Transgender Job Seekers Face Discrimination

The pervasive discrimination faced by transgender job-seekers in New York and elsewhere was discussed Wednesday on WNYC FM in light of a devastating new report.

The report, "Transgender Need Not Apply," from advocacy group Make the Road New York, was the subject of a conversation on The Brian Lehrer Show. Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), joined fellow guest Kendall Thomas, professor and director of the Center for the Study of Law and Culture at Columbia University School of Law.

In its report, Make the Road New York found a 42% net rate of discrimination against transgender job-seekers. Some of the city's most prominent retailers were inclined to reject transgender applicants with credentials equal to those of other applicants, the report found.

"The report by Make the Road NY simply confirms anecdotal evidence, which is, suggests that there is widespread, and deep, pervasive discrimination based on gender identity and expression here in New York City and in fact, throughout the country," said Park on WNYC FM. "We get calls at the NYAGRA office on a regular basis from people who have been denied jobs, who have had experiences such as the ones the Road's discrimination testers have had ... people who have perfectly good qualifications who are denied employment simply because of their gender identity or gender presentation."

Listen to the interview here.