News Details

The fair was organized to guide trans­gender per­sons in pre­par­ing resumes, equip them with skills to face inter­views, con­nect them with recruit­ers and address vari­ous prob­lems they face at work­places; 15 firms took part in the event held under Project MEPZ

Akshara, a 32­year­old trans woman based in Chen­nai, has been look­ing for a job for nine months now. A com­mu­nic­a­tion spe­cial­ist, she has atten­ded more than 300 inter­views with vari­ous com­pan­ies, but no one seemed will­ing to hire her.

“As a trans per­son, find­ing a job – and keep­ing it – is far more dif­fi­cult com­pared to how it is for cis­gender men and women. A lot of com­pan­ies say they have inclus­ive work­place policies. But some just give you the per­cep­tion that they are includ­ing you, and there are oth­ers, who will out­rightly say they will not hire you on the basis of your iden­tity,” she says.

Janaki, 22, is a trans woman who is fresh out of col­lege. She was excited to learn that she had been placed dur­ing cam­pus recruit­ment. However, once she began grow­ing her hair and trans­ition­ing, the com­pany with­drew its offer, she alleges.

Both Akshara and Janaki were among the par­ti­cipants at a job fair for trans­gender job­seekers organized by the MEPZ Spe­cial Eco­nomic Zone in Tam­baram last Wed­nes­day. The event, held under Project

MEPZ Pride ini­ti­at­ive, aimed to help trans­gender people access employ­ment by provid­ing skill sup­port – includ­ing build­ing resumes and prep­ping them for inter­views – and con­nect­ing them with recruit­ers from vari­ous com­pan­ies.

Can­did­ates short­l­is­ted

Totally, 24 trans­gender people and 15 com­pan­ies took part in the event. MEPZ has been invit­ing resumes since Octo­ber; in total, about 145 resumes were received, and 33 can­did­ates have been short­l­is­ted by com­pan­ies.

Gouthami, a 30­year­old trans woman, says pre­trans­ition, she worked as a Pho­toshop designer and at a tex­tile shop.

“At both places, I under­went sexual har­ass­ment. When I com­plained, I ended up being fired.” After strug­gling to find work and facing repeated rejec­tions, she joined a Ther­ukoothu troupe, only to face fur­ther har­ass­ment there alleges.

For many trans people, espe­cially trans women, a stable job helps them avoid being pushed into the cycle of sex work and beg­ging, Ms. Gouthami – who has stud­ied till Class ◣II and is the sole bread­win­ner of her fam­ily of three – says, adding that oppor­tun­it­ies like these are import­ant to bring the com­munity for­ward.

Ms. Akshara says that even as com­pan­ies hire, they must as well, she ensure their employ­ees are sensitized and that adequate amen­it­ies, such as access­ible wash­rooms, are provided. “At one of my former work­places, while I was trans­ition­ing, I was not allowed to use the women’s wash­room. I had to walk nearly a kilometer to access one, and there were days when I relieved myself only once in an eight­ hour shift because of the effort involved,” she says.

Inclus­ive work­places

“Trans people already face a lot of stigma even after being hired, so we work with com­pan­ies to ensure an inclus­ive work­place,” says Jen­nifer Difiva, Deputy Devel­op­ment Com­mis­sioner, MEPZ.

“We sensitize them on issues such as wash­room access, and have also put redressal mech­an­isms in place,” she adds.

Accord­ing to Alex Paul Menon, IAS, Zonal Devel­op­ment Com­mis­sioner, MEPZ: “Diversity today is not an act of char­ity but a stra­tegic neces­sity that drives innov­a­tion, resi­li­ence, and sus­tain­able growth. Through Project MEPZ Pride, we aim to trans­late intent into action by help­ing indus­tries build cus­tom, bias­free, and enabling work­places, both phys­ic­ally and men­tally.”