Every parent. Every person who cares about our most vulnerable. Every business with a commitment to inclusion. Now is the time for our clarion call.
Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced from state to state in the last few years. The targets are now squarely the most vulnerable among us, LGBTQ children. This is unconscionable. We are tracking the latest legislation targeting transgender youth and their parents in Texas and LGBTQ kids in Florida.
Out & Equal and The GenderCool Project are LGBTQ+ organizations that work to create cultures of belonging in workplaces, schools, and communities where every transgender and nonbinary person can live authentically and thrive. But more importantly, the two of us are the parents of beautiful, smart, and immensely loved transgender and nonbinary children. We know that when people simply have the chance to meet our children, their opinions change. They see what we see. Thriving, kind, hard working kids.
There are hundreds of thousands of transgender and nonbinary children who are thriving in every community across this country. And the population is growing rapidly.
Right now, transgender youth are being told that by simply being transgender, they are putting their parents, teachers, and doctors at risk of being reported for child abuse. We know that so many families in and outside of Texas are traumatized. The impacts reach far beyond the borders of Texas.
Take action:
- Speaking directly to companies in these states, companies with operations in these states, and to the many people living in these states, now is the time to organize and speak out against this latest attack on transgender youth. We’re asking you to think about how all of this legislation and directives affect your own internal policies, healthcare benefits, the safety of your workforce, and their families. The protections and trans-inclusive benefits your company provides are being directly threatened by anti-trans state legislation and directives that put workers and their families at risk.
- Anyone at any level can get involved in speaking out about what is happening to transgender youth across our country. Out & Equal has a helpful toolkit for ERGs with starting points for corporate advocacy and best practices for public policy engagement, including the decisions on who to get involved, when to speak out, and why it’s important to weigh in on issues like this. You can join the conversation on social media with organizations, advocates, and other businesses doing this work using #YouBelong #txlege, and #ProtectTransYouth.
As parents, we have an instinctual response to protect our children. Our children are thriving because they are loved and affirmed. In this moment, it is our duty to channel that same instinctual response to protect all transgender children.
Thank you,
Erin Uritus, CEO, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Jennifer Grosshandler, Founder, The GenderCoolProject
