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1 – 10 of over 1000This study aims to understand the unique financial behavior of transgender individuals compared to cisgender individuals. Furthermore, this study aims to demonstrate that…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the unique financial behavior of transgender individuals compared to cisgender individuals. Furthermore, this study aims to demonstrate that understanding the financial behavior of transgender people will help financial institutions, regulators and policymakers to include them in the formal financial sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative approach to research aims at understanding a given phenomenon among the participants. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with 28 transgender and cisgender individuals each. Thematic analysis is used to understand the participants’ financial behavior and propose future research directions and implications to regulators and practitioners.
Findings
The transgender participants (TP) earn no stable income compared to cisgender participants. Due to a lack of regular income, TP faces hardships covering their spending. No fixed spending or financial planning pattern is found among the TP, and they are found to be highly uncertain of their income and spending. The TP is found wholly excluded from the financial system, and not even a single participant with an active bank account or insurance is found. TP has not visited a bank in their lifetime, and financial literacy is found completely missing among them. No TP has ever taken a bank loan or credit from a financial institution. A zeal among TP to be financially included is found, and such participation will undoubtedly help them live a financially independent life. Cisgender people (CP) are found to be earning a stable income, have full-time jobs, save money, transact through a formal financial system and are financially more independent than TPs. Gender is shown to play a role in the financial behavior of the participants.
Research limitations/implications
This study gathers information from transgender and CP and does not focus on the financial services providers; the decision not to interview the providers of financial services is a potential limitation of the present study. Another limitation is the small number of respondents who participated in the semi-structured interviews. Due to these limitations, the generalizability of the findings of this study regarding financial behavior will be restricted and require further evidence from future research.
Practical implications
The present study has several practical implications. First, the requirement of understanding the financial behavior of transgender people from their perspective is missing in the literature, and studies focusing on their behavior are required to help them be financially independent. The present study has implications for regulators, policymakers and practitioners to help transgender people improve their financial conditions.
Originality/value
The existing literature does not include studies focusing on understanding the financial behavior of transgender people or drawing a comparison of the financial behavior of transgender or CP. The present study explores the financial behavior of transgender people and highlights the unique financial behavior of transgender individuals.
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Lydia Caroline Cook and Simon C. Duff
The purpose of this study is to compare perceptions of male cisgender and male transgender stalking perpetrators. There present study compared participants’ perceptions of whether…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to compare perceptions of male cisgender and male transgender stalking perpetrators. There present study compared participants’ perceptions of whether behaviour constituted stalking, posed a threat, had a risk of violence and required police intervention when the perpetrator was transgender or cisgender. The present study also sought to replicate the prior-relationship misconception in stalking literature and to investigate whether perceptions of transgender perpetrators changed based on the age and gender of the perceiver.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants read vignettes outlining the relationship between victim and perpetrator as well as a description of the stalking behaviours. Participants then reported their perceptions of the four dependent variables on Likert-type scales.
Findings
The prior-relationship misconception was replicated. There were no significant differences in perceptions of transgender and cisgender perpetrators across the four dependent variables. There were also no significant differences in perceptions based on the gender of the perceiver. Contrary to expectations, older participants perceived transgender perpetrators as less threatening than younger participants.
Research limitations/implications
The prior-relationship misconception is robust to gender identity of the perpetrator. The participants in the present study seemed to make judgements based on stalking behaviour and not the gender identity of the perpetrator. Future research should replicate this study with more severe stalking behaviours and with greater variation in gender identity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to compare perceptions of cisgender and transgender males in the context of stalking perpetration. There is also consideration of how the demographics of the perceiver could impact these perceptions. This study also contributes to research on the prior-relationship misconception by demonstrating that the misconception is robust to gender identification of the perpetrator.
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Jan de Vries, Carmel Downes, Danika Sharek, Louise Doyle, Rebecca Murphy, Thelma Begley, Edward McCann, Fintan Sheerin, Siobhan Smyth and Agnes Higgins
People who identify as transgender face stigma, isolation and harassment while often struggling to come to terms with their gender identity. They also disproportionately…
Abstract
Purpose
People who identify as transgender face stigma, isolation and harassment while often struggling to come to terms with their gender identity. They also disproportionately experience mental health difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to present the voices of transgender people in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) in regard to the issues they are facing, improvements they would like to see made to schools, workplaces, services and society in general and whether mental health supports fulfil their needs.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten open questions were embedded within a quantitative online survey (LGBTIreland study) on factors impacting social inclusion, mental health and care. These open questions were re-analysed with exclusive focus on the transgender participants (n = 279) using content/thematic analysis.
Findings
The participants in this study reported significant signs of mental distress. The following themes emerged: impact of stigma, deficiencies in mental health services, need for education on transgender identity, importance of peer support, achieving self-acceptance and societal inclusion questioned.
Research limitations/implications
Efforts to recruit young participants have led to a possible over-representation in this study.
Practical implications
The findings suggest the need for improvement in mental health support services, including further education in how to meet the needs of transgender individuals.
Social implications
Transgender people in Ireland experience social exclusion. The need for more inclusivity was emphasised most in secondary schools. Education on transgender identities in all contexts of society is recommended by the participants.
