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For employers

We wrote the following trans-friendly workplace guidelines for leaders in management and human resources in Singapore to work into their HR policies. While queer-friendly guidelines are available internationally, trans-specific recommendations are often missed out. Small and medium-sized companies can also adopt these guidelines, as it was designed with them in mind.

We are launching a trans-friendly employer list in Q3 2025 to help our community find inclusive workplaces. This has a set of criteria that is simplified from the list below. If you are interested in being listed as a trans-friendly employer, email us below!

Visit the trans-friendly employers list

Email us

Basic guidelines

These practical guidelines will help your organisation foster respectful equitable environments for all employees.

They were created by the Singaporean transgender community for leaders in Management and Human Resources of local companies to work into their HR policies.

Name

Allow employee to use their preferred name at work, including the name that is listed in the employee directory.

This name may not match their legal name, as some countries do not allow the change of legal names.

Sex and gender

Allow employees to be recognised as their identified gender, which may not match the sex stated in their legal documents.

There are many barriers to changing one’s legal sex in official documents, and it is not legally possible in some countries, such as the Philippines and Indonesia.

Pronouns

Respect each employee’s pronouns and honorifics, including less commonly used ones such as they/them.

In a trans-inclusive workplace, the HR team, as the owners of HR policy, should add pronouns or salutations to their email signatures.

Managers are also encouraged to express their allyship in this way.

Privacy

An employee’s legal name and sex are personally identifiable information protected by the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

Seek your employee’s permission for where, and with whom, their data would be shared.

Do not “out” trans employees to other co-workers without their consent.

Sharing their transgender status with other staff may lead to workplace harassment or discrimination.

Toilets

Allow your employees to access toilets corresponding to the gender they identify with, or consider having gender-neutral facilities.

Do not ask them to use the handicapped toilets, unless this is what they request.

Supporting resources

Support the creation of other resources (e.g. a Queer Employee Resource Group, mentorships, allyship programmes) to foster understanding and equitability for minority communities.

Dress code

Consider a gender-neutral dress code or uniform.

Focus on a professional or neat appearance, instead of specifying gendered restrictions (e.g. long hair, make-up, specific clothing articles).

Allow non-binary or transgender employees to dress according to their gender preferences.

Inclusive language

Adopt gender-neutral language in company policies and workplace communications.

For example, using “they” instead of “his/hers” when you are unsure about the right pronouns to use for someone.

If possible, include a glossary of trans-sensitive terms to the company dictionary.

Harassment prevention

Update anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies to be trans-inclusive.

Ensure all managers and business HR employees go through a form of trans-inclusive training to know how to support transgender employees.

Topics may include understanding transgender identities, healthcare and trans-specific harassment.

Recruitment

Be trans-inclusive on your careers website, job application process and application forms. e.g. address gender identity in diversity statements, and have a non-binary option in forms asking for gender.

Ensure interviewing managers know how to conduct interviews appropriately.

Health coverage

Include coverage for gender-affirming and transition healthcare in your company’s insurance plans.

If your company provides coverage for legal spouses and family, make accommodations to cover their life partners and children, who may not be legally recognised in Singapore due to various barriers.

It should be clear in the staff handbook, otherwise explicitly made clear to all employees, that such support is available.

Dos and don’ts

Dos

  • Allow employees to choose and confirm the name that will appear on their email addresses, name tags, name cards, access cards and other similar ID, as well as on intranet profiles or HR systems visible to other employees. This will also benefit employees with professional English names that differ from their legal names.
  • Gender information on the above should either be kept hidden (if it needs to match legal gender) or made editable.
  • Understand that a person’s legal gender may not match how they present themselves on a day-to-day basis. As changing gender marker is difficult in Singapore, there are many trans people who are years into transition but not legally recognised as that sex.
  • A simple way to do so would be to include a ‘Pronouns’ field in job application forms, with options including he/him, she/her, they/them and ‘Other: please specify’.
  • Avoid abusing this as a way to ‘find out’ if an employee is trans. If you are unsure about an employee’s gender, consider introducing yourself with your own pronouns. This lets them know it is safe for them to share their own if they wish, but does not pressure them to do so if they are not out or simply not comfortable doing so. Go with what they indicated on their job application until they request otherwise.
  • If honourifics are used in the company, allow employees to choose their own. Include ‘Mx’ as an option, which some people use as an alternative to Mr or Ms.
  • Encourage the use of pronouns or honourifics in email signatures.
    • e.g. “Alex Tan (Ms)” / “Alex Tan (she/her)”
    • This has a practical use — it may be hard to determine someone’s gender by their name, especially if a company deals with international clients. Managers and HR should be encouraged to do so as a small show of allyship.
  • If an employee’s legal name or gender information needs to be collected (e.g. for taxation or salary purposes), this information should be kept strictly confidential and not be made known or discoverable to other employees. Where it is necessary to share this information, the employee should be informed beforehand.
  • Consider potential avenues that may unwittingly out an employee. For example:
    • If passport scans or information are required for business trips, this should go direct to HR and not be submitted through other employees.
    • Some intranet profiles show a default male or female avatar based on the employee’s legal gender. Disable this if possible, or amend that employee’s gender in the system and keep their legal gender information separate.
    • Some companies have automated internal reports on employment demographics that may for instance indicate 3 out of 5 senior management are female, when one of them is a trans man who is only known to colleagues as male. Such reports should be based on employee’s indicated genders rather than legal genders.

