ATP: Association of Transgender Professionals

A press release about the launch of ATP crossed my desk the other day, which read in part:

New York, NY, June 7, 2013 – The Association of Transgender Professionals (ATP), was formally dedicated this week, according to ATP Executive Director, Denise Norris and endorsed by a national advisory board of voluntary leaders and allies.

The association is intended primarily to serve people who have, had or will have non-conforming gender expressions/identities and seek to advance their professional careers.

The goal of this group is to encourage the networking and mentoring which strengthens careers and promotes the next generation of leaders.

To learn more about the Association of Transgender Professionals and its vision and goals, please visit www.transgenderprofessionals.org and view an introductory video on You Tube.

It seems they’ve also received a Calamus challenge grant for $25k, which means that every dollar donated will be matched by Calamus.

Good luck to you, ATP!

Trans in the Workplace

A magazine called Insight Into Diversity recently did an article on transgender issues in the workplace. I was interviewed for it, as were Jillian Weiss, author of Transgender Workplace Diversity and Vanessa Sheridan, author of The Complete Guide to Transgender in the Workplace, amongst others.

Dr. Weiss indicates that the issue of being transgender is increasingly coming to the fore. More people are in an environment where they feel more comfortable coming out, so more employers will be experiencing transitioning employees. “The time to prepare,” she says, “is now. If you have a decent size workforce, it’s likely that you will deal with a transitioning employee. It’s a question of when, not if.”

Sheridan agrees that the acceptance factor is growing. “It’s a reality of business life now,” she says. “The general public needs to be aware that transgender individuals are coming out in record numbers and that they are more visible in the community than ever before. It’s a social phenomenon gaining
increasing visibility.”

The article starts on p. 22 of the .pdf.