Trans* Success

Marci L. Bowers is an American gynecologist, and is viewed as an innovator in the field of transgender surgery, as well as a pioneer, being the first transsexual woman to be performing the surgery. Bowers graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1986, where she was president of both her class, and the entire student body.

Bowers later went on to study under the late Dr. Stanley Biber, a surgeon who performed over 4,000 transgender surgeries, who is credited for giving Trinidad the title of “Sex Change Capital of the World.” She also operated a surgical practice in Trinidad, Colorado. Though has more recently moved her practice to California in December 2010.

Before moving to Trinidad, Bowers had a successful practice at the PolyClinic in Seattle, and has delivered over 2000 babies. Served as Obstetrics and Gynecology Department Chairperson at Swedish (Providence) Medical Center, and was named the only physician member of the Washington State midwifery Board. She was also named one of America’s Best Physicians for the 2002 to 2003 awards, and is a member-elect of the European Academy of Sciences.

When Biber retired in 2003 at the age of 80, Bowers took over his practice, and since then, has done over 300 sexual reassignment surgeries, performing about five operations per week at Mt. San Rafael hospital. Bowers says her surgeries bring an estimated $1.6 million per year to the hospital; she performs an average of 130 surgeries per year and charges $21,500 per MTF genital reassignment surgery, a substantial portion of which covers hospital costs. She also puts her expertise in vaginoplasty at the disposal of victims of female genital mutilation, whom she does not charge for surgery.

Cisco Systems offers a wide variety of diversity programs, including trans programs.  They host several ways for employees to learn acceptance and inclusion, including but not limited to:

• Connecting with Others Inclusion Workshop. This workshop teaches Cisco employees five strategic skills necessary to connect with a wider range of individuals.
• Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts. These six techniques teach Cisco employees how to address stereotypes and bias.
• Safe-Space Training. This training helps create an environment of dignity and respect, where everyone can bring her or his true self into the Cisco workplace.

Cisco also has a Resource Group known as the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, & Advocates Network.  Which Creates a climate embracing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals as part of the Cisco family and valuing them for their contributions to the company and their local and global communities. The Cisco Inclusion and Diversity Executive Board was recently acknowledged by industry peers in receiving the Annual Diversity Council Honors Award. Since its conception, the Board has:

• Added inclusion and diversity goals for every employee as part of the annual focal review process
• Equalized healthcare benefits for gay, lesbian, and transgender (GLBT) employees

Simply Hired LGBT Search Engine for friendly jobs in your area.

This is a relatively new job search engine. Simply Hired has coupled their search engine technology with the Human Rights Campaign list of companies that support LGBT employees. It’s easy to do, you simply do a search with the Simply Hired LGBT filter on and out pop the jobs!  Merely click the link above to start searching.  Or, you can check out some other available search engines on Simply Hired.

Other available search engines include:

• Diversity
• Age 50+
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• Green
• New Graduate
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AT&T, the telecommunications giant, provides unisex restrooms for transitioning employees and works closely with LEAGUE, the company’s 24-year-old LGBT group, to ensure that corporate policies are sensitive to the needs of transgender people.  You can view more about AT&T’s policies on their Workforce Diversity page.

Google’s trans health benefits now cover transitioning procedures and treatment in accordance with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) Standards of Care, and include gender reassignment surgical procedures determined to be medically necessary by a doctor. Some of the procedures covered by Google’s health care plan include genital surgery as well as facial feminization for transgender women and pectoral implants for transgender men — surgeries that can be considered medically necessary depending on the “unique clinical situation of a given patient’s condition and life situation,” according to WPATH’s seventh version of care standards, published in September.

Google also has more than doubled the maximum dollar amount for transgender health care benefits, from $35,000 to $75,000, the minimum amount required for a 100% rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index.  The benefits are covered by the company’s existing insurance providers and apply to domestic employees. Google is considering extending similar benefits to international employees, though it does not currently have a timeline for doing so.

In June, Google joined a small but growing list of companies that offer additional salary for gay employees whose domestic-partner health insurance benefits are taxed as income by the federal government — a result of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act. In the practice, known in benefits parlance as “gross-ups,” employers reimburse workers for the added tax incurred, which averages around $1,069 a year, according to a 2007 study by UCLA’s Williams Institute.

“We’re always looking for new ways to create a more inclusive culture and support our employees,” said Sarah Stuart, program manager of Google’s global diversity and inclusion team. “The decision to improve our benefits for our LGBT employees started as a grassroots effort driven by the Gayglers, who worked closely with our benefits team.”

Johnson & Johnson is a Fortune 500 company that provides coverage for gender-reassignment surgery as well as mental health counseling.  Carol Goodrich, Johnson & Johnson’s director of corporate media relations, says the company’s LGBT affinity group keeps human resources apprised of necessary policy changes and updates. “We’ve got a very strong LGBT community at Johnson & Johnson,” Goodrich says.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has insurance benefits for employees of this pharmaceutical company, which manufactures and distributes several HIV medications, that include coverage for short-term leave after gender-reassignment surgery, mental health counseling, hormone therapy, and medical visits.

Employee resource groups are open to all employees and focus on activities that foster understanding and inclusion in the Bristol-Myers Squibb workplace. The groups provide opportunities for employees to network and continue their professional growth and development.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies group acts as a resource to support and enhance Bristol-Myers Squibb’s success. The group addresses the needs and concerns of company employees who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender as well as their families, friends or colleagues with the goal of creating a working environment in which each individual is treated with respect and dignity.

Toyota: The carmaker’s American operations cover medical treatments needed by transgender people, and the company actively recruits LGBT candidates. In June, for Pride month, Toyota’s North American sales and distribution headquarters in Torrance, Calif., hosted trans actress Candis Cayne, who spoke to employees about her experience in the workplace.

In 2008 General Motors was the only automotive company to attend a job fair at Atlanta’s Southern Comfort, an annual conference on transgender issues. Meanwhile, Tina Seitz, who transitioned in 2006 while working at GM, tells us that during that time her employer recruited her to assist in creating transgender-related training materials for the company. “GM has made every effort to go beyond merely tolerating transgender individuals,” Seitz says. “They’ve reached out, striving to learn what the company can do to make our work experience as stress-free and rewarding as possible.”

GM’s It Gets Better Video