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Examining the Perception of Work-Related Skills for Transgender Employees

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Abstract

The current research sought to identify potential reasons for the prejudice and discrimination that transgender employees face in the workplace. Participants viewed a photograph of a potential employee with some participants randomly assigned to the experimental condition, which suggested the employee was transgender. Work-related skills and potential success in the workplace were evaluated. Participants tended to evaluate transgender employees lower on traits and skills important in the workplace, but there was no difference in the evaluation of potential success in the workplace. Results are discussed in terms of practical barriers that exist for transgender employees in the workplace.

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Acknowledgements

The findings and opinions presented are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Air Force, or the Department of Defense.

Funding

This research was supported by institutional funding granted to the first author by Texas Tech University.

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Correspondence to Lindsay Rice.

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The authors declare there is no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional committees involved (Texas Tech University IRB) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Rice, L., Currin, J.M., Snidman, H.R. et al. Examining the Perception of Work-Related Skills for Transgender Employees. Gend. Issues 39, 64–74 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-021-09278-3

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