Trans-formation: At LGBTQ+ job fair in city, stories of new beginnings and hope
New Delhi: With no family support and no one willing to give him a job, transman Andy Kashyap, was forced to sell momos at a makeshift stall outside his rented room in Mohali to make ends meet three years ago.
It was a visit to a job fair in Delhi organised exclusively for LGBTQI+ community in 2023 that changed his life. Today 29-year-old is a busy man, working at a diversity, equity and inclusion advisory firm and happily guiding other job seekers.
A native of Ferozepur in Punjab, Andy's story reflects the challenges faced by qualified youth from the LGBTQI+ community when it comes to finding inclusive workspaces. From engineers to aspiring development professionals, one could see many queuing up at the one-of-its-kind job fair in the capital on Wednesday — the National Trans Employment Mela 2025.
The fair was its third year, organised by NGO TWEET Foundation and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory firm InHarmony working to build inclusive workplaces in collaboration with the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment. Social justice minister Virendra Kumar, in his inaugural speech, asserted that the job fair was one platform that not only opened doors to livelihood but also celebrated the immense talent and resilience of the community.
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The event brought together over 160 transgender and non-binary candidates from across the country. Among the companies that came to the fair to recruit candidates one found prominent names like Publicis Sapient, Hexaware, EY Foundation, Mahindra Logistics, Godrej Capital, Procter & Gamble, The Lemon Tree hotels, HDFC Life and The Lalit hotel.
As one walked from stall to stall it turned out that this was no regular job fair.
At one end were recruiters doing all to ensure the conversations, questions and responses were sensitive and inclusive and at the other end were job seekers hoping against hope to get that one job where they would feel accepted for who they were without being judged.
Andy, for instance, holds a degree from Punjab University in history and psychology and a diploma in hotel management. From earning a mere Rs 150 selling momos and doing other odd jobs, Andy has come a long way, not just earning Rs 17,000 a month but gaining confidence to undergo the required surgeries and hormonal treatment to assert and openly speak about his transman identity.
Emerging from the Mahindra Logistics stall, 20-year-old Lalit Yadav from Dhanbad in Jharkhand could not hold back his excitement. The commerce graduate shared that he had landed his first internship based on his interview. Born Lalita, this young boy said he was lucky to have the support of his parents, his milkman father and housewife mother. The young transman aspires to one day prove successful in a govt service exams and serve as an officer in his home state of Bihar.
Most others, however, shared stories of facing transphobia at home and outside. Ankita Singh, a 26-year-old automation engineer, is a case in point. A BTech graduate in computer sciences from Visakhapatnam and currently based in Hyderabad, the transwoman is currently jobless and was seen going from stall to stall sharing her CV. She said her first job at a start-up ended soon after her employers got to know about her identity.
In her next job, she said she faced humiliation and insensitivity from her employers. "I am looking for a job that can give me respect and value my work based on my qualifications," she asserted.
That finding a job is not easy is evident when one meets 24-year-old Prerna, a Delhi University graduate who is pursuing her master's degree in gender studies from IGNOU. Articulate and qualified, she failed to land a job of her liking last year at the fair but it gave her the platform to meet like-minded people.
She currently works at an insurance company that provides her an inclusive atmosphere. "But I am back at the job fair to meet more people and employers.
I work as an associate and have the confidence of seeking roles that allow me to take on bigger responsibilities going forward," she said with confidence.
Amidst the flurry of activity, one saw 36-year-old Mani Mallarapu, a transman, quietly leaning against a stall holding onto his crutches.
The Hyderabad native suffered polio when three years old. He barely managed to get past Class XII and could not study any further as travelling to town for higher education from his village was well near impossible. Working as a volunteer for survival with an NGO in Hyderabad, Mani was in Delhi on Wednesday to participate in the job fair at The Lalit hotel.
"I know there is even less acceptance for a transman with a disability than for others, but I am here to still try my best," he said with a determination that underlined the essence of the job fair aimed at making inclusive workspaces a reality.
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