ANZ has stated that transgender and gender diverse employees will be entitled to six weeks of paid gender affirmation leave.
Gender affirmation leave has been implemented by the large bank to assist employees who are through ‘any component’ of gender affirmation, whether social, medical, or legal.
It will include six weeks of paid leave as well as twelve weeks of unpaid leave, which will be added to workers’ regular leave rights.
After Westpac announced four weeks of paid leave for trans and gender diverse employees in 2019, ANZ is the latest Australian company and the second of the four major banks to offer paid gender affirmation leave to employees.
The news of ANZ’s gender affirmation leave was announced on Monday in a media statement from the major bank.
ANZ’s Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Fiona MacDonald, said: ‘This is another example of ANZ’s ongoing commitment to the LGBTIQ+ community and creating an inclusive culture where our people feel a sense of belonging and comfortable to be their authentic selves.’
The six weeks of paid leave means people who are affirming their gender do not need to exhaust their annual or sick leave entitlements, while also easing some of the financial pressures.
‘This is especially important as research shows that trans and gender diverse people are more likely to experience lower incomes and employment rates,’ she added.
The bank then broke down the different ways an individual can ‘affirm their gender’ through either social, legal or medical means.
They described social affirmation as changing pronouns, changing your name or ‘adopting the dress and style of presentation that better aligns with their gender identity and expression’.
Medical affirmation includes gender transition surgery, hormone therapy, recovery from procedures or medical appointments to discuss surgery or therapy.
Finally, legal affirmation involves legally changing your name or altering your name and gender on your ID and personal documents.
Trans rights groups have applauded the move, with Equality Australia, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, telling The Daily Telegraph that ANZ should be rewarded.
Others were dissatisfied, claiming that the leave entitlement favors trans and gender diverse workers over others.
The Coalition for Biological Reality’s Stassja Frei told the publication that ANZ’s gender affirmation leave is ‘very irresponsible’ and ‘not egalitarian.’
ANZ is the latest company to offer gender affirmation leave, following the implementation of similar policies by Allianz and Coles earlier this year.
Coles has offered trans and gender-diverse employees up to ten days of paid gender affirmation leave.
The move was revealed last month, the day following the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia.
‘We know we have at least 900 team members who identify as transgender or gender diverse,’ said David Brewster, Chief Legal and Safety Officer at Coles and leader of the company’s Pride Steering Committee. ‘
We need good policies and education in this area so that people may make informed decisions about taking time off during this critical time in their lives.’
Gender affirmation, according to a Coles spokeswoman, “may be any procedure that a team member goes through to affirm/confirm their gender identification.”
This could take the form of social affirmation, medical affirmation, or legal affirmation.
‘This could entail going to medical or specialist appointments, legal appointments, counseling, mental health and wellness programs, hormone therapy, or even surgical procedures.’
The paid leave will be for part-time and full-time workers while casual team members can access unpaid gender affirmation leave.