Trans Day of Visibility event focuses on building inclusive workplaces in Kansas City
A Trans Day of Visibility event in Kansas City took a different tone this year, focusing on creating inclusive work environments and raising awareness about discrimination.
The Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce has marked the annual occasion in years past with celebrations where they served alcohol and hired drag queens as entertainment.
But this time, the organization held sessions for members of the LGBT community along with allies and business owners.
“We need to be celebrated,” said Jay Bohanon, a chamber board member who helped plan the event. “But we also need tangible changes in the workplace … And that’s our number one priority and what we’re focused on today.”
This year’s theme “Transformation in the Workplace” came out of a need to help trans members of the community who face disproportionate levels of discrimination in the workplace, Bohanon said.
In a 2020 study of 1,528 LGBTQ Americans, transgender and gender-nonconforming people were reported most likely to experience discrimination. Thirty-six percent of those respondents said they had experienced workplace discrimination.
“Trans people are doing the work, but there’s only so much we can do. Nothing’s going to change if we don’t leverage people with privilege and power,” Bohanon said. “Without taking away the emphasis on trans people we wanted to take today to educate other people and get them involved so we can push forward.”
Many attendees at Thursday’s event were not part of the trans community.
“It speaks to how people in the community are loved and appreciated and how much support there is out there for people in the KC metro,” Bohanon said.
Day of Visibility
Rows of brightly colored booths lined the second floor of the Kansas City Club, 918 Baltimore Avenue, during the event. Local transgender vendors showcased their businesses and networked while a training session run by members of the chamber educated attendees on basic terms associated with the transgender community. In another session, human resources professionals met to discuss training policies to make safer workplaces for trans and non gender conforming employees.
Rae Bowerman, a chamber member and organizer, spoke on a panel.
“When I attended my first TDV event, what struck me the most was finding out the information and resources I didn’t know about,” Bowerman said.
Nearby, an art display put on by LGBTQ organization No Divide KC, showcased the work of trans artists from across the metro.
Heidi Schultz, who moved back to Kansas City last year, was one of the artists whose work was shown.
“I come from the art world and I don’t have a lot of connection to the transgender community in town, so not only is it an important day for us, but it’s a way to make me more visible to the community,” Schultz said in a phone interview.
Though Schultz was not able to attend the event in person, having the opportunity to connect with other trans artists and display work alongside them felt like a homecoming, she said.
