Our Commitment to You: Supporting Gender Transition at Digital Science

At Digital Science, we are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment where every employee can bring their authentic self to work. We firmly believe that mutual respect, dignity, and inclusion are core to our success, and this includes our unwavering support for transgender and gender non-conforming employees.

We recognise there's no single way a person may transition. It's a deeply personal journey, and transitions may look differently for different people, not always involving medical steps. Regardless of the path you choose, our commitment to supporting each individual in their decisions remains steadfast, ensuring you feel safe, respected, and valued throughout the process.

If you inform us that you are intending to transition, your line manager, the People Team, and other appropriate colleagues will aim to make this process as smooth as possible for you. They will support and respect any decision you make without judgment or prejudice.

Our Foundational Principles

  • Employee-Led Process: Your transition journey at work will always be led by you. Our role is to provide the support and resources you need, when and how you need them.

  • Confidentiality: We understand the sensitive nature of gender transition. All information regarding your gender identity and transition will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. We will not disclose this information without your explicit consent, and any unauthorised disclosure will be treated as a serious breach of company policy.

  • Non-Discrimination: Digital Science has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on gender identity or expression. This is enshrined in our company values and Equality and Non-Discrimination policy.

Understanding Legal Protections 

Digital Science is committed to upholding the strongest legal protections for our employees globally, ensuring an inclusive workplace regardless of location.

  • United Kingdom: UK law (Equality Act 2010) explicitly protects individuals undergoing, proposing to undergo, or who have undergone gender reassignment from discrimination.

  • United States: Federal law (Title VII), as interpreted by federal courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), includes protections against discrimination based on gender identity and transgender status. Many state and local laws (including Massachusetts, California, New York, and Washington) have additional or stronger protections, and Digital Science adheres to all applicable laws in these jurisdictions. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with your local context and the protections available.

  • European Union: EU law prohibits discrimination based on gender reassignment across all member states. Specific countries like Germany have strong protections (e.g., the new Self-Determination Act streamlining legal gender recognition from November 2024, which includes a ban on the disclosure of a trans person's previous name and gender, making it an administrative offense punishable by a fine if violated with the intent to harm), and we extend our support fully in all EU locations, adhering to EU principles even where local legal recognition processes may vary. 

  • Global Remote Staff: While legal protections vary worldwide, Digital Science is committed to supporting employees to the fullest extent possible in all locations, applying global best practices where feasible and consistent with local laws. Our People Team will consult local legal advice as needed to ensure compliance and support.

Your Transition Process at Work

The transition process will be led by you. With your consent, a transition action plan will usually be agreed upon, setting out the steps to be taken before, during, and after your transition. This plan is flexible and tailored to your needs.

An initial meeting will usually be held between yourself, your line manager and a People Team representative to agree on the plan, followed by regular check-ins to review and update as necessary. The transition action plan will typically cover:

  • Key Changes: Dates for key changes such as your name and pronouns, including when this change will be implemented and reflected in our systems and documents (e.g., email address, Bob, ID badges if applicable).

  • Record Management: Determining which existing electronic and paper records need to be changed and what happens to pre-transition records, ensuring maximum privacy and avoiding unnecessary disclosure of previous names.

  • Communication Strategy: If, how, and when colleagues (including your direct team and wider company), third parties such as customers, and our pension and insurance providers will be informed. You control this narrative, deciding who knows, what they are told, and when.

  • Anticipated Absences: How anticipated transition-related absences (e.g., for medical appointments, surgeries, or recovery) will be managed.

  • Role Changes: Any temporary or permanent role changes during your transition, for example, reducing the amount of physical work following surgery or adjusting your working hours.

Time Off While Transitioning

We understand that gender transition may involve medical appointments or procedures.

  • You have the right to take time off work to attend appointments relating to your transition in the same way you are for any other medical appointments.

  • You are also entitled to sick pay (if eligible) for any periods of absence related to your transition, in line with our Sickness and Absence approach.

  • You will not be penalized or treated unfairly for taking leave for transition-related reasons.

  • We will record absence related to your transition separately from other sickness absence. This will be disregarded in any future employment-related decisions such as redundancy or promotion, and will not count towards the trigger points in Bob.

We appreciate that you may want to limit the number of people who know about any medical treatment you may be receiving as part of your transition. If you choose to discuss your transition with your manager or the People Team, we encourage you to speak with them about how you would like any related absences from work to be communicated to colleagues where necessary, always prioritising your privacy.

Who Will Be Told

Your manager and/or the People Team will discuss your preferences in relation to informing others, including other managers, colleagues, clients, and other relevant contacts. They will agree whether you will do this, or whether you would prefer your manager or the People Team to do this, or a mixture of these options. We will also get express written agreement from you about when and how this will happen, including the details of the message and who it will be shared with. Your wishes regarding disclosure will always be paramount.

Which Changing/Toilet Facilities You Should Use

If you work in one of the Digital Science offices worldwide or are attending Digital Science events, you can use single-sex facilities in accordance with your gender identity. If you are non-binary, this might mean using gender-neutral or accessible facilities, or using a combination of different facilities. We will never require you to use gender-neutral toilets unless you wish to do so. We are also committed to exploring options for providing gender-neutral facilities in our offices where practical and preferred.

What Happens with Your Records

  • Electronic records will be updated in a timely manner, to coincide with the date on which your transition begins.

  • Care will be taken to ensure that records do not link back to any former names unnecessarily. This may entail creating a new email address rather than simply changing the name on the existing one.

