Trans Visibility

It’s no surprise that the grueling fight continues for the trans community in the Philippines. Our trans friends are yet to be given even a fraction of acceptance and opportunities many organizations have already shown the rest of the LGBTQIA+ community. Don’t get me wrong, the entirety of the PRIDE group are yet to be protected by the government and given equal rights the rest of its citizens take for granted or worse, abuse. But our trans friends are not even over the threshold of being tolerated. With the financial requirements to access medical care for transitioning and/or treating gender dysphoria, on top of the usual daily expenses, trans Filipinos must be given the opportunity to offer their skills and be hired in both the private and public sectors to fund their personal needs.

After years of being boxed in the beauty industry and pageant circuit, trans Filipinos had a major breakthrough in the 2000s with the arrival of business process outsourcing (or simply, BPO) companies and the huge workforce they required. Call centers popped up everywhere from Manila to Cebu, and both in-house recruiters and talent consultants had to work fast to meet the high-volume requirements of different accounts. Trans individuals with promising communication skills were hired and this was a great win for them (and for the rest of the PRIDE group). And just when things were going great, they were then boxed (yet again) in the BPO industry. Haven’t our trans friends proven that they are worthy of being hired everywhere their skills meet the demands?

CLEVR will be active in giving our trans friends the opportunity to share their skills with us. We are aware that many in the corporate world are either unbothered by the crises the trans community face everyday or they intently avoid anything about the said marginalized group because of their faith, beliefs, and upbringing. Discrimination still exists and it is unfortunately embedded in the corporate system—hiding in plain sight—guised as a “harmless” humor or casual remark. We hope many more companies step up and support our trans friends. Mark, CLEVR CEO and Chairman, together with me and the rest of our team, promise to not only give equal employment opportunities to everyone, but also provide the right benefits fit for our trans teammates. We strongly encourage our trans friends to apply and become a member of the CLEVR team! Email us at whatsup@clevrph.com.