Research informed by experience
Professor Whittle has helped to shape professional, educational and social environments for trans people across the world. His research and work in equalities law are informed by his experience and that of other trans people. One study helped employers to understand the major factors that affect trans people’s ability to access decent work and careers, and the inequality and discrimination that they face in the workplace. This project collected and analysed data from 873 trans people, against the backdrop of legal and social changes over a 10-year period. The work was undertaken in collaboration with the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES) and the Equalities Review.
His work has uncovered the need to investigate why trans employees are still facing discrimination in their careers, despite the equality laws and protections that are now in place. To address the need for trans awareness and training in the workplace, Professor Whittle — alongside Dr Lewis Turner — created the Trans-inclusive Workplaces Guidelines for Employers and Businesses. This guide is particularly focused on supporting human resources professionals to promote and protect trans-inclusive workplaces.
Researching across industries and fields ensures that the day-to-day rights and lives of trans people are protected and the barriers they face are identified. Organisations such as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the National Health Service (NHS) and some trade unions have benefitted from Professor Whittle’s research and recommendations. Discrimination can occur in any cross-section of life, including access to quality healthcare. To address this, he worked with a group of 33 other human rights specialists to develop a set of principles relating to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC principles). The principles were created for the United Nations and its member state governments to follow and disseminate.
He has also worked with many policymakers, including being commissioned by the Equalities Review to research the inequality and discrimination that trans people encounter, especially in schools, colleges and universities — places that have such a prominent role in our personal development. He furthered this research in 2015 by creating a guide to the UK law around gender variant children and teenagers and their attendance at school. The guide highlights issues that schools, parents and gender incongruent children might face. In light of these projects, and other contributions to the field, Professor Whittle received an invitation to share his research with the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2019.
A worrying trend
Professor Whittle has now retired — although his ties to Manchester Met as Professor Emeritus remain strong — but his academic work and activism continue to be vital and relevant. Many articles and discussions on social media, including some prominent, powerful voices, position trans people as a threat. However, the government’s report on hate crime statistics suggests that it’s trans people who are at risk. There has been a 56% increase of hate crimes towards trans people that could correlate with this negative coverage: “Transgender issues have been heavily discussed on social media over the last year, which may have led to an increase in related hate crimes,” says Professor Whittle.
This highlights the importance of continued efforts to protect trans people, and all people facing discrimination, and their rights in law. As Professor Whittle puts it: “It’s really important to teach students that equality isn’t a singular thing, it’s a process.”