Human Rights Campaign and TransCanWork Announce Robust Transgender Job Fair in Los Angeles

by Aryn Fields •

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, andTransCanWork, an organization committed to advancing transgender, gender diverse & intersex workplace inclusion, announced the launch of “Empower Los Angeles!” avirtual career fair for transgender and non-binary job seekers on Wednesday, September 22 from 11am to 3pm PST.

It is already widely known that the transgender and non-binary communities face heightened levels of discrimination across all facets of society—while national unemployment rates have skyrocketed over the past 18 months, these folks now face compounded, threatening circumstances that contribute to further marginalization, economic oppression, and financial insecurity. Creating safe spaces for transgender and non-binary job seekers is critical to ensuring that they may begin a career with affirming, inclusive employers.

RaShawn Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Workplace Equality Deputy Director.

“Empower Los Angeles!” is the first in a series of career fairs that aim to economically empower the transgender and non-binary community through intentional recruitment efforts made by participating companies who are also working to support transgender and non-binary inclusive workforce development efforts. Each virtual event can host up to 60 employers, as well as 1,000 job seekers, per city via virtual exhibitor booths that are fully customizable and include various features such as video and chat functionality through the platform Brazen.

I've heard and witnessed countless stories of friends and community members losing jobs, facing financial insecurity, and racking up debt just in order to survive, and that was long before the start of a pandemic. This virtual career fair is just one of many ways we are helping to create a true culture shift—TransCanWork isn’t just in the business of bringing together employers and potential employees, we're in the business of culture change to ensure long-term success and stability for the transgender, gender diverse and intersex community and our corporate partners.

Lexi Adsit, TransCanWork Executive Director

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program and TransCanWork quickly pivoted programming by providing additional employment support through an educational web series, “Who’s Hiring?” that highlights LGBTQ+ affirming companies and open positions of employment. Now that the professional landscape has been permanently transformed, both organizations are dedicated to leveraging a strategic partnership to further impact employment mobility for transgender and non-binary people around the country. During the Los Angeles fair, Bank of America will be the Presenting Sponsor and Amgen will be the Platinum Sponsor. To register as a job seeker click here.

Data released by HRC and PSB Research outlines the economic impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ+ community, showing that the community is more likely to have faced financial and professional hardships.

  • 30% of LGBTQ+ respondents had their work hours reduced, compared to 22% of the general population

  • 27% of transgender or non-binary Americans who held or applied for a job reported being fired, denied a promotion or not hired for a job they applied for because they were trans or non-binary.

  • 16% of transgender or non-binary people said they lost a job because they were trans or non-binary.

The Human Rights Campaign reports on news, events and resources of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that are of interest to the general public and further our common mission to support the LGBTQ community.

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To make a general inquiry, please visit our contact page. Members of the media can reach our press office at: (202) 572-8968 or email press@hrc.org.

Topics:
Workplace
Transgender