According to a study published earlier this year, transgender people have “significantly lower employment rates” than their cisgender peers, and a recent survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality indicated that 26 percent of trans respondents had lost a job due to prejudice. Companies including Dell, Google and Amazon have been caught up in their own controversies involving the trans and larger LGBTQ community, proving the tech industry is not immune to this kind of discrimination.
To help pave the way for a more inclusive environment, Intuit announced over the weekend that it has teamed up with the GenderCool Project, an organization that educates the world about trans and non-binary kids, to create a new mentorship program meant specifically for transgender youth.
Intuit’s relationship with the GenderCool Project began about a year ago, when the financial software company hosted a Trans Summit, the first of its kind of Silicon Valley. GenderCool co-founder Gerah Goldstein said in a statement that the two organizations found that “there’s an opportunity for transgender and non-binary youth to have the opportunity to be included and to see what is possible.” So, this mentorship program was born.
Over a period of six weeks, each GenderCool “champion” will be paired with an Intuit employee virtually, during which time the employee will provide support and an insight into what it’s like to work in the tech industry. The goal is to both promote diversity in the workplace and be a way for participating youth to gain valuable career advice.
Global Pride Chair Cherise Slover said in a statement that Intuit is the first tech company to step into this space, “but we want to grow the program beyond our organization. We hope to lead the way for other companies so they too can initiate meaningful and tangible programs to support the LGBTQ+ community.”
