In 2020, a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in “Bostock vs. Clayton County” extended legal protections against employment discrimination to transgender individuals. This ruling arrived amidst heightened visibility for transgender rights, yet also amidst persistent legal and social hurdles facing this community. Surprisingly, research on labor market discrimination against transgender individuals has been scarce.
Recent research conducted by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has broken new ground by examining Americans’ attitudes toward transgender individuals in the workplace.
An uphill battle
Employing an innovative approach called the list experiment technique, respondents were presented with a list of statements and asked to indicate how many were true for them, without specifying which ones. This method enabled the researchers to probe into Americans’ perceptions of transgender managers in the workplace and their support for non-discrimination measures safeguarding transgender employees.
By employing this technique, the researchers circumvented potential biases in survey responses, such as social desirability bias, where respondents may alter their answers to align with perceived societal norms, thus offering a more nuanced understanding of public attitudes towards transgender rights in the workplace.
“Understanding the true level of support for employment non-discrimination protection is important,” the researchers explain. “For example, it helps us figure out how well these policies might work and how we can make things better for transgender folks in the U.S.”
Overstated support
The researchers uncovered a noteworthy trend: support for transgender individuals in the labor market is overstated by a notable margin of 8–10%. However, upon adjusting for social desirability bias, the study revealed an encouraging finding: more than two-thirds of Americans are not only comfortable with having a transgender manager in their workplace but also endorse non-discrimination protections for transgender employees.
Interestingly, the research delineated disparities in attitudes across demographic lines. Women, sexual minorities, and Democrats exhibited more favorable views and stronger backing for transgender rights compared to their counterparts: men, heterosexuals, and Republican or independent voters.
Supplementary survey data analysis shed further light on the nuanced landscape of workplace attitudes. It revealed markedly higher support for LGB individuals than for transgender individuals. Moreover, respondents significantly underestimated the level of support for transgender individuals, by as much as 53%. This underscores the complexity of perceptions surrounding transgender rights in employment settings.
“The fact that Americans underestimate the actual level of support for transgender people is notable. Previous research shows that individuals’ beliefs about the views of others can impact their own views, suggesting that support for correcting these misperceptions could further increase support for transgender people in the workplace. This is something we consider exploring further in future research,” the authors explain.
“These protections, especially crucial for transgender individuals, not only empowers workers but also signify a crucial step toward a more inclusive and equitable society.”
