…and working for an employer who viewed me as a threat actor
In 2022, I was featured on the SharePoint homepage of my employer at the time, along with another employee, for Transgender Day of Visibility. The article was written by Corporate Communications and assessed by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team. I was with my last employer from 2021 to 2024, and I couldn’t help but notice that the corporate pride group was, at the time, white-led and white dominated. At every meeting I attended, the queer people of color attending could more often than not, be counted on both hands and not more than that.
My story, captured by Corporate Communications, focused exclusively on my experience as a person of color in the queer community. The team member who originally wrote my story with the information I provided was wonderful to work with, and she did a fantastic job in crafting the story to bring awareness to my perspective and grant me a voice. Shortly before it was time for the story to be published, it was sent to a senior member of Corporate Communications and the director of DEI for a final check. I was then made aware that the entire focus of the piece had been changed and another (white) trans employee included, seemingly to meet a word count. What was left was a piece that did more to boost the image of my employer rather than bring awareness to trans healthcare workers.
I was happy that another queer employee was also provided with an opportunity to share their perspective, and I gave praise to corporate for attempting to bring simple awareness to trans employees, letting them know that I thought it was a good place to start but that it was also the bare minimum, and they responded that they only aimed for simple awareness. So much content was edited out that it was unsettling to see my perspective as a queer Desi almost vanish entirely from the final piece, and I conveyed this sentiment in an email. Despite the article being touted as an opportunity for transgender employees to be heard, I, along with the other employee, had to remind the individuals responsible for the piece to include our identities as trans and gender non-conforming individuals when introducing us in the article.
The original story, which I believe accurately captures the message that I was trying to convey by sharing my perspective as a queer person of color in healthcare, can be found below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13INNMgkR3MN4E9Jtak-0zefZp9WO0hTPhchZ1Nyv9-E/edit?usp=sharing
I am no longer with my former employer. After a long series of events that started with my trans identity being outed during an inconclusive investigation, then gained momentum when a former manager who continuously misgendered me mentioned my Autism diagnosis on a yearly evaluation after I requested accommodations. Eventually, these culminated in being let go and denied unemployment. This was despite being previously granted a performance-based raise for aiding in leading a project that made patient care more efficient and coding for my team (something outside of my job description). This could not have come at a worse time. I was still recovering from my role as a full-time caregiver for my first partner, who passed away from chronic illness during my employment. The impact of her death led me to seek FMLA.
The reason I was let go also cited a day that I was on approved FMLA within the reason for dismissal. Before you ask, yes, I did look for another position under new management, and while I found a position and got along fairly well with my new team, that role failed to provide appropriate training. I also noticed that my access to certain areas that my new team had access to was in some cases restricted and locked down for me. In other words, I was subject to undue scrutiny ever since the investigation that impacted my ability to perform essential functions of my role. I ended up biding my time and embellishing my review of management while job searching, knowing I wouldn’t receive what I needed to be successful while working for my former employer.
I had caught the Information Security team’s eye and was made to meet with the director at the time, who also, coincidentally, left their position with my former employer within the same timeframe. During this meeting, I was asked a series of questions and told that if I wanted to gain their trust, I could report areas where I noticed vulnerabilities and in doing so, I would have a chance to work for their team. I did – reporting when the entire laboratory’s servers were stored in an unlocked closet accessible to anyone who walked through an unsecured door leading directly from outside the building, and pointing out several areas it would be useful to have surveillance cameras, as well as letting my new manager know that in my previous position I was able to make edits to the Windows registry where I wanted to as a normal user in order get my program to work, unflagged. I was still let go, and that offer of working for InfoSec never did make its way to me, but I noticed when visiting the hospital that my reports were noted, doors locked, and cameras put in place.
I did report my workplace to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This was around the time the Trump administration had started taking down government pages and believe it or not, the EEOC’s portal went down during a time-sensitive part of submitting my case, and the individual responsible for handling my case had also failed to properly complete their part, which prevented me from moving forward. The time to act on my case had passed by the time the portal was back online. It wasn’t my first report against my former employer. Alarmingly, every countless queer employee I’ve met since finding a new position has held the same sentiment of “fuck that place” and on every post about the hospital in local community Facebook Pages, I note what is overwhelmingly the same sentiment.
EDIT:
Even more surprising to me was the fact that a new position within the hospital they strive to compete against, a Catholic healthcare institution, led me to feeling safer and less scrutinized as a queer, neurodivergent employee. In fact, I met more queer people who felt safe in their work environment within the first year of working for my new employer than I ever did while working for my previous employer. My accommodations weren’t even made to feel like accommodations I had to request; my working style was just supported from the start, and I was encouraged to work in a way that works best for me to accomplish my objectives.
The adjustments I did make were accepted without retaliation – something new to me. Not only that, but the information security team employed at my current job seem to have things under tight lock and key, which only raises my respect for them. As an employee, the difference is night and day. At least it was, until new management with less experience took over. The real tradeoff being that gender-affirming care is unfortunately not covered by my new employer.
As a patient, I preferred the care I received at the hospital I worked for prior, but this has changed since my last appointment in 2025 where I explicitly told my provider, in front of my wife, that I do not consent to so-called artificial intelligence (AI) being used to transcribe my patient health information and the provider in question proceeded to use AI and state in my after-visit documentation that I gave my verbal consent. It was this same provider that omitted a previous test I told her about from my notes and challenged why I needed to know about the care I was receiving as a patient and what I could possibly do with the information.
After I pushed back and voiced that it was my right as a patient to be informed on my care, she tried to pressure me into allowing her to perform a pap exam during a first-time visit to establish care and then proceeded to mock me when I voiced surprise and unease that a doctor I had never met before was asking to perform such an invasive procedure during their first appointment with me, especially as I already have a gynecologist on my care team. I opted to switch providers as I’m not fond of medical misogyny, but I was reminded of why I’m glad to not be affiliated as an employee of that hospital anymore.
While I lost access to gender-affirming care as a direct result of the way my previous workplace handled my identity as both a queer and neurodivergent employee in need of accommodation, it led me to find a space where, overall, I do feel represented and supported as an employee given access to the resources I need to grow in my role. It’s clear that at the time I did in fact lack something that was essential to succeed in a role with my former employer that both my managers there had that I did not, and that thing seems to be a mugshot.
My first five years of working for corporate have been quite the ride.
Interestingly enough, Carle was previously found guilty of firing a lesbian nurse after she revealed her partner of 18 years was dying and took time off to care for her.