I was out and about, and needed the loo. Seeing a sign for the toilets, I headed towards it. I chose, as I always did, the door with the figure of a woman on it (or sometimes the word “women” or in posher places “ladies”).
Pushing the door open, I went into the toilets, selected my cubical and went to do my business. Afterwards, I washed my hands then held them under an ineffectual hand drier, then went out and on with my day.
That’s possibly the most boring story I’ve ever written. But that’s reality. That’s the sort of thing that happens over and over again – nothing. Were there any trans women in that toilet? I don’t know. Did anything happen? Beyond an “I like your shoes” or “excuse me”, not much conversation goes on in there. And how about other women’s spaces I frequent? Again, I am not really aware if trans women are there or not and if they were, wouldn’t pay any attention. Unless I really liked their shoes.
So why are we suddenly living in a world where the Supreme Court, of all institutions, feel the need to “clarify” something that was never a problem? Why is there so much hysteria around a tiny percentage of the population who are already marginalised? And what does it mean for HR managers who may be feeling confused by balancing everyone’s needs and their legal obligations?
Let’s get a few things clear first of all. Women and girls need to feel safe and their rights must be protected. We must allow open and honest discussion around these issues if we’re ever going to make progress. And trans people, like everyone else, need to use the same spaces as the rest of us.
The intersection of LGBTQIA+ and neurodiversity
The reason we include LGBTQIA+ training within our neurodiversity offering is because there is a huge overlap. Autistic people are not only more likely to be queer, they’re more likely to be trans. So when we talk about neurodiversity inclusion, we’re automatically talking about those with multiply-marginalised identities. We can’t do a good job of inclusion training if we ignore or erase those individuals who are part of our community.
And while trans people are represented in greater numbers in the autism community than in the wider world, the figures here don’t really matter. Because even if it’s just one trans person, or one autistic person, or one trans autistic person at your organisation, that person matters just as much as anyone else. So we need to make sure they feel comfortable, safe and authentic when they’re at work.
What is intersectionality?
We’re proud to be the first neurodiversity consultancy in the UK to hire an intersectionality trainer. We felt it was important to have different views and experiences represented, and – even more importantly – to give our participants a safe space to discuss their own intersectionalities, marginalised or not. We’ve since hired an LGBTQIA+ trainer too, and we always refer clients to specialist trans advocates if needed.
Intersectionality is where you recognise and support more than one identity. So for neurodiversity, you might have someone who is autistic, but then you might consider are they white? Are they male? Are they straight? What socio-economic background are they from? Are they a parent or carer? And so on.
We recognise intersectionality because it helps us support individuals and reflect on our own identities. It’s a way of recognising and appreciating others’ differences – seeing how some of your experiences align and how they might differ. It’s also an opportunity to understand what the word “spectrum” really means, and how different identities can contribute to a more vibrant landscape. This isn’t just woke idealism either; study after study shows how diverse workplaces outperform the more monochrome ones.
Why HR leaders must take trans inclusion seriously
Because this isn’t – and never was – just about trans people. Trans inclusion shows a clear commitment to inclusion across the board. It shows that you’ve had tough conversations, you’ve listened to the legal stuff (even if you don’t agree with it) and you’ve committed to making your workplace one where everyone can feel comfortable and safe.
How does that work in practice? By training, listening, understanding and talking. There are plenty of trans advocates who provide a calm and honest counterpoint to a lot of the hysterical media coverage around trans issues – who don’t shy away from the difficult questions and help break down barriers. In recent years, views on trans people have become less progressive, not more, and I don’t believe we can reverse this trend by shutting down debate.
I don’t believe we should ignore the voices of those who are afraid for women’s rights. We need to face people’s fears head on and take a firm stand that we can and will support trans people. And in doing so recognise that trans rights, women’s rights and everyone’s rights are all part of the same aim: to build a world where everyone can be themselves.
Rachel Morgan-Trimmer is the founder of innovative neurodiversity consultancy Firebird, delivering bespoke training on how to be inclusive to people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. Rachel, who is ADHD and autistic, combines professional and lived experience.
Rachel is also a bestselling author of ‘How to Be Autistic’ and an international keynote speaker, and a TEDx speaker - ‘Inclusion is Selfish’. She also has a booklet ‘How to Treat Autistic People’, and has produced an award winning poster around this. Rachel often shares her expertise in the press, and has been featured in various publications including Psychologies, People Management, HuffPost, Stylist and Raconteur.