Trans am I

Trans rights has become a hot-button global issue, influencing UK Conservative Party leadership races and emerging as a major point of difference between the Republican and Democratic parties in the US.

In the literary world, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has become a reactionary suppressing transgender rights or a brave voice fighting for women’s freedom – depending on your viewpoint – for arguing that sexual identity (DNA) should trump gender identity when it comes to women-only spaces.

Global sports bodies are grappling with the issue of whether transgender women should be able to compete in female sport. The Olympics says ‘Yes’. World swimming body FINA says ‘No’. World cycling body UCI says ‘Yes’. Rugby league’s IRL says ‘No’. And so on.

In the business world, the emergence of pronouns on emails signals a rising awareness of, and support for, transgender people within a larger framework of respect for LGBTQIA+ people, however they identify.

Discussion of trans rights pits ideas of inclusion against traditions of exclusion. It contrasts socially modern liberalism with traditional, often deeply held, ideas about sexuality and gender roles.

Trans in governance

Cathy Parker CMInstD transitioned in the mid-2000s. She is the founder of Adrenalin Publishing, sits on the boards of the Magazine Publishers Association (MPA) and the advisory board for the Superdiversity Institute, and has chaired the New Zealand Audit Bureau of Circulations. New Zealand’s governance community has been accepting of her gender switch, which reflects the generally tolerant attitude of Kiwis to LGBTQIA+ people, she says.

“I was on an industry board when I transitioned 16 years ago. I thought I was going to have to stand down,” Parker says. “They said, ‘no silly, of course we want you on the board. You have still got the same skills you had last week’. I was accepted for who I am.”

Broad support for gay marriage, even among people who are religious, demonstrates a thread of tolerance in New Zealand society that contrasts with the sometimes vitriolic and hateful public dialogue directed at the rainbow community in other countries. “While trans rights are a bit behind gay marriage as an issue, I feel that New Zealanders are accepting,” Parker says.

Over the past decade, the governance community has become more aware of the value of diversity of thought to board decision-making. This is part of a global trend, backed by a plethora of research that shows diverse boards are best-equipped to lead organisations in challenging times. This is seen in the gradual increase in the number of women on boards, and moves to support ethnic diversity.

Parker believes diversity is an all-encompassing concept of the particular value a particular person can bring to a board based on their specific background. “That should apply across everything – ethnicity, sexuality, religion, gender or anything else. It should be a consistent policy across all areas.”

Trans people bring something to the board table that other people cannot. “In my case, I have seen the world from both sides of the gender lens,” Parker says.

“I mixed in my younger times with primarily male groups and got a really good understanding of the male psyche, how males think. In the past 16 years, I have mixed primarily with female groups and I have a strong understanding of the female psyche. Not many people can bring both of those perspectives to the table.”

Trans people are also likely to have suffered adversity and become more resilient because of it, she says. “Totally upending your life in a number of ways builds a strength of character.

“I could have hidden away in my office and not gone anywhere, but I have purposefully pushed myself into governance and public speaking on the basis that the more people who meet a trans person, and see that we are normal, the more acceptance there will be out there.”

Backdrop of hate 

According to the US-based Human Rights Campaign, 27 laws were filed across various US states in 2021 that reduced the rights of transgender youth. In the US, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had a public spat with Disney when its CEO Bob Chapek criticised a law prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity at junior schools. DeSantis retaliated by removing the special tax status of Florida’s Disney World.

It’s part of a political movement in the US known as the culture war, in which transgender rights are a prime target. “There is some pushback from religious conservatives, which in the US is essentially the Republican Party,” Parker says.

“They have much stronger religious views than you find in many countries, such as New Zealand or Australia. Politicians have been looking for a hot-button issue among the Christian community and trans rights is one.”

In Parker’s view, it is part of a broader philosophy of male dominance among some US Christian groups. “They have a view that God created men and women, and men should be in charge. Women – and others – shouldn’t have too many rights. We are seeing this in pushback, in Roe v Wade being annulled by the US Supreme Court. They would love to roll back gay marriage and other things that don’t sit comfortably with their world view.”

As equalities minister before her short-lived time as UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss disbanded the LGBT Advisory Panel and scrapped proposals to allow for gender self-identification.

Parker says the political mileage to be found in attacking trans rights comes from fear in some sections of the community that they are losing power. “Suddenly, women are going to university and becoming leaders; gay people are getting married. They feel that is somehow affecting their rights.”

There is also an ongoing dispute with feminists, such as JK Rowling, who are concerned that trans women may be a danger to biological women. “The other group that has always been a bit anti-trans are trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs). They have been around since the 70s, particularly in the lesbian community but also outside of it. They dislike anything that has connotations of maleness – including trans people that used to live as male.

“I met one lady who was thrown out of a commune in the 1970s because she had a son, and her male baby might pollute the group. So there are some very ‘out there’ views.”

Nevertheless, Parker feels the general population of England and the US do not share the anti-trans opinions of some in their populations.

Anti-trans New Zealand?

“In New Zealand, we have not seen much anti-trans rights activity,” Parker says. “We do have our share of opponents, generally among the evangelical – rather than the mainstream – religions. There is the Speak Up for Women group [which supports gender choice, but sees ‘women’ as defined by sex] , with relatively small numbers, whereas you have the National Council of Women of New Zealand coming out and saying trans women are women, as do Global Women, which I am a member of. So our mainstream groups are tolerant. In general, that’s what I have seen in our community. You don’t really see any outward hostility.”

While Parker has not experienced discrimination in her governance career, she says it is difficult to know if there is an anti-trans current there. “The hard question is, ‘has it affected my ability to get onto boards?’ You can never know that because you don’t know the reasons you were not selected. I’d have to say that, probably, it isn’t an issue.”

As an IoD member, she has always felt welcome at events. The one potential issue she sees is in how the governance community may define the idea of a ‘woman’ in the future. “If we ever come down to having quotas on boards, accepting that trans women are part of the female quota. That’s probably the only issue we might have to address.”