Thailand’s LGBTQ+ image belies lack of employment equality

Thailand is not the gay dream come true as some believe it is, despite being dubbed as a most LGBTQ+ friendly destination.

The Nation

The Nation

         

DV56S5XB9aE2a58RA06S.webp

Despite how much Thailand markets itself as a gay-friendly travel destination, LGBTQ individuals are discriminated against and stereotyped. PHOTO: THE NATION

June 7, 2024

BANGKOK – Despite how much Thailand markets itself as a gay-friendly travel destination, LGBTQ individuals are discriminated against and stereotyped.

Things get more serious when it comes to career opportunities, particularly for transgenders. When applying for jobs, 77% of applications made by Thai transgender candidates are rejected – more than for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals – and they face three times more obstacles in unemployment than cisgenders,” said Nathineethiti “Nikki” Phinyapincha, founder of TransTalents Consulting Group.

Thailand has no laws to support the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people. In other words, Thailand seems to be a paradise for LGBTQ people, but they are not being given any of the legal rights they deserve from the country called a rainbow heaven.

The Nation had an exclusive interview with the two founders of Trans for Career, a community for trans individuals who have difficulty in hunting for their dream careers.

Trans for Career

Trans for Career was founded in 2020 by three trans women who have been friends since primary school, namely Risa Siriwat, chartered financial analyst at Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group; Kitibha “Sarina” Sudlapa, owner of a five-branch restaurant chain; and Dr Khemmanath Naradech, business owner at PTT Oil and Retail (PTTOR) and deputy secretary and committee member of the Chanthaburi Chamber of Commerce.

“While the whole world limits our careers, our community strives to defy and break traditional norms while also encouraging all trans people to be who they genuinely want to be, not what other people or society tell them to be,” Risa said.

Risa obtained a bachelor’s degree in finance from Thammasat University before she did her master’s in sustainable investment in France. She has been working in the finance industry for 10 years.

She told The Nation her reasons for founding the Trans for Career community. “A scholar questioned me about why there aren’t many trans individuals in professional fields – is it because they aren’t drawn to these kinds of jobs? That is not the proper concept, in my opinion. The majority of my friends, including myself, experienced discrimination and were pressured to pursue particular occupations in entertainment.

Trans for Career aims to highlight the diversity of transgender people’s jobs. We are not limited solely to entertainment careers like makeup artists, stage performers and dancers. I’m not saying that those entertainment careers are horrible. However, I truly want to demonstrate that trans people are capable of doing so much more – there are also trans individuals working as professors, lawyers or even programmers.”

Sarina emphasised the Trans for Career videos that attempt to present ordinary trans people who pursue their dreams rather than presenting them as only beauty queens.

She referred to a video about Sherbet, a transgender working as a personal trainer at Jetts Fitness, an Australian-based chain of 24/7-access fitness centres in Thailand. This video gained a lot of traction, getting positive engagement and feedback from online audiences.

She brought up a comment that said: “Thank you for igniting and showing us the way.”

The same commenter also mentioned that she had always wanted to study this subject but wasn’t sure if transgenders could work in the fitness sector.

“Our hearts are fulfilled when we know people are inspired by our stories. We want to show people the transgenders’ possibilities. Our choices are not limited as long as we don’t limit ourselves,” Sarina said.

She said she understands the trauma and the feelings of young LGBTQ people who are labelled as sexual perverts. She aspires to be the voice of the voiceless and a consultant to encourage trans people to get through difficulties in life especially when pursuing a job they dream about.

“I remember when I was a child, I was oppressed and excluded from society. My parents worried about what I would be doing with my life once I grew up, and were even more concerned when they found out that I am gay,” Sarina said.

Sarina graduated from Thammasat University with a major in information technology. She worked as a model in Thailand after she graduated and moved to New York for career advancement in modelling before she started her own restaurant business and expanded it to five branches.

“I appreciated my time at Thammasat University; they allowed me to dress in accordance with my preferred gender, and the lecturer even emailed me before class on how I’d like to be addressed. Meanwhile, Ramkhamhaeng University, where I co-studied to do my double degree, kicked me out of the examination room because I dressed as a woman.”

She said, “I used to study at law school for one of my degrees. However, I gave up on that dream because, at that time, I could not imagine how I could be myself at court as a lawyer.”

