Should I Stay or Should I Go? Employment Discrimination and Workplace Harassment against Transgender and Other Minority Employees in Canada’s Federal Public Service

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is a growing literature interested in the workplace experiences of transgender individuals. The biggest limitation for researchers in this field continues to be the dearth of population-level data that captures information on gender identity and employment characteristics. Using the 2017 Public Service Employee Survey, this paper explores employment discrimination and workplace harassment against gender diverse (transgender, non-binary, genderqueer) and other minority employees working in Canada’s federal public service. This study finds that gender diverse employees are between 2.2 and 2.5 times more likely to experience discrimination and workplace harassment than their cisgender male coworkers. Cisgender women, visible minorities, Indigenous, and those with disabilities are also more likely to report discrimination and workplace harassment. Cisgender women and gender diverse employees who occupy multiple minority statuses may experience an additive likelihood of discrimination and harassment. This study also finds that employee retention can be improved by providing more inclusive and tolerant workplaces.