Citrix observes Transgender Awareness Week to support LGBTQ+ employees

From November 13 to 19, Citrix is observing Transgender Awareness Week to help increase the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people and address the ways we can create unity in our communities.

The American Medical Association has declared that violence targeted at transgender people in the United States has reached “epidemic” proportions, with the vast majority of reported murders being transgender women of color.

While most Transgender Awareness Week activities are in the United States, dozens of countries have seen these memorials grow in the last few years. Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed annually on November 20 to memorialize those lives lost to anti-transgender violence and to shine a light on the persistence of anti-transgender violence.

“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”

— Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Here are three ways you can help to honor Transgender Day of Remembrance:

• Attend and/or volunteer at a local vigil or memorial in your community. TDoR events are often at houses of worship, parks, or public buildings. To find an event, connect with your local LGBTQ+ organization and search online to see what may be available in your area.
• Donate time, money, or in-kind contributions to local transgender-serving organizations.
• Use social media to show your solidarity with this community, using the hashtag #TDOR.

Learn more about diversity and inclusion at Citrix.