This is an awareness-raising workshop about the challenges facing transgender and gender non-conforming people. How can trade unions work to end discrimination and support our trans members?

This introductory workshop includes an overview of appropriate language to use, existing legal protections, and what we as activists can do to make sure our workplaces and our unions are as inclusive as possible to transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks. The workshop covers vocabulary (who are trans people, and how do we talk to and about them respectfully, what words to use, words not to use, and invasive questions), barriers trans people face in the workplace and in the world, and what activists can do to make our workplaces and our unions more inclusive to 2SLGBTQI+ folks. 

Presented for BCGEU members by Adrienne Smith, a Vancouver-based lawyer with a labour, human rights, and social justice practice.