Economic Empowerment

Since we opened our doors, we have focused on issues of economic justice. We began this work through providing information to and representing transgender workers facing employment discrimination. In 2005, we expanded this work with the support of the Women's Foundation of California and in partnership with the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. In 2006, we released, along with the San Francisco Bay Guardian, a report on the economic health of San Francisco's transgender community, Good Jobs NOW!

Surveys of nearly 200 community members confirmed what many in the community had believed for years: the community is unemployed and underemployed at alarming rates. For instance, nearly 60% of Good Jobs NOW! respondents earn under $15,300 annually and only 8% earn over $45,900. 40% do not have a bank account of any kind. Only 25% are working full-time, 16% are working part-time, and nearly 9% have no source of income. Over 57% percent report experiencing employment discrimination, but only a little over 12% have filed an administrative or civil complaint as a result.

What struck us most immediately is that these inequalities exist in a city which has had a gender identity non-discrimination law for more than a decade and which has one of the most effective Human Rights Commissions in the country. In response to this data, city leaders created the Comprehensive Transgender Employment Initiative to improve services related to job placement and retention. The Walter and Elise Haas Fund has also joined the Women's Foundation as private supporters of this work.

For more information on these services, contact:
Sean Krainert at Jewish Vocational Services (415) 782-6268, skrainert@jvs.org or Claire Farley at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center (415) 865-5632, clairf@sfcenter.org

While the majority of our economic development work is being done in San Francisco, we are currently looking for ways to expand this work to other areas of the state. We are in discussions with activists in Los Angeles, for instance, about helping them conduct their own survey and write their own report.

Related materials:

Good Jobs NOW!
Trans Jobless from the San Francisco Bay Guardian Article

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Transgender Law Center
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San Francisco, CA 94102
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info@transgenderlawcenter.org