Originality/value
This study reports on the largest group of transgender participants to date in RoI. Their voices will affect perceptions on social inclusion and mental health care.
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Hannah Van Borm, Marlot Dhoop, Allien Van Acker and Stijn Baert
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender men.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender men.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a scenario experiment with final-year business students in which fictitious hiring decisions are made about transgender or cisgender male job candidates. More importantly, these candidates are scored on statements related to theoretical reasons for hiring discrimination given in the literature. The resulting data are analysed using a bivariate analysis. Additionally, a multiple mediation model is run.
Findings
Suggestive evidence is found for co-worker and customer taste-based discrimination, but not for employer taste-based discrimination. In addition, results show that transgender men are perceived as being in worse health, being more autonomous and assertive, and have a lower probability to go on parental leave, compared with cisgender men, revealing evidence for (positive and negative) statistical discrimination.
Social implications
Targeted policy measures are needed given the substantial labour market discrimination against transgender individuals measured in former studies. However, to combat this discrimination effectively, one needs to understand its underlying mechanisms. This study provides the first comprehensive exploration of these mechanisms.
Originality/value
This study innovates in being one of the first to explore the relative empirical importance of dominant (theoretical) explanations for hiring discrimination against transgender men. Thereby, the authors take the logical next step in the literature on labour market discrimination against transgender individuals.
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Hannah Van Borm and Stijn Baert
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender women.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender women.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a scenario experiment in which fictitious hiring decisions are made about transgender or cisgender female job candidates. In addition, these candidates are scored on statements related to theoretical reasons for hiring discrimination given in the literature. The resulting data are analysed by means of a multiple mediation model.
Findings
The results suggest that prejudices with respect to the health of transgender individuals mediate unfavourable treatment of them. However, this mechanism is compensated by a beneficial perception concerning transgender women’s autonomy and assertiveness.
Social implications
Targeted policy measures are needed given the substantial labour market discrimination against transgender individuals measured in former studies. However, to combat this discrimination effectively, one needs to understand its underlying mechanisms. This study provides a first exploration of these mechanisms.
Originality/value
This study innovates in being the first to explore the relative empirical importance of dominant (theoretical) explanations for hiring discrimination against transgender women. Thereby, the authors take the logical next step in the literature on labour market discrimination against transgender individuals.
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Elizabeth Goryunova, Anna K Schwartz and Elizabeth Fisher Turesky
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the workplace experiences and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender employees and to apprise…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the workplace experiences and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender employees and to apprise organization leaders of opportunities to create an all-inclusive workplace environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in the US. Study participants (n = 12) varied slightly in racial and ethnic identities, the highest level of formal education completed and the industry sector they were employed at the time of interviews.
Findings
The data reveals a lingering presence of dominant narrative (cissexism) in US organizations and its adverse impact on workplace experience and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The participants’ narratives reveal recommendations for effective organizational practices for a transgender-inclusive workplace.
Research limitations/implications
The challenge of recruiting qualified participants from the marginalized group along with the selection criteria of English proficiency and legally adult age resulted in a relatively limited sample (n = 12) nevertheless adequate for the study.
Practical implications
Results of this study point at the urgent need to increase visibility and acceptance of the represented population and expand workplace diversity policies to create inclusive, just and equitable organizations for all individuals that will translate into job satisfaction and improved productivity.
Social implications
This study contributes to developing a culture of inclusion and prevention of discrimination in the workplace thus ensuring respect, safety and agency for gender minority employees.
Originality/value
This study contributes to a better understanding of workplace experiences, access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and best practices for a transgender-inclusive workplace.
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Jaclyn M. White Hughto, Kirsty A. Clark, Frederick L. Altice, Sari L. Reisner, Trace S. Kershaw and John E. Pachankis
Incarcerated transgender women often require healthcare to meet their physical-, mental-, and gender transition-related health needs; however, their healthcare experiences in…
Abstract
Purpose
Incarcerated transgender women often require healthcare to meet their physical-, mental-, and gender transition-related health needs; however, their healthcare experiences in prisons and jails and interactions with correctional healthcare providers are understudied. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In 2015, 20 transgender women who had been incarcerated in the USA within the past five years participated in semi-structured interviews about their healthcare experiences while incarcerated.
Findings
Participants described an institutional culture in which their feminine identity was not recognized and the ways in which institutional policies acted as a form of structural stigma that created and reinforced the gender binary and restricted access to healthcare. While some participants attributed healthcare barriers to providers’ transgender bias, others attributed barriers to providers’ limited knowledge or inexperience caring for transgender patients. Whether due to institutional (e.g. sex-segregated prisons, biased culture) or interpersonal factors (e.g. biased or inexperienced providers), insufficient access to physical-, mental-, and gender transition-related healthcare negatively impacted participants’ health while incarcerated.
Research limitations/implications
Findings highlight the need for interventions that target multi-level barriers to care in order to improve incarcerated transgender women’s access to quality, gender-affirmative healthcare.
