Transgender Rights in Canadian Law
Transgender rights tend to be a sensitive concept of the Canadian law. There have been numerous amendments that have been made to the Alberta Bill of Rights back in 2015 (Singh 18). This law identifies the gender expression and gender identity as one that is openly protected. Therefore, as the new Chief Diversity Officer in Hamilton Tomahawks, which is a new NHL team, it is easy to see that there are diversity variations regarding the team members' gender. Necessary steps need to be taken to make everyone comfortable in the team. Therefore, this paper will provide a solution to the organization's interests and recommend an implementation strategy.
Managing Reactions and Building Sensitivity
The best way to deal with this issue is to manage the staff and team members' reactions. This is an issue that is unique and can present numerous challenges for employees and the team members. Some of these members may deem transgender individuals as non-conforming people. However, others can show animosity and prejudices. The management should set a tone of sensitivity, mutual respect, and tolerance. The main idea is to handle the organization's members' adverse reactions efficiently. Therefore, one of the strategies that can be deployed may include having a meeting with the members to answer any queries regarding the transition. Also, some ground rules of what is expected from both the staff and other team members to avoid discrimination against their colleagues should be set (Schilt 4). The staff can also stop the negative reactions by being proactive. In addition, the team should adopt a nondiscrimination policy that openly treats the transgender individual differently from the rest.
Facilitating Gender-Identity Appropriate Facilities
The organization should also give the workers rational access to restroom facilities which should not have restrictions on how the staff should use them. In this, the transgender members should be able to use gender-identity appropriate facilities. However, the ideal implementation strategy would be to familiarize the other members of the team and staff through training. Additionally, there should also be clear indications of which behaviors are ideal and those that are not allowed in the organization. Even though these are strategies that are most ideal, it is more realistic to come up with policies based on self-identification acceptance. It is indicated in the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal that was created in 2012 that it is not right for any organization in question to insist that the staff or any member be treated by the gender that is given at birth for hiring purposes (Hines 23). This is because such behavior tends to fail to treat an individual by the person's "felt and lived" gender identity.
Involving all Team Members in the Implementation Process
In the implementation process, all the team members and the staff as well should be involved. This will speed up the training process, and the organizations' staff may not be faced with confusing situations. The CFO needs to be informed of the progress of the implementation for he or she is the one responsible for budgeting. However, numerous challenges and even resistance can take place. The primary challenge is the issue of discrimination and prejudice. In this, the people who will attend the game can harass the non-conforming people who decide to attend the game. Therefore, it is essential to know that when there is no sense of gender barriers in the organization, operations may run at an optimal. Having such issues in the organization only sets the institution backward.
Works Cited
Singh, Anneliese A., Sarah E. Meng, and Anthony W. Hansen. "I am my own gender": Resilience strategies of trans youth." Journal of Counseling " development 92.2 (2014): 18.
Schilt, Kristen, and Laurel Westbrook. "Doing Gender, Doing Heteronormativity: “Gender Normals,” Transgender People, and the Social Maintenance of Heterosexuality." Gender " Society 23.4 (2015): 4-6.
Hines, Sally, and Tam Sanger, eds. Transgender identities: Towards a social analysis of gender diversity. Routledge, 2016.
