Trans people are one of the groups with the greatest barriers to access and permanence in the labor market. Within this group, trans women are those most exposed to discrimination, especially in low-skilled jobs (Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, 2014). Trans women are also the group that, especially in the transition process, is more likely to experience harassment, loss of trust by managers, downgrading, reduced salaries and dismissal. However, for Public Administrations and private counselling services, trans women remain an invisible collective. Professionals providing training and career counselling lack sufficient knowledge and preparation to design career counselling paths adapted to the needs of a group subject to multiple discriminations. Public and private professional guidance services need specific training materials that recognize the realities of trans women and place them at the centre of decision-making in terms of the training goals and career projects. At the other end of this lack of knowledge, there are pioneering European initiatives, such as NGO-based initiatives in Germany and the networks of "transfriendly" business companies in Ireland and Great Britain, where specific training materials and actions have been developed, although the majority cover the whole LGTBI or trans collective, instead of focusing on the particularly serious obstacles that trans women face to access the formal labor market, as their options are usually restricted to the prostitution / sex work sector and other feminized and precarious sectors in the informal economy. TRANSVISIBLE proposes, through the exchange of good practices at European level, to develop innovative materials for wide dissemination that gather these experiences and multiply their impact in diverse geographical contexts. Specially, the project aims to train professionals in the field of career counsellling, and training in order to design personalized programs supporting trans women through their empowerment processes, especially in terms of economic empowerment and access to better jobs. This training goes necessarily together with awareness-raising on prevention and identification of violations of the rights of LGTBI people in the workplace, as well as the promotion of measures that guarantee the right to equal treatment and opportunities for this group, including sensitising business companies to promote effective and lasting job placement processes. The Strategic Partnership of the TRANSVISIBLE project, gathering 5 organisations expert in the economic empowerment of trans women from 4 Member States (Spain, Ireland, Germany and Hungary) and with complementary approaches (training programs, research, advocacy) will obtain the following results: - 1 research report with the analysis of good practices of professional guidance at different territorial levels, based on qualitative research in the participating countries. - 1 guide for professionals in 4 languages, with recommendations for the design of career guidance programs and intermediation with companies for trans women. - An international seminar in Berlin for the training and exchange of good practices, and study visits to organizations active in the territory. - 3 national and 1 international seminars for the dissemination of project results, the adaptation of common recommendations to specific geographical contexts and the multiplication of the impact of the materials produced. - 1 model of care and support for trans women, adapted to the existing work networks in 4 European regions. - Regular dissemination of the project and free access to outputs via a website, social networks and newsletters.
Trans women still experience a lot of social rejection, prejudice and remain an invisible collective. On the one hand, trans women are excluded from all areas of the public sphere, especially from the labor market. This is especially severe for women at risk of social exclusion and experiencing other types of discrimination, such as having a low educational level, little experience in the formal labor market, being a migrant, being homelessness or depending on sex work as the only source of income. On the other hand, stigmatizing stereotypes prevail, reproducing a distorted and negative image of trans women. These stereotypes reinforce the false idea that trans women only want to or are able to work in certain professions (feminized professions and/or related to nightlife) or that they are all unskilled and need paternalistic support and revictimization. The TransVisibles project is based on the acknowledgement of the difficulties that trans women face in accessing the labor market and aims to promote specific resources to improve the labor inclusion and the economic empowerment of this group. The specific objectives of the project are: - To increase the knowledge and awareness about the specific situation of trans women in the labor market and the specific prejudices and barriers that impede their access to a job and their professional development. - To improve the support that career guidance and training programs provide to trans women through the development of an innovative methodology addressing the needs and demands of trans women, which places empowerment at the center of the process. - To produce and offer practical recommendations to companies and organizations for ensuring that recruitment practices are trans-friendly and that workplaces are inclusive, diverse and free of discrimination against trans women. - To raise the awareness of professionals in the area of employment, by highlighing the benefits of a the benefits of a workforce where equality and diversity are clearly present. - To foster the exchange of good practices and the creation of informal networks between key agents of the public and private sectors at the local, regional and transnational level. To achieve these objectives, the project has been developed for more than 2 years by a Strategic Association, formed by 5 organizations specialized in the economic empowerment of trans women from 4 Member States (Spain, Ireland, Germany and Hungary), with shared and complementary approaches. The association carried out the following activities: - An international mutual exchange seminar in Berlin to raise awareness and promote the exchange of good practices between organizations and professionals from the countries involved, including visits to trans organizations active in the territory. - 4 national closing seminars to disseminate the project results, discuss the applicability of the recommendations to the different geographical contexts involved and multiplicate the impact of the products produced. - Dissemination and communication throughout the project and promotion of free access and exploitation of the products produced, through the project website, social networks and 3 project newsletters (available in 5 languages). The Association developed the following products: - 1 TransVisible European guide aimed at professionals, political leaders and activists with recommendations to improve the employment situation of trans women and a selection of good practices at European level (available in 5 languages). - 4 tailor-made models to provide support to trans women, adapted to the needs, challenges and key agents identified in the 4 European regions (available in national languages). Overall, more than 350 people have directly benefited from the project, beyond the partner organizations. Most of the participants are professionals in career guidance or human resources personnel, especially those in charge of recruitment and selection processes. However, political leaders, equality and diversity agents, consultants, representatives from the public administration, feminist and LGTBI activists, students,… have also participated in the project and benefited from its outcomes. All project products can be freely downloaded from the project website and have been widely disseminated to key organizations and professionals in improving the access of trans women to employment. The impact of the project and the exploitation of the results by external organizations has been and will be ensured thanks to the exchange and networking at the local, regional and transnational level.