Abstract
PurposeThis study aims to test bigenderism, a universalistic theory that purports to explain why trans men employees enjoy greater organizational acceptance and superior economic outcomes compared to trans women employees.Design/methodology/approachRespondents were presented with one of two case studies in which they had to choose whether or not to respect the right of a trans employee to use the restroom of their choice at work. The only difference between the two case studies was the gender of the trans employee. In one case, the employee was a trans man and in the other case, the employee was a trans woman.FindingsThe gender of the trans employee had no impact on the choices of the respondents.Research limitations/implicationsThe chief research implication is that heightened discrimination against trans men may better be explained by situational theories of transphobia rather than the universalistic theory that was tested in this paper. The primary research limitation was the use of American undergraduate business students as respondents.Practical implicationsOrganizations need to be especially vigilant in protecting the restroom rights of their transgender employees, which may entail eliminating gender-segregated restrooms.Originality/valueThis paper is original in that it uses an experimental design to test the theory of bigenderism. It adds value by encouraging experimental research that examines situational theories of transphobia.
Highlights
In this paper, we study organizational reactions to transgender employees, whether trans men and trans women receive similar or dissimilar reactions
Restroom rights of transgender employees In this study, we focus on the rights of transgender employees to use the restrooms of their choice
The question is definitely worthy of further study, we continue to assume that there really are differential employment experiences for these two groups of transgender individuals and that our research failed to trigger any of its causes
Summary
We study organizational reactions to transgender employees, whether trans men and trans women receive similar or dissimilar reactions. The goal is to explore the perspective of bigenderism and improve understanding of other relevant theories. Transgender individuals and transphobia Transgender individuals Transgender individuals are those who exhibit:
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