Dogra. After a year of searching, he secured a job at Inharmony, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting firm.
Dogra, who was born and brought up in Jaipur, Rajasthan, fled home in the summer of 2019 due to constant abuse from his grandparents. He moved to Trivandrum in Kerala to seek refuge in a shelter home, which gave him a sense of belonging and introduced him to his chosen family. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, forced the organization to shut down, leaving Dogra unemployed and dependent on his chosen mother for support.
The 2011 Census estimated India’s transgender population at 4.9 lakh, 66% of whom remain unemployed, according to a 2022 report by Forbes India. Even among those employed, 96% face workplace discrimination according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Despite meeting eligibility criteria, 80% remain excluded from formal employment. Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ individuals costs India between 0.1% and 1.4% of its GDP according to a 2014 World Bank report by Lee Badgett.
India’s growing DEI initiatives have shown promise but often fall short of meaningful inclusion. A DEI firm founder, who did not want to be named, reported the resignation of 15 to 20 transgender employees hired in the packaging division of an e-commerce company. Even with the management’s inclusion efforts they faced severe discrimination from peers and eventually left.
“Tokenistic approaches, like hiring a single trans individual to check a box, don’t work. Genuine inclusion requires holistic DEI strategies- sensitisation, unbiased appraisals, infrastructure, and retention measures, to ensure long-term change”, said Ratna Prabha Sable, founder of Vividhaata, a DEI consulting firm.
R. Reshma (she/her), a transgender woman from Chennai and winner of Born2Win’s Trans Employee of the Year 2024 award, talked about her experience as a desk officer at Standard Chartered. “People didn’t take me seriously. misgendering was common, and there were no proper restroom facilities,” she said. “Team events felt isolating, and biases surfaced during performance reviews.”
While diversity hiring rose 33% year-on-year in corporate India, with banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) leading with 30%, according to data platform Foundit, many transgender scholars and activists criticise corporate DEI efforts.
Axis Bank has a number of policies under the ‘Welcome As You Are’ programme, which includes benefits like insurance coverage for psychiatric care and gender transition surgeries, said Harish Iyer, Senior Vice President and DEI Head at Axis Bank.
“One major roadblock is that cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied mentors often cannot fully understand the unique challenges LGBTQ+ individuals face in the workplace,” said Maira Q, DEI lead at Godrej Capital,
“Many corporations hire trans individuals during training programmes for DEI initiatives but do not offer them permanent roles. This exclusion leaves them feeling exploited,” said Swetha Sudhakar, founder of Chennai-based Born2Win Foundation. Hiring peaks during Pride months but the minimum salary ranges from Rs 11,000 to 15,000 barely enough for basic expenses or gender-affirming surgeries, which can cost between Rs.2 lakh and 10 lakh.
Many transgender individuals turn to sex work, citing greater freedom despite the risks involved. The lack of dignified employment options force many into the informal sector, where they earn more in an hour than some corporate roles offer in a month, said Sudhakar.
The Tamil Nadu government is trying to address the exclusion by bringing in a draft policy transgender reservation. The policy proposes 1% horizontal reservation across caste categories in the public sector. “While symbolic, it acknowledges systemic exclusion and could set a template for other states,” said Dr. L. Ramakrishnan, co-author of the policy. He said that the policy’s inclusion would be limited without broader workplace reforms.
Beyond government initiatives, corporate strategies are evolving. Maira Q, DEI lead at Godrej Capital, talked about their ‘Pride Path’ initiative, which recruits LGBTQ+ talent from Tier 2 cities. “Skill filtering, job mapping, and equitable hiring practices are essential for retention,” she said. The company’s efforts have resulted in a zero attrition rate among LGBTQ+ employees.
Some stories offer hope even as criticisms exist. A trans woman, who did not want to be named, transitioned from a non-inclusive banking job to a more supportive role at HP in Bangalore. “Moving to Bangalore and working at HP has been the best decision of my life,” she said. “My team members are very supportive, and I can truly be myself here.”
Before joining HP, she had worked at the bank for a little over a year, hired through a DEI initiative. “I could feel how people were seemingly nice and pretended to make me feel inclusive,” while talking about her experience at the bank.
Organisations like TWEET, Sahodaran, and Born2Win Foundation work in bridging the skills gap by providing training programmes in technology, tailoring, and driving TWEET offers career-ready courses with internships through partners like Lalit Hotels and Tata Steel. Sahodaran runs weekly skill training sessions in computer literacy, basket weaving, and driving to promote self-reliance.
“In the coming years, I see DEI becoming second nature. The focus should be on impactful changes beyond policies, like addressing structural and cultural biases”, said Iyer.
Meaningful inclusion is also about fostering spaces where individuals feel valued and empowered. For India’s trans community, this shift could turn resilience into rightful recognition, said Iyer.