  • If you use one of our offices, new security passes with your updated name and photograph will be issued promptly.

  • Paper records will be updated where possible. Those which cannot be updated (for example, paper copies of references relating to your recruitment) will be stored in a secure, restricted-access location, and will only be accessible to specific named individuals who require access for legitimate reasons, ensuring maximum privacy.

  • Your manager and the People Team will work with you to ensure that nothing is missed and that all relevant internal systems reflect your affirmed identity.

Additional Support & Resources

  • Designated Point of Contact: You will have a designated People Team member as a confidential point of contact to guide you through this process and address any concerns. This is typically your People Partner, but could also be our Employee Relations Manager.

  • Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): We encourage you to connect with our Employee Resource Groups at Digital Science, like the Pride group. These groups can offer a valuable community and peer support network.

  • Training and Education: We are committed to providing training and resources for all employees, especially managers, to foster an inclusive culture, promote respectful language, and ensure everyone understands how to be an effective ally to transgender and gender non-conforming colleagues.

  • External Resources: The People Team can provide links to reputable external organisations and charities that offer additional support and information for transgender individuals and their families.

Next Steps

If you are considering or beginning to transition at work, we encourage you to reach out to your line manager or a member of the People Team, like the Head of Culture, Community and Inclusion or your people partner. We are here to listen, support, and work with you to ensure a smooth and respectful transition. Your wellbeing and inclusion are our priority.

Appendix: Glossary of Key Terms

This glossary provides definitions for terms used in this guidance and common terminology related to gender identity and transition. Language around gender is constantly evolving; these definitions reflect current best practices for an inclusive workplace.

  • Affirmed Gender: The gender a person knows themselves to be and lives as. This term is often preferred over "new gender" or "chosen gender" as it reflects that the person's gender identity is inherent and not newly adopted or a choice.

  • Assigned Sex at Birth (ASAB): The sex (male, female, or intersex) a person is assigned by a medical professional at birth, usually based on external genitalia. This is distinct from gender identity. (Often abbreviated as AMAB - Assigned Male At Birth, or AFAB - Assigned Female At Birth).

  • Cisgender (or Cis): An adjective used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.

  • Deadnaming: The act of using a transgender person's previous name (often their birth name) after they have changed their name as part of their transition. This can be deeply upsetting, disrespectful, and is often considered a form of harassment if done intentionally or repeatedly.

  • Gender: A social construct that refers to the roles, behaviours, expressions, and identities that a society may associate with being male, female, or another gender. Gender is distinct from sex assigned at birth.

  • Gender Dysphoria: The discomfort or distress that may be experienced when a person's gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth. Not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria, and experiencing it is not a prerequisite for being transgender.

  • Gender Expression/Presentation: How a person outwardly presents their gender through appearance, clothing, mannerisms, voice, etc. Gender expression can be masculine, feminine, androgynous, or a combination, and may or may not align with societal expectations associated with their gender identity.

  • Gender Identity: A person's internal, deeply felt sense of being a man, a woman, both, neither, or somewhere else along the gender spectrum. This is an innate sense of self and is independent of sex assigned at birth.

  • Gender Non-Conforming: An umbrella term for individuals whose gender expression does not align with prevailing cultural expectations associated with their assigned sex. Not all gender non-conforming people identify as transgender.

  • Gender Reassignment (UK Legal Term): In UK law (Equality Act 2010), this is a protected characteristic referring to a person who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing, or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning their sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex. It does not require medical intervention.

  • Gender Identity Discrimination (EU Legal Context): In the European Union, discrimination based on gender identity, including gender reassignment, is generally considered a form of sex discrimination under EU law and numerous rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Recent EU directives (as of May 2024) have further strengthened protections by explicitly including "gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics" within the scope of national equality bodies. This means individuals are protected from unfavorable treatment whether they have undergone, intend to undergo, or are undergoing a process of gender reassignment, even without medical intervention.

  • Gender Identity Discrimination (US Legal Context): In the United States, discrimination based on gender identity and transgender status is prohibited as a form of sex discrimination under federal law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) and enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This means employers cannot discriminate against an individual for being transgender or gender non-conforming in any aspect of employment, regardless of whether they have undergone any medical or legal transition steps.

  • Intersex: An umbrella term used to describe people who are born with variations in sex characteristics (including chromosomes, gonads, or genitals) that do not fit typical definitions for male or female bodies. Intersex is about biological sex characteristics, not gender identity. Intersex people can have any gender identity (cisgender or transgender).

  • Non-Binary: An umbrella term for gender identities that are not exclusively male or female. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. Many non-binary people consider themselves transgender.

  • Outing: The act of disclosing someone's gender identity or sexual orientation without their explicit consent. Outing can be dangerous and harmful to an individual's safety, privacy, and well-being.

  • Pronouns: Words used to refer to someone in the third person (e.g., he/him, she/her, they/them). Respecting a person's chosen pronouns is a fundamental aspect of creating an inclusive environment.

  • Social Transition: The non-medical aspects of gender transition, which may include changing one's name, pronouns, gender expression (e.g., clothing, hairstyle), and presenting as their affirmed gender in daily life.

  • Transgender (or Trans): An umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. This term includes people who identify as trans men, trans women, and non-binary individuals. Being transgender is not dependent on medical transition.

  • Transitioning: The process by which a transgender person begins to live in accordance with their gender identity. This is a highly individual process that can involve various social, legal, and/or medical steps. Not all transgender people transition in the same way or pursue all possible steps.