There’s a saying in the transgender community that the “T” in LGBT is silent.
That has started to change, as transgender leaders raise their voices and gay organizations and legislation strive to be more inclusive. The federal hate crimes bill that President Obama recently signed into law and the closely watched Employment Non-Discrimination Act now before Congress both cover gender identity as well as sexual orientation.
Still, transgender people remain on the fringe. And while they are the most vulnerable of the LGBT community, they also are the most understudied.
In what they’re calling the first comprehensive national effort to document discrimination against transgender people, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force launched a six-month survey of 6,450 transgender people.
The preliminary findings, released this month, found that among transgender people:
97%
said they experienced harassment or mistreatment at work.
47%
said they were fired, denied a promotion or not hired because of their transgender identity.
26%
said they lost their jobs because they are transgender.
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19%
said they had been or are homeless.
15%
live on $10,000 per year or less (7 percent of the general population in the 2007 American Community Survey does).
13%
said they are unemployed.