Discrimination in access to and within the labour market remains a key barrier for trans and non-binary people, placing them at heightened risk of extreme precarity. According to recent data from the FRA, only about a third of trans employees in Spain report not having experienced workplace discrimination in the past year. Other studies indicate that many conceal their gender identity during recruitment and employment, fearing exclusion, and that institutional support is limited, with most receiving no assistance during their transition and perceiving low awareness of trans realities among colleagues and supervisors.
Building on feminist and queer intersectionality frameworks, this presentation examines how organisational cultures shape the inclusion and exclusion of trans and non-binary people in the workplace, and how intersecting inequalities of gender, class, race, and age inform their experiences of recognition, legitimacy, and resistance within workplace settings.
This research adopts a mixed-methods design, combining: 1) a survey (N=500) to HR professionals and LGBTIQA+ employees aimed at identifying perceptions of diversity management, comparing workplace cultures, and mapping indicators of discrimination and inclusion; and 2) 30 semi-structured interviews with trans and non-binary participants and HR professionals that explore lived experiences and narratives of belonging and exclusion. Grounded in an intersectional approach, both statistical and thematic content analysis inform the discussion.
The paper focuses on two interrelated dimensions:
The experiential dimension explores how trans and non-binary employees navigate organisational contexts marked by intersecting inequalities and cisheteronormative logics. Participants negotiate recognition and belonging while developing personal and collective strategies to challenge exclusion and assert agency.
The institutional dimension investigates how organisational cultures and HR practices shape these experiences, identifying enabling factors (such as diversity training and inclusive leadership), alongside constraining factors (including prejudice, lack of awareness and rigid hierarchies).
By situating trans and non-binary labour experiences within broader structures of power, this research contributes to a political understanding of work as a contested field where recognition and exclusion are continuously negotiated. The findings call for a rethinking of employment and diversity policies through an intersectional lens that moves beyond inclusion as representation, towards shifts in organisational norms, leadership models, and institutional cultures.