Careers for trans 

Apart from being a community to provide vocational guidance to transgenders, Trans for Career is a platform to share some essential information about trans-friendly companies. The page is updated and shares useful tips for trans people applying for jobs.

“A lot of questions pop up when transgenders apply for jobs – should they put the female or male version pictures on the résumé? How should they dress for interview day? Which companies are gay-friendly? And many more. It’s all the questions I was once worried about and didn’t know where to turn to ask for consultation,” Risa said.

Sarina added: “Most people’s stereotypes of transgender individuals at work are of cranky, emotionally unstable clowns who can only be successful in the entertainment industry.”

Risa related what she experienced ten years ago when she was rejected from joining a financial company, even though she had a degree in finance with first-class honours.

“They said that I was not fit for their organisation, and HR suggested I should rather be a makeup artist or hair stylist, those jobs would suit me better.”

Ten years later, Risa notes that Thailand has made progress in providing perks to LGBTQ+ employees.

She works at Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group, and says she is proud that her company supports the LGBTQ+ community by enacting workplace practices that are accepting of homosexuality.

“We don’t need to wait for legal marriage to be granted as my company has recognised our partners as official legal couples who have the same rights as other normal couples.”

Inclusive office practices are becoming the standard for businesses worldwide. In Thailand, for instance, seven businesses – Dtac, Johnson & Johnson, Google, Sansiri, Aware, Shell, and Philip Morris – are focusing on workplace diversity. They have policies that support LGBTQ+ workers, such as parental leave, time off for surgery to change one’s gender, and leaves for LGBTQ+ weddings.

Transgender discrimination

In her interview with The Nation, Risa discussed how she felt victimised by society after paying 200 Baht to enter a Bangkok nightclub when others were allowed in for free. “At that time, I thought, what is wrong with being me? They believed that transgenders would be committing crimes inside the nightclub.

“To me, being a criminal is regardless of gender,” said Risa before going on to say, “It’s just so pitiful that they have this mindset in running businesses. The nightclub lost ten customers who went with me that night. We should just call it quits.”

Sarina said: “Being a trans woman is another reason that propelled me to where I am today, I have to prove myself several times more than other people in society. My parents were worried if I would have a stable and prestigious job being a transgender. We need to put in two or three times as much effort as the average person.

“That’s not what I want to happen to us any more. Who knows, with the same effort we put in, we might achieve much more than others. We just need the same standard for all and inclusive social recognition.”

Risa says she feels pity for transgender individuals who gave up their dreams and failed along the way because they had failed too many times and in some cases, society had not even given them opportunities.

“Imagine a world in which everyone was treated equally regardless of their gender, race and complexion, we may not be facing a labour shortage in some fields and there might even be a large number of transgender doctors, professors or even lawyers today.”

Call for changes

Diversity, according to Risa, should be the cornerstone of the nation’s development in every aspect. For example, in education, textbooks should be updated.

“I seem to recall reading in some textbooks saying that homosexuality is a mental illness. There are many young LGBTQ people out there and they need to understand that it is acceptable to be different from what society expects,” Risa said.

Apart from having the same-sex marriage bill granted, there is another issue that the rainbow community are pushing. Sarina and Risa suggest that people should be able to choose the title of their own choice as it applies in Europe.

The 2023 Trans Rights Map report by Transgender Europe (TGEU) found that there are nine countries in Europe that enforce the law on self-determination in choosing the title of their choice.

According to the Council of Europe report, self-determination means the full right to change one’s name and legal gender. There is no need for the involvement of an expert agency or third party like a psychiatrist or psychologist.

Denmark was the first European country to introduce the right in 2014, allowing people aged 18 and over to change their legal gender if they wish. The following year both Ireland and Malta enacted similar policies.

Norway enacted the same law in 2016. In 2018, three other countries — Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal — began enforcing them, with Iceland following in 2019. Switzerland’s parliament passed a law for self-determination to be the basis for legal gender recognition, allowing names and gender markers to be changed by declaration at a civil registry office. In 2023, Spain’s parliament enshrined the same procedure: a public declaration is sufficient to declare non-conformity to birth-assigned gender.

Sarina said, “The world will recognise Thailand as a country that is substantively developed if they enact laws that truly make its nation an inclusive society for all.”

scroll to top