By Michelle Dominguez, proud teammate at Social Justice Partners Los Angeles
I’ve been seeking a justice-centered workplace where I can be my authentic, Queer, Trans, Latinx self for my whole career. Like many, I’ve been exploited as an employee and I need a workplace where I am represented, gendered appropriately, and can thrive — what Social Justice Partners Los Angeles terms a “liberatory workplace,” where everyone feels belonging and freedom.
Then, I find a job prospect that really excites me and gives me hope! Here are the seven signs from the job search that give me the good tingles of a liberatory workplace:
1. A Positive Recommendation from a Friend
My beloved community was looking out for me as I set boundaries with exploitative workplaces. A Queer and Trans friend forwards me a job announcement and two Queer friends vouch for the organization’s social justice values.
Good word-of-mouth is so helpful because I trust my community’s lived experience more than a staff-written website. When an organization uses keywords like “social justice,” it may be a good sign, but it doesn’t prove their actions improve the lives of their QTPOC staff.
2. A Majority Woman of Color Staff with Queer Representation
The job announcement has a photo of the current team. I do what many of us without the privilege of representation do, and scan the faces to count for gender presentation and People of Color. I know it can be problematic since I cannot determine someone’s race or gender by looking at them, and it’s also a learned survival tactic.
From the scan, I read the staff as predominantly feminine-presenting and of Color, which excites me because it’s what I have been searching for. I also read the staff bios and note multiple staff who have done LGBTQ advocacy (and are presumably LGBTQ themselves). Finally, somewhere I can belong and am not the only one!
3. A Transparent Living Wage
Usually, job announcements have a wide pay range or no transparent wage at all. This job announcement states outright the pay per year—and it’s a living wage!
Our sector’s legal status is defined by operating for public good rather than profit, but it’s “non-profit” not “non-wage.” We need to address the economic conditions we seek to change in our communities from within our organizations. These economic conditions disproportionately harm Queer and Trans People of Color. We need not only living, but thriving wages.
4. Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
“100% employee costs of medical, dental, vision, and long-term disability insurance.” I read that sentence twice because I have never seen it in a job description before. It is a sign that the organization values healthcare as a human right. Healthcare coverage is especially needed for Trans humans of Color, who are systematically excluded from accessing care.
Plus, with 100% employee costs covered, it is easier for applicants to calculate the take-home pay for the position.
If you want to cultivate a liberatory workplace, be transparent with take-home pay so candidates can know whether they can afford applying for and working at your organization.
5. A Staff Support Stipend
The job provides funds for employee professional development and wellness. This is a liberatory two-for-one. It signals an organization promotes a learning culture. It also shows the organization understands the interdependence between healthy, whole staff and healthy, whole communities.
Just like our sector wants simple grant reports and unrestricted funding, employees should also have a simple stipend process with few restrictions and no burdens. Organizations should give staff the autonomy to choose how the stipend will support them best—whether that be paying for a name change, therapy, acupuncture, or more healing modalities not typically covered by Western health care.
6. A Short Application
The application directions include, written in bold: “No cover letter required.” Instead, a short questionnaire asks really meaningful questions, like: “How do our mission and values resonate with you personally?” and “How would you personally like to grow in your anti-racist practice?” These questions give me the space to share about my whole self, including parts of myself that often get repressed in job search processes.
The application also asks for my pronouns, which shows the organization’s basic gender literacy and intention for Trans inclusion.
That’s the type of work environment I need in my life.
7. A Practice of Rest
Another first I’ve read in a job announcement is mention of “quiet time.” Twice a year, the organization sets aside three weeks of rest from external activities. I love this intentional time for team reflection.
We need more spaciousness in our work so we can focus on healing, quality relationships, and making lasting positive change in our communities.
For a long time, I wondered if a liberatory workplace where I could feel a sense of belonging existed. I was sure there was and that I had not found one yet, and this job announcement is inspiring proof! Since seeing it, I’ve seen more job announcements with mention of 4-day work weeks, childcare support, menstrual leave, building wealth stipends, and more much-needed compensation for our sector.
I’m hopeful for the day that liberatory workplaces becomes the norm, because I’m tired of feeling like it’s solely on me to retain myself as a Queer and Trans Worker of Color.
What are some signs you’ve seen of a liberatory workplace?
Michelle Dominguez
Michelle Dominguez (they/them/elle) is a Queer and Trans Los Angeles native born to Colombian immigrants. After a decade-long career in higher education student affairs, they switched sectors in 2021 to join the team at Social Justice Partners Los Angeles. What brings Michelle joy? Quality time with loved ones, mindfulness, audiobooks, vegan chