Aug 24, 2024 09:10 PM IST
Despite the government setting up shelters and framing pension and health insurance schemes, the transgender community is still largely on the peripheries when it comes to equal opportunities in the job market.
Affirmative action and reservations have become well-worn political duelling points. To its credit, despite budgetary allocations not being adequate, the Centre has taken several steps to bring about a more inclusive environment for gender minorities. It formulated the first equal opportunities policy for the transgender community that prohibited the disclosure of the gender identity of a transgender person without consent. Despite the government setting up shelters and framing pension and health insurance schemes, the transgender community is still largely on the peripheries when it comes to equal opportunities in the job market. This might change if current trends in the corporate world continue. In recent times, corporates have pushed job opportunities for the transgender community. Tata Steel is one of the first blue chip companies to conduct a recruitment drive for transgenders and has already employed over 100 in various positions in the company.
Corporate support is important because, despite progressive legal reforms recognising the rights of transgenders, the lack of adequate skill development initiatives tailored to suit them continues to put them at a disadvantage. Other corporates too have stepped up to the plate. HDFC Bank has initiated a Parivartan skill development programme for transgenders as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative — transgender candidates are trained in NSDC-certified self-employed tailor programmes. Ibra, 32, had to drop out of school due to constant harassment over her identity. From a poor home, she worked as a maid for several years. “Joining HDFC Bank and Centum Foundation’s Parivartan skilling programme was a turning point in my life. My teachers taught me both tailoring and design. This investment in me ignited my hopes. The programme not only taught me a skill but also changed my thinking. I was given a sewing machine and now I have started a career,” she said. Ibra has aspirations to become the next Manish Malhotra. Similarly, Deutsche Bank has partnered with Rotary Club in Mumbai to start the first salon run by transgenders.
Earlier this year, the second edition of the Trans Employment Mela was held in Delhi, organised by the Transgender Welfare Equity and Empowerment Trust Foundation and InHarmony, along with the ministry of social justice and empowerment and the National Institute of Social Defence. Big corporates were in attendance including Accenture, Proctor and Gamble and Ericsson. Meghna Sahoo, secretary of the All Odisha Transgender Association, said, “I am happy that corporates are offering us jobs, but we also need sensitisation. Many people think that our cause is not so important, but corporates making an effort will make a huge difference.”
Delhi-based Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), which has analysed budgeting and schemes for transgenders, holds that there must be more need-based planning across PSUs, taking into account the voices of the community through participatory budgeting at all levels. In its report, A Budget Brief: Issues faced by the Transgender Community, it said, “The existing frameworks and tools of gender-responsive budgeting must be broadened to integrate planning, budgeting, and implementation of schemes for transgender persons. Adoption of an intersectional approach and need-based planning while formulating policies and schemes would certainly address structural gaps and pave the path to achieving substantive equality and redistributive justice for the trans community.”
With corporates like the Tatas and HDFC Bank taking the lead in becoming inclusive employers committed to diversity and equal opportunities, it is likely that others will follow suit. Reports from several corporates say that when presented with the appropriate opportunities, transgenders have proved innovative and productive, and this will surely open more doors going forward.
The views expressed are personal
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