"My name is Genevieve Charles, I'm English and I am post-operative transgender."

That is how 56-year-old Charles, a former pub owner now on a job hunt, begins her cover letters.

As she looks for work in the hospitality industry, Charles identifies as transgender right away to avoid going to interviews where, once she arrives, she says she can immediately sense she won't be getting the job.

"I do feel like I need to put it in," she said. "If these people don't know it upfront, they're going to be wasting their time and my time.

"If somebody's not going to employ me because of who I am, I don't see the point in bothering with them."

She initially penned the letter a couple of months ago after an interview left her feeling particularly uncomfortable and unapproved, something she says is rare for her.

"I'm very confident in my abilities and myself in general."

But the unsuccessful job search was starting to take its toll on her.

Over a three-month period, she applied to more than 100 jobs, many of which were in the Hamilton area.

She recently received one offer to be a bartender at a local hotel but had to turn it down because she is moving to Oakville and can't do the commute. Finding accommodation has also been a challenge for Charles.

"It is frustrating because all I want to do is make my way in the world and earn enough money so that I can live and just get by and wind my own little way through life," she said. "It's taken me long enough to get here. I don't want to be stalling."

According to the Trans Pulse Project – a community-based research initiative looking at the effect social exclusion and discrimination have on the health of trans people in Ontario – employment discrimination persists.

A survey completed by 433 trans people revealed that, when applying for jobs, 18 per cent of trans Ontarians were turned down because they were trans. Thirty-two per cent suspected being trans was the reason they were not given the job, according to the study.

Thirteen per cent of trans Ontarians had been fired for being trans, and another 15 per cent believed that's why they had been let go, the findings showed.

Despite these figures, not all trans people face the same barriers when it comes to employment.

When Colleen McTigue, 60, came out at the financial services company where she works in an IT role in 2011, her transition went smoothly.

"I have not personally experienced much in the way of discrimination or any kind of negative consequences," she said, noting she knows others who have.

McTigue went on vacation for two weeks as her "old self." While she was off, a communication plan that had been worked on for months was put in place, with the main message being that discrimination and harassment of any kind would not be tolerated when she came back.

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McTigue, who lives in St. Catharines, said she would be concerned about finding work again if she found herself unemployed, both because of her age and because she is transgender.

Getting an employer to be supportive as one transitions can be a struggle, but finding work as a transgender person is even more difficult, said Cole Gately, a local trans activist.

"It's much harder to get a job than to keep a job," he said. "It's very, very easy to hire someone who isn't going to make people feel uncomfortable or isn't going to challenge anyone."

The barriers mainly centre on people's lack of knowledge, he said.

Gately's answer is for businesses and organizations to hire a trans person.

"When you show that you are an equitable employer and you're actively seeking marginalized communities to work with you, that speaks volumes," he said.

One recommendation from the Social Planning and Research Council's recent report on how to make Hamilton a queer- and trans-positive city is to have an LGBTQ+ business network in place, said social planner Deirdre Pike.

More than a decade ago, the city had an organization like this, which pinpointed LGBTQ+ owned and operated as well as ally businesses, she said.

Action that could stem from this includes businesses and organizations creating hiring practices that make room for LGBTQ+ workers, prioritizing training for staff and having gender-neutral washrooms.

This could change the experience for trans people by allowing them to continue working while they transition or look for employment without having to "out themselves," Pike said.

"This is what makes me frantic and just really concerned about people who feel that they need to tell this most personal thing in order to get a job," she said. "That just isn't the case for the rest of us."