Legal help for gender non-binary entrepreneurs

FEMPRENEUR XYZ is helping transgender and gender non-conforming entrepreneurs access the best support to grow their businesses.

It is an unfortunate fact that transgender and gender non-conforming people still face discrimination and receive unequal access to many services, including employment, healthcare, and housing. Regular readers of Springwise will remember when we wrote about this service that supports the trans community to find doctors with the right understanding and expertise through an online database. We also looked at this ‘middlewear’ innovation that is specifically designed for those transitioning from one gender to another. Now FEMPRENEUR XYZ is helping transgender and gender non-conforming entrepreneurs access the best support to grow their business.

For gender non-conforming people, discrimination can mean they aren’t able to access the resources and tools they need to develop their business. Through FEMPRENEUR.XYZ they can access pro-bono, in-person or web-based services to help incorporate their business and legally change their name. Legal firm Goodwin and Riley Hanson, partners of the project explain, “A name is a signature of who a person is. For trans people, having their correct name on their documentation, and being able to use it in all situations where a name is normally used, can prevent them from being misgendered.”

What’s more, it may be troublesome to have a legal name on documentation that contradicts someone’s gender expression. According to a 2011 survey, 40 percent of trans and gender non-conforming individuals who were asked to present IDs that did not match their gender identity experienced harassment.

Are there more innovations that can help those who are the victims of discrimination access the services they need?