There’s an article in the SF Gate about the new Goodwill Industries’ store in SF which has hired 7 trans women to staff the place – out of only 9 employees.
It found that despite being twice as likely to hold college degrees as state residents as a whole, the respondents also were twice as likely to be unemployed. Seventy percent of those surveyed reported having been discriminated against or harassed on the job.
which means there are a ton of over-qualified trans people out there who can’t get work. Oh, if capitalism only worked!
The end of the article broke my heart — and yet, what a cool person:
While she mostly welcomes her new role as a community “ambassador” who enlarges the image of transgender people “by being competent,” being a thrift store trailblazer is not without challenges. When she was learning the ropes at another store, a few co-workers made the mistake of calling Scanlon “sir” or “him.” Tourists have pulled out their cameras and tried to snap her picture.
She tries to sound professional when she refuses to pose.
“I tell them, ‘I’m not a joke. This is my life. Thanks for shopping at Goodwill.'”
Grace under fire. I hope she gets the kind of job she deserves in time. I know I’d hire her to do customer service if she can keep that cool.
Great piece. I’m squarely in the “neither fish, nor fowl” category at the moment. After years of sucking at the teat of white, male privilege, I’ve become acutely aware of discrimination. I hope I’m being paranoid, but it just feels too real. Add age discrimination to trans discrimination, & it’s easy to become aware you’re a big “zero” in the eyes of many.
This, too, shall pass…I hope.