Transgender Employees Topics: Your Obligations and Proactive Practices as the Employer
Learn your legal obligations toward transgender employees and practical steps to build inclusion, from terminology and bias awareness to policy reviews and transition plans.
Speaker
Melveen Stevenson
HR consultant and executive coach · M.S. Elemental, LLC · SHRM-SCP
Overview
LGBTQ awareness at work has improved, yet many transgender people feel more needs to be done. With media coverage and a mix of government rules, employers can find it hard to know the minimum standards. This 60-minute webinar on transgender employees explains your obligations and the proactive practices forward-thinking employers adopt.
You'll start with clear definitions of transgender and LGBTQ terminology, then consider diversity and inclusion issues and common implicit and explicit biases. The session gives an overview of federal, state and local protections for transgender employees and clarifies the roles and expectations of HR and company leaders.
It finishes with a checklist for reviewing and updating policies and procedures and a walk-through of a sample gender transition plan.
Why attend: Few employers set out to create a hostile environment for transgender employees, but a lack of education often leads there. Concrete, proactive steps help transgender workers feel welcome and accepted, reduce confusion and support engagement. This session gives HR professionals at all levels, employment attorneys, EAP professionals, small and mid-size business owners and company leaders a foundation in legal obligations and best practices.
What’s covered
- Definitions and clarifications of transgender and LGBTQ terminology
- Diversity and inclusion considerations
- Common implicit and explicit biases
- Federal, state and local protections for transgender employees
- Roles and expectations of HR and company leaders
- Policies and procedures to review and update, with a checklist
- A sample gender transition plan
Who should attend
What you get
About the speaker
Melveen Stevenson is the CEO and founder of M.S. Elemental, LLC, a human resources and business advisory firm. As a certified HR professional with a background in accounting and finance, she helps companies to navigate the human resources “jungle” of compliance, human capital, and leadership challenges. In doing so, she empowers companies to strengthen their infrastructure from the inside out, specifically through leadership development, operations, training, employee engagement, and executive coaching.
Melveen speaks on key topics to empower companies with the latest research and best practices for increasing engagement, enhancing leadership presence, and optimizing diverse workforce groups.
Over the last 20 years, Melveen has held leadership positions in human resources operations, supply chain, and talent management at international companies in food manufacturing, medical devices, and consumer products. She has spent most of her career in California, and has expertise in the state’s complicated employment regulations.
Melveen is certified through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and the Human Resources Certification Institute (SPHR). She is also a faculty member at California State University-Dominguez Hills.

