Transpeople have been struggling to find work that would accept them as who they are. A workspace that is not just non-discriminatory but also inclusive is a requirement that needs to be fulfilled and Periferry is doing its bit. They are making sure that companies have the education that would make them and their environment more inclusive.

To achieve this goal and simultaneously ensure that transpeople have enough opportunities to be a part of these new inclusive work environments,Periferry started REVIVE programme. REVIVE trains transpeople in important skills that would make them more hireable.

Freja’s experinece

Freja was from Periferry’s REVIVE batch. She got a placement at HP after she completed her programme.

This is what she said about the experience, “So at the time, I was just in my sixth semester of college. I was not done with college yet and I desperately needed a job and so a friend of mine mentioned that there is this organisation called Periferry in Chennai that helps Trans people find jobs and of course that captivated me enough. And I just contacted Periferry from the website form that was available. I did not manage to do a lot of research as to what Periferry really did or what the background of the company was. I just knew that I desperately needed a job and I filled up the form. And after filling up the form, I wasn’t expecting much honestly but then a couple of weeks later I got a call. I thought that the recruitment process would be “oh yeah, we are going to help you find a job.”

The programme

“Then we get to know that there is a two-month REVIVE  training that I am going to have to attend so then I did. Again, I just decided to pack my bags and leave and come for REVIVE training. I did not know back then exactly what I was going in for but I am glad that I did because it proved to be worth it. So I came here for Periferry and it was amazing!”

TransInn

There is also a place to stay for people who are getting the training called TransInn. Freja shares her experience of it by saying, “And these two months of training with Periferry were so important because in these two months it felt like I was living life for the first time, that’s the TransInn, I think we are going to talk about it later. But TransInn by Periferry helps them for two months during the training and I started crying about how I just needed a job ASAP before the training and I did not want to go back to my hometown and Periferry helped me with that as well. I was placed, and I was sitting for interviews towards the last week of the training. So I sat for interviews and luckily I got into HP and then it was just a path of independence for me so that was it.”

A path to independence at HP

Freja’s journey at HP, as she describes it was “awesome, everybody is accepting and the work is great so it’s awesome at HP.”

What can companies do to make the workplace more inclusive?

According to Freja, after having worked at HP, these are things that companies need to ensure to be more inclusive:

1. The first step would be, most definitely, to acknowledge right? That Trans people exist and need support and that we need to hire them.
2. Then starting from inclusive initiatives to insurance and healthcare, it all adds up and a lot of Trans people go through depression and a lot of mental health issues that need to be taken care of.
3. Then, there is the upskilling that needs to happen because a lot of trans people come with no educational background at all because they do not have access to education. And even if they do it is the kind of trauma and the background that they grew up in, it is really hard for them to make the best and to utilise the most of the education that they had access to. So I think upskilling would be one of the major things.
4. Then of course, there are other things that could be acknowledged, the first step would be insurance and surgery needs. You know, things that Trans people go through during HRT. I will give you an example of my friend who started her HRT at the age of 30 and just because of that she started facing major health complications in terms of feeling weak when she went on hormones.
   So companies need to acknowledge this and they need to ensure that the Trans employees working for them are healthy and are mentally well and also regularly upskilled.