In the conversations with civil society organisations, anti-discrimination ombudsmen and central trade union organisations, which also contributed to the basis of this knowledge review, issues of discrimination against trans people and the need for more knowledge were raised in various ways. Several civil society participants raised the issue that it is difficult to report discrimination because they are seen as a problem in the workplace if they raise issues or repeatedly make reports. Experiences of receiving poor support from trade unions when reporting were also raised. Among the anti-discrimination ombudsmen, it was emphasised that the low propensity to report is a problem, as is the fact that this is a target group that largely avoids contact with authorities. In order for more people to report, anti-discrimination ombudsmen pointed out that dialogue with civil society is important and that knowledge of how to report and what a report can look like needs to be strengthened. To make it possible for civil society to provide such support and knowledge, more resources are needed for organisations. Anti-discrimination ombudsmen also pointed to the need for stronger legislation, such as a general ban on discrimination in the public sector, which would strengthen protections against discrimination for all. Both trade union confederations and civil society organisations highlighted the prevalence of discrimination on multiple grounds and the problem of discrimination laws not being applicable on multiple grounds.
Civil society organisations argued that both trade unions and anti-discrimination ombudsmen need to take a greater role in protecting the rights of trans people and providing guidance to workplaces, which would allow civil society organisations to engage in anti-isolation work and offer support and assistance. They also emphasised that more resources are needed for this, and that it is important that resources for non-discrimination officers remain intact.
The central trade union organisations in turn highlighted that they see a need for training for themselves and trade unions, including more knowledge on how to deal with and support vulnerable people. The trade union confederations also made concrete suggestions for the establishment of a knowledge database with knowledge support and examples of best practice to help increase knowledge in this area. In addition, they emphasised the importance of active management of the work environment and the use of current measures and other structures that are in place to promote inclusion.
Trade union confederations emphasised that it is particularly important to focus on trans people, as it is a growing community of different ages, and that more support, focus, and resources are needed for this community. Another issue raised was the importance of looking at organisations internally and asking who the unions represent, who feels included in trade union organisations and what can be done to increase the number of people involved. It was highlighted that it is important that both the central organisations and trade unions drive work on development and can push each other.
As in the knowledge review, civil society organisations and trade union confederations highlighted that discrimination and negative treatment by third parties is common, for example in the service sector.
One employer, which represents a number of regions, responded to the short questionnaire sent out by NIKK. Each region was consulted by the employer organisation. Overall, all the regions responded that they are working broadly on diversity and inclusion. One region stated that it is also considering revising its diversity policy with a particular focus on LGBTQIA people, and one mentioned a proposal to consider LGBTI and trans people specifically in relation to the revision of its equality policy. Several regions responded that local HR departments have looked to them for advice and guidance during employee transition processes. This has involved specific questions about segregated changing rooms, and the perception is that workplaces have resolved this well. One region sampled HR units in hospitals and asked how they had solved any challenges with gender-segregated spaces, with the response being that there are good local solutions and that the issue is handled on a needs basis, as is the case for all employees. One specific challenge mentioned related to a region where it is not possible to change personal code numbers in the HR system, meaning that anyone who changes their legal gender needs to be re-registered as a new employee. It seems from the survey responses that, from the perspective of employers, everything from policy questions to how workplaces solve issues related to the physical work environment and technical systems is important.