This comes after TGNS lawyers received more than 300 complaints of workplace discrimination last year.
The TGNS campaign, launched on Wednesday, includes the website transwelcome.chExternal link which contains information about “Being trans and coming out in the work environment”.
Some 50 Swiss companies and institutions including Swiss Post, the Swiss Federal Railways, and ETH Zurich have already signed a declaration of commitment to a trans-friendly workplace.
The TGNS is urging Swiss employers to play a stronger role in improving the integration of trans people in the workplace. It says the Swiss government, cantons and municipalities as the largest employers must set a good example and create an “inclusive work culture” which supports trans people.
Difficulties
The unemployment rate for Swiss transgender people is 20% – five times higher than the Swiss national average. According to Alecs Recher, head of legal advice at TGNS, this is often because of challenges transgender people face at work after coming-out. “The negative experiences include bullying, unfair references, but also sexual harassment and dismissals,” he told the Swiss News Agency.
According to Recher, almost all complaints handled during an arbitration process result in a favourable outcome for the trans person involved, even though complainants rarely receive financial compensation from their employers. “Yet simply hearing that they have been wronged is very important to these people,” said Recher.
A new, non-representative survey External linkconducted by TGNS which questioned 140 transgender people in German- and French-speaking Switzerland found that for one in five participants, their coming-out had not been successful.
The study, which was co-financed by the Swiss Federal Office for Gender Equality (EBG), found that around 25% of participants lost their jobs after coming out, or experienced a deterioration of their professional situation. Less than half of all participants said that they felt accepted at work in their new gender, and 25% said that they had received little or no support from their employer.
More
More
Demographics
In the wrong body
This content was published on
Niklaus Flütsch has reservations about the red tape surrounding his transgender identity. He is a successful gynaecologist who lives as a man. But as he was born a woman and doesn’t want to go through the bureaucratic procedures to change his official records, his passport still has an “F” next to the word gender. Sabine…
ETH climate researcher honoured with the German Environmental Award
This content was published on
Swiss climate researcher Sonia Isabelle Seneviratne from ETH Zurich receives the German Environmental Award 2025. She shares the prize, endowed with 500,000 euros, with the management duo of the steel galvanising company Zinq.
Police end attempted occupation of Zurich’s Platzspitz square
This content was published on
A large contingent of police prevented an attempted occupation of the Platzspitz area behind the National Museum in Zurich on Friday afternoon. They checked over 200 people and ordered them away. The group of occupiers cited anti-capitalist motives as the reason for the action.
Adoption reform for Swiss children conceived from donated sperm
This content was published on
Swiss government wants to make it easier for children conceived from donated sperm to be adopted by the partner of their legal parent.
Swiss climate policy favours incentives over taxes from 2030
This content was published on
Swiss climate policy from 2030 favours incentives to reduce CO2 emissions and an additional emissions trading system over taxes.
This content was published on
Gay or lesbian parents are almost non-existent in the Swiss mainstream media, unlike in the United States. But are things changing?
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.