Authentic enough? Navigating gender expression and social acceptance for transgender employees

Highlights

• This research follows 25 transgender employees over a two-year period, exploring their perceptions of colleagues’ reactions to their gender expression and their strategies for managing identity in the workplace.
• The findings reveal that expressing one’s “authentic self” is a complex and dynamic process, where individuals experiment with and discover genuine expressions of their gender identity while striving for social acceptance in the workplace.
• Recognizing that gender transition is often a complex, non-linear, and evolving process that may not follow a specific timeframe, organizations should adopt a flexible, long-term approach to fostering a supportive environment for transgender employees.

Despite increasing attention to transgender experiences in the workplace, little is known about how transgender individuals’ gender expression evolves during their transitions in professional settings. Professors Sophie Hennekam and Jamie Ladge address this gap through an in-depth study of transgender employees’ perceptions of colleagues’ reactions to their gender expression and the strategies they use to navigate their gender identities at work.

Conducted in the Netherlands, the study involved 25 transgender employees from diverse occupations who participated in four interviews over a two-year period. These interviews captured their reflections on past experiences, current realities, and future aspirations. By documenting these narratives at four intervals throughout the transition process, this research offers insights into how transgender employees’ gender expression evolves over time at different stages of the transition, enriching our understanding of how transgender individuals navigate their evolving identities in a professional context.

The researchers found that gender expression for transgender employees evolves in a three-stage process, including: initiating, performing, and continuing.

Initiating transition at work

The authors identified three key triggers that prompted participants to begin their workplace transitions: 1) a sense of readiness cultivated through personal experiences outside of work, 2) the realization that continuing to express their gender in ways that felt inauthentic was no longer sustainable, 3) a desire to be seen and validated by colleagues in a way that aligned with their self-perception. For many, the decision to transition was accompanied by a sense of inevitability, expressed through sentiments like “I don’t have a choice” and “concealment is not a real option.” At this stage, participants held a clear vision of their “true” or authentic self and expressed a strong desire to embody this identity in their professional lives.

For many, the decision to transition was accompanied by a sense of inevitability, expressed through sentiments like “I don’t have a choice”

Performing: Ongoing self-discovery

Following the initial stage of expressing their envisioned authentic self, many transgender employees entered the “performing” stage, characterized by changes in physical appearance and behavior to align with their gender expression. During this phase, many engaged in experimentation, exploring different versions of expressing their gender identity.

While most participants felt their changes were generally accepted – particularly those that conformed to societal norms of male and female behavior – some struggled to experience their gender displays as fully authentic. What initially felt true to them began to shift, leading to a reimagining of their “true self” as they learned more about themselves and responded to feedback from colleagues. This trial-and-error approach was instrumental in their journey toward a gender expression that felt both authentic and socially acceptable.

Continuing: Authenticity as dynamic

In the continuing stage, many transgender employees adopted an “authentic enough” gender expression – a balance between personal authenticity and social acceptance. This phase highlights the nonlinear nature of identity transition: there is a dynamic interplay between the desire to express one’s gender authentically and the need to feel accepted by others.

There is a dynamic interplay between the desire to express one’s gender authentically and the need to feel accepted by others.

Authenticity as an evolving process

These findings challenge the notion that individuals inherently know how to express their authentic selves or that authenticity has a definitive endpoint. Instead, the authors posit that authenticity emerges as an evolving process, shaped through ongoing interactions with others. As Professor Hennekam notes, “People don’t know what it is or how to be authentic… And when they start trying to express it, they may realize that it’s different from what they thought.”

For transgender employees, gender expression in the workplace is often an evolving journey involving experimentation and adaptation. Rather than arriving at a final, unchanging sense of self, authenticity is better understood as an ongoing process of self-discovery, shaped by personal insights and external feedback.

Flexible and long-term organizational support

The study also highlights the importance of organizations viewing gender transition as a non-linear and evolving process. As Professor Hennekam observed, some progressive organizations still tend to frame gender transition as a simple, time-bound progression: “They tend to see it as a process that will be limited in time… as long as [transgender employees] stick perfectly to the plan, things are really okay.”

However, this rigid perspective can be unsupportive when individuals deviate from expected timelines or experience periods of self-revision. To foster a truly inclusive environment, organizations should adopt a flexible, long-term approach that acknowledges the complexities of transitioning and accommodates its evolving nature.

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Research brief prepared by:

Kuan Su