Ever since the North Carolina State Legislature signed a bill requiring individuals to use restroom facilities that align with their sex – as detailed on their birth certificate – transgender rights has been a national conversation. The question on seemingly everyone's minds has been some variation of the following: Should individuals be allowed to enter the restroom facility of the gender in which they identify with or only the one that corresponds with the gender given at birth?
Both sides present worthy arguments for and against, but when it comes to employee benefits and whether they extend to the transgendered community, few workplaces have addressed this issue as of yet. However, the trend may be shifting, based on the results of a new poll.
According to a recent survey conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, approximately 1 in 10 employers, or 12 percent, offer health benefits to transgender workers.
A potential explanation for why the rate is so small may be because the transgender community represents an extremely small percentage of the U.S. population. While there aren't any official numbers indicating the precise total, most estimates put the rate at between 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, The New York Times reported.
IFEBP Director of Research Julie Stich noted that most businesses prioritize inclusiveness, including of those belonging to the Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender community.
"Employers continue to expand their employee benefit offerings to attract the best employees," Stich explained. "Offering transgender-inclusive benefits is another step toward meeting the needs of a diverse workforce."
Because large businesses and firms by definition have a more sizeable footprint – made up of potentially thousands of staff members, depending on how broad a reach workplaces extend – it's only natural that they're more likely to have addressed the transgender issue. Nearly 30 percent of employers with 10,000 or more workers are transgender-inclusive as it pertains to employee benefits, the IFEBP survey found. Meanwhile, the same can be said for only 4 percent of businesses with staff totals of 50 or fewer.
Gender reassignment surgery included in some benefit plans
In some instances, when employees are questioning their gender identities, businesses offer plans that cover certain medical treatments. According to the IFEBP survey, nearly 11 percent of transgender-inclusive benefits provide coverage for mental health counseling both before and after surgery and 8 percent cover at least a portion of the surgery expenses for gender reassignment.
Stich said she has no doubt that more workplaces will take up this issue, if for no other reason that to give people who are looking for a job more options.
"Employees are looking for inclusive organizations that offer a range of benefits to serve a diverse population," said Stich. "I expect going forward, we'll see even more organizations offering transgender benefits as part of their overall health care offerings."
Where does the public stand?
Numerous polls have been published over the past several months detailing where Americans come down on this controversial topic. Frank Newport, editor in chief for the survey research firm Gallup, referenced how society is still pretty divided, with no single opinion or take having come to the forefront just yet.
"I think that at this point, I would be most likely to say that the American public has not formed firm opinions on the new issue of policies or laws surrounding transgender individuals' use of bathroom facilities and that the public is – to a degree – open to argument on either side," Newport said.
He added that all available evidence, at least at this point, suggests that who is and is not allowed to use certain bathrooms will remain a wedge issue for the foreseeable future.
