It’s a well proven fact that in any organisation or team setting, the more perspectives there are the better the chance of the best outcome. A business needs finance, marketing and IT perspectives (to name a few) to function at its best – with only one perspective, it won’t get the whole picture and most likely won’t succeed at all. Sports teams need goal-kickers and defenders (to name a few). And for that matter if an individual is able to see more perspectives, they can make better decisions for themselves in all areas of their life.
Trans women therefore have a massive part to play in debates around gender equity, including in relation to International Women's Day. We’re all aware of issues faced by women in society, such as intimate partner violence, harassment in workplaces and disproportionate representation at high levels in the corporate sector and politics. The perspectives of trans women (and trans men and non-binary people as well) lead to unique insights into issues around gender identity and expression of gender that smash through existing limitations and can create social and economic gain for all.
This leads to discussion of an often overlooked consequence of all forms of discrimination, both anti-female and anti-trans prejudices (which can overlap). It’s not just women and trans who lose. An organisation loses because it misses out on part of those diverse skills and perspectives that it needs to achieve best success. In a worse-case scenario an organisation not only loses those benefits, it often incurs extra costs ranging from absenteeism through to legal settlements. Society loses innovation and creativity, loses taxation revenue and may pay extra costs in areas like health care when people are less productive due to harassment and discrimination.
The idea of trans and gender diverse people being innovators in society is as old as our planet itself. The two-spirit tribes of North America were revered for their unique skills. Sistergirls (and brotherboys) and their uniqueness have been a part of our land for at least 70,000 years. Sadly, these amazing insights have been largely buried over time. In “western” culture what we today call trans and gender diverse are often sadly marginalised to a large extent. Again, no one is better off as a result of this negativity; when we can instead flip it over and value everyone’s perspectives, the positive possibilities can be infinite.
I think of the amazing creativity of trans women such as Lynn Conway (IT pioneer), Lana Wachowski (movies) and Laverne Cox (actor) to name a few. I think of the amazing traits such as resilience and determination of trans women all over the world. Building on these will be a major game-changer for everyone.
Personally, today, I am extremely excited to be inducted into the Victorian Honour Role of Women. I look forward to continuing to work for ending stigma and valuing uniqueness in all people and blasting through some gender walls and ceilings, to create better outcomes for all people of all genders.