    • Allow employees to access toilets of the gender they identify with, or have gender-neutral facilities.

  • For transgender employees who are newly out or recently started transitioning, their preferred toilets may change over time based on their own comfort and safety as well as not wanting to make others uncomfortable.
  • On company retreats and business trips, provide single room accommodations where possible. If rooms are instead shared and assigned by gender: for employees who are openly trans, ideally they would have supportive colleagues of the same gender who are comfortable sharing a room with them. If they are not openly trans, go with the gender they are known as, and confirm this is ok with them.
  • HR to assist in mediation if other employees raise concerns, striving for solutions that respect the dignity and privacy of all parties involved. (Hypothetical abuse scenarios of predators falsely pretending to be trans rarely occur in reality, and are even less applicable to workplaces where there are already anti-harassment policies in place, and where everyone is aware that a colleague is transgender and has been transitioning.)
  • As much as possible, avoid posting transgender employees to countries where being transgender is illegal or dangerous (this includes Malaysia and Indonesia, and anywhere in the Middle East). If this is necessary, have in place protocol to ensure their safety and their safe return to Singapore if they were to be arrested or assaulted. Should they decline the posting out of safety concerns, it should not negatively impact their job performance.
  • Some transgender employees who are visibly trans may not be comfortable with front-facing roles that could open them up to public harassment - discuss with them any concerns they may have and how the company can support them.
  • This can include processes for updating their names and gender markers in the system and documentation, notifying colleagues and/or clients, changing uniforms and so on.
  • Focus on a professional or neat appearance instead of specifying gendered restrictions (e.g. women must wear makeup and heels).
  • If restrictions are needed, they should be outfit-based (e.g. suits must be dark coloured and worn with ties) rather than gender-based. If this is a more traditional industry with distinct male or female dress codes or uniforms, employees should be able to choose the one they prefer, regardless of legal sex.
  • This also helps simplify workplace communication. The singular “they” has been part of the English language since the 14th century, and easier to say than “his or hers”.
  • Where applicable, include a glossary of sensitive terms to the company dictionary.
  • Include gender identity in diversity statements, and have a non-binary option in forms asking for gender. If necessary, this can be alongside a separate field for legal sex.
  • Anti-harassment training for managers should enable them to understand what constitutes harassment for transgender employees.
  • Develop processes for reporting and handling incidents of harassment or discrimination.
  • Hold trans employees accountable to the same standards of conduct as other employees.
    • In cases where they violate company policies, disciplinary action should never involve their trans status, e.g. by misgendering them or ceasing to allow them to wear their preferred uniform.
    • Like with any group of people, negative behaviour from one transgender employee should not be seen as a reflection on other or future transgender employees.
  • Trans employees should also be allowed to take (paid or unpaid) leave for surgeries, which can have recovery times of up to a month that usually exceed annual leave allocations.
  • These resource groups will help foster understanding and equitability for minority communities in the workplace, ensuring that your firm adheres to standards of equality and justice.
  • We are more than our transgender identity — some of us have built careers their whole lives and are subject matter experts, while others are incredibly talented in their field of work.
  • Hiring managers should know how to conduct interviews appropriately during the hiring process.
  • This will also help managers understand what an employee may have to undergo when they transition at work.

    • Don’ts

  • Some trans people prefer to remain closeted at work for their own comfort or safety, especially if they are non-binary or have just started transitioning. This does not necessarily reflect on how supportive your company is.
  • Mandating that a trans employee only use the gender-neutral facilities can be dehumanising, as it visibly segregates them from the rest of their colleagues on the basis that they might make others uncomfortable or pose a (sexual) threat. This separation will be reinforced every time they need to use the facilities, negatively affecting morale and job performance.
  • Trans people who are early in transition will typically use gender-neutral facilities for their own safety and not wanting to cause discomfort, but this is something to be done voluntarily rather than forced.
  • For trans people who are not visibly trans, banning them from the regular toilets will only draw attention to them and risk outing them.
  • For example, if a trans employee is an exemplary worker and would be a good fit for a more senior role, they should not be refused that promotion on the basis that it may make other colleagues uncomfortable or affect the company’s public image.
  • This constitutes sexual harassment.
  • This is simply rude and unprofessional.
  • In cases where you require their legal name, this should be requested with due respect or sensitivity.

    • We provide sensitisation training for employers, HR and hiring managers.

    If you would like to organise one or take part, reach out to us below!

    Email us