When Sarah (not her real name) told her supervisor at a security company that she was transitioning to become a woman, his immediate response was to use an expletive and ask if she had cut off her genitalia.
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Sarah, a 29-year-old Singaporean, was then asked to wear a company shirt and track pants to work, remove her manicured nails and cut her hair, while there was no such dress code for her colleagues.
While she initially reported the incident to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), she decided not to pursue the matter after she was informed that her complaint would not be anonymous. She left the job in December.
“No LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] person in their right mind will make known their cases. If they do, it’s like a nuclear option. You need your job, but the company only gets a slap on the wrist,” Sarah said.
Sarah, who declined to have her real name published out of fear of repercussion, is one of around 65 per cent of transgender people who took part in a recent survey and said they had negative experiences in the workplace in Singapore, including harassment and verbal abuse.
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Over a third, or 36 per cent, had received unwelcome comments and questions on their “lifestyle”, sexual orientation, gender identity or sex life.