When you consider how prevalent transphobia is in the UK, it’s no surprise that trans people face discrimination in the workplace. The figures paint a bleak picture. One survey, carried out in 2018, found that a third of employers are “less likely” to hire a trans person (which is, of course, illegal). According to a report from Stonewall published the same year, one in eight trans workers have been physically attacked in the workplace. More recent data suggests that the situation is only getting worse – in 2021, according to a YouGov survey, more trans people (65 per cent) felt compelled to hide their gender identity at work than did five years earlier. While there is a lack of official data on how much money trans people earn, the charity Gender Intelligence has said that the community is badly affected by low pay, with trans women being impacted worst of all. 

These workplace barriers, whether resulting in low-paid, precarious positions or outright unemployment, have a range of knock-on effects. Trans people are more likely to experience poverty and homelessness, and more likely to experience the associated health problems, both physical and mental. Unemployment serves to further isolate trans people from a society in which they are already stigmatised, and no doubt plays a role in perpetuating that stigma. Contrary to the myth – popular among transphobes – that being trans is a sort of luxury, middle-class indulgence for people with MAs, trans people are more likely to live in economically deprived areas. It is beyond doubt that transphobia, at both the structural and interpersonal levels, exacts a significant material toll on people’s lives.

But these problems are not insurmountable. “It pretty much all boils down to not having access to money, which comes from the high unemployment rates,” says Lucia Blayke, a gender equality activist who has recently launched Transpire Talent – a recruitment agency, the first of its kind, which aims to help trans people into the workforce. There are reasons to be optimistic: while employment discrimination is still rife, Lucia has found that there are plenty of companies who do want to hire more trans people, but just aren’t receiving the applications. “I think that comes from a preconceived fear of discrimination, which is understandable, or maybe a lack of self-confidence,” she says. 

Because Transpire Talent is led by trans people, it’s well placed to address the issues which mainstream recruitment agencies are unlikely even to consider. “For example, there are lots of trans people who have big gaps on their CVs from when they’ve taken the time out to transition. But when they’re applying for jobs, recruiters won't know that – they’ll often just see the gap and then not invite them for an interview. I realised there needs to be someone in the middle to help people throughout the process,” she says. 

The workplace can often be a hostile environment for trans workers, but Lucia hopes that a trans-led recruitment company will help to assuage the (well-founded) concerns that applicants might have. “I think trans people trust other trans people more, so it puts us at ease when there's another trans person involved in the recruitment process, someone who understands what they have been through and who has visited these offices. If I feel comfortable there, then the applicants are more likely to feel comfortable there too,” Lucia says. 

According to Lucia, the benefits to greater trans-inclusion in the workplace cut both ways. “More and more young people are coming out as trans, so it makes sense for companies to have trans employees to appeal to that growing market,” she says. “There is also just a huge amount of untapped potential out there. There are lots of trans people who are amazing at coding, for example, who could become really influential software engineers. Across the board, there’s just so many benefits for companies who want to work with the trans community,” she says. 

As the company grows, Lucia wants to branch into as many different sectors as possible, helping to recruit trans doctors, trans teachers, trans people in tech and the fashion industry. “But we’re starting more with entry-level roles and apprenticeships,” she says. “Most trans people just haven’t had the same opportunities as [cisgender] people – many drop out of university, for example; after transitioning, some people are forced to rely on survival sex work. When you transition, it can be like you are turned into an outcast, so what we want to do is help trans people rejoin society. The overall goal is that in ten years, being trans will be normal.”

Transpire Talent is the latest in a long line of game-changing initiatives Lucia has been involved with. She first moved to London from Liverpool seven years ago, lured to the capital by the promise of the queer scene. “I kind of figured out I was trans when I moved here, but I found that there wasn’t very much happening for trans people. I found it really hard to meet other people who were going through what I was going through, experiencing gender dysphoria and things like that.” While she was working for Vogue Fabrics – a gay club on the border between Dalston and Stoke Newington – she started organising a regular trans meet-up, which she christened Transmissions.  To begin with, this was simply an opportunity for trans people to gather and share their experiences, but when the climate in the UK started to become more hostile towards the community, Lucia decided to take a more political approach. 

“When you transition, it can be like you are turned into an outcast, so what we want to do is help trans people rejoin society. The overall goal is that in ten years, being trans will be normal” – Lucia Blayke

Working as part of a trans collective, she started organising protests, including a runway show aimed at promoting trans inclusivity in the fashion industry, which was livestreamed on Dazed during London Fashion Week. “We wanted to do something bigger, and we realised that London didn’t have a Trans Pride,” says. The event they started – first held in 2019 – has since blossomed into a significant annual fixture, in which thousands of trans people and their allies march in central London march against the injustices that trans, intersex, non-binary and gender non-conforming people experience around the world. 

Transpire Talent looks set to be every bit as impactful as Lucia’s previous ventures, and it is sorely needed. Anyone who is interested in getting involved can visit the company’s website and send in their CVs, at which point they will receive personalised feedback and access to workshops, mentoring programmes and a series of events across London. Applicants who are neurodiverse or from the broader LGBTQ+ community are also welcome. “We connect people with inclusive employers and then we support them throughout the process,” says Lucia. “We’re here to make them feel supported, to help them to become the best version of themselves and pursue the career of their dreams.”