ABSTRACT
Increasingly, human resource development (HRD) is integrating issues of diversity into theory, research, and training. However, the inclusion of diversity typically centers on race and ethnicity. Often excluded from workplace diversity discussions are issues involving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-heterosexual (LGBTQ+) individuals. Terms used to describe nonheterosexual orientations have changed through the centuries, and received a great deal of attention in the early 1900s when sexual behavior was increasingly studied. To help HRD professionals effectively work with transgender and gender nonconforming employees, Competencies for Counseling Transgender Clients in the areas of career and lifestyle development are presented. The chapter presents some of the complex and often difficult challenges that many LGBTQ+ individuals experience in the workplace, such as disclosing sexual orientation and/or gender identity to colleagues. Arredondo and Glauner developed a model that describes identity as a set of characteristics or dimensions where some are fluid and others remain static.