Originality/value
This study provides first-hand accounts of how multi-level forces serve to reinforce the gender binary and negatively impact the health of incarcerated transgender women. Findings also describe incarcerated transgender women’s acts of resistance against institutional and interpersonal efforts to maintain the gender binary and present participant-derived recommendations to improve access to gender affirmative healthcare for incarcerated transgender women.
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Aira Maria Pohjanen and Terttu Anna Maarit Kortelainen
The purpose of this paper is to explore information behaviour and the information barriers transgendered people encounter. This study produces new information about the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore information behaviour and the information barriers transgendered people encounter. This study produces new information about the information needs in the construction of the transgendered identity, the changing of the information needs during this phase, utilized information sources, information sharing and barriers encountered in the information behaviour displayed by transgendered people.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the information behaviour of 12 transgendered participants. This study represents a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. A qualitative content analysis was used in analysing the data with categories derived from previous research and research questions.
Findings
Serendipity played an important role at the beginning of the participants’ information seeking phase: the young individual would not have terms corresponding to his or her experience because of the invisibility of the transgender phenomenon in the culture. The barriers to seeking information were psychological, demographic, role-related or interpersonal, environmental or source characteristic. Fear was apparent as a barrier in the surrounding culture often caused by expectations, attitudes in the family environment and people around. Source characteristic barriers were related to the lack of terms and vocabulary required to seek information and also the lack of the information itself. Information about transgender and gender minorities was essential in building up a clear gender identity, and the most relevant information sources of this sort of information this were other transgendered people and the experience-based information they had shared.
Originality/value
The information behaviour of transgendered people has not been previously studied. In this study a model of information behaviour and information barriers was made. The model includes individual’s information practices, sources of information and also the barriers affecting information behaviour.
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Joel Rudin, Sinead Ruane, Linda Ross, Andrea Farro and Tejinder Billing
The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of employers’ responses to the restroom requests of transgender employees, and to assess the ability as educators to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of employers’ responses to the restroom requests of transgender employees, and to assess the ability as educators to reduce transphobia in the students.
Design/methodology/approach
Subjects were 194 undergraduate business students at a medium-sized public university in the northeastern USA who were enrolled in an undergraduate course in organizational behavior. During class, they read a brief case which asked the students to play the role of a CEO in Little Rock, Arkansas, receiving a complaint from a female employee about using the same restroom as a coworker who is transitioning from male to female.
Findings
The most inclusive response was also the rarest, with only 27 percent of students recommending unisex bathrooms. Hostile actions, forcing the transitioning employee to use the men's restroom, were recommended by 38 percent of those who correctly realized that an employee would be unprotected by sexual orientation discrimination law in this case and by 30 percent of those who thought that she could sue for that type of discrimination in that jurisdiction.
Research limitations/implications
It would be interesting to replicate this with non-student samples such as human resource managers and executives. The use of a US sample and of a text-based case can also be viewed as weaknesses. Because gender identity is embodied, self-constructed, and socially constructed, no single research study can capture the totality of work life for transgender employees.
Practical implications
Transphobia is so powerful that a substantial percentage of the students recommended courses of action that they believed to be illegal even though the study was designed to discourage a hostile response. Employers that are concerned about transgender rights will need to do a lot more than just grafting the word “transgender” onto their extant set of policies.
Social implications
Since today's business students are tomorrow's business leaders, the authors could eventually make the business world more tolerant if the authors could identify a message that resonates with the students and causes them to re-evaluate their homophobia and transphobia.
Originality/value
Empirical studies of transgender issues have been dominated by the qualitative approach, so there is a need for more quantitative research on this topic. The hostile responses usually indicated greater acceptance of transgender employees who have completed gender reassignment surgery. This seems difficult to reconcile with a conception of transphobia as a generalized distaste towards all those who transgress gender norms.
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This paper discusses the factors to consider when designing studies to measure hiring discrimination against transgender job applicants.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses the factors to consider when designing studies to measure hiring discrimination against transgender job applicants.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on academic literature related to hiring discrimination and transgender employment to build a detailed discussion of the numerous factors and issues inherent in hiring discrimination against transgender job applicants. By isolating and describing a number of relevant considerations, the paper aims to act as a guide for future studies to build upon.
Findings
Three types of hiring discrimination studies are discussed: correspondence tests, in-person experiments and student cohort experiments. Three main categories of factors relevant to an experiment’s design are then discussed: the legal context, industry/role factors and transgender population-specific factors. A flow-chart detailing the research design decision-making process is provided.
Research limitations/implications
The discussion within this paper will act as a reference and a guide for researchers seeking to address the dearth of empirical studies in the literature. The list is not exhaustive; while a number of factors relevant to transgender-specific studies are identified, there may be more that could affect an experiment's design.
Originality/value
Hiring discrimination against transgender people has been recorded in many surveys, but there is little empirical measurement of this discrimination. To the author's knowledge, this paper is the first to examine the experimental design decisions related to transgender hiring discrimination. In doing so, it provides contributions for two primary audiences: those researching transgender employment issues but who have never conducted a study measuring hiring discrimination; and those who have previously conducted studies on hiring discrimination, but have not done so with reference to transgender job applicants.
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