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I'm embarrassed to confess, I’ve recently learned I am genuinely clueless about gender identity. Recently, when we did a #MeToo in the workplace webinar, I realized that even though we still have biases and harassment issues to fight, we’ve come a very, very long way. Unfortunately, however, most of us do not understand transgender and gender identity sufficiently enough to provide our workforce with standards for sensitivity and anti-harassment, beyond the obvious. Furthermore, I realized, Transgender people are often leading the social justice rallying cry for LGBTQ issues in America, and yet, I personally, had no clear understanding of what’s appropriate when I interact with a transgender person.  Will she be offended if I say, Mrs. Instead of Mr.? And, is it appropriate for me to ask, how they prefer to be referred to? What’s the difference between nonconforming and genderqueer and nonbinary? And is this important for me to be sensitive? Furthermore, I didn’t know that many of my assumptions were completely wrong!  For example, I’ve recently learned that gender identity and expression are not always linked to sexual or romantic attraction.  Wow, I have worked all my life to be accepting and embrace differences, and yet, I still have so many misconceptions!  This webinar is eye-opening.  We cannot address an issue that we are clueless about. And, as we evolve and grow, more and more HR professionals will need to be proactive regarding ensuring a gender-identity sensitive workplace.  - Anisa Aven, NLPC, BCC, CEO of TurnKey Coaching & Development Solutions & Webinar Emcee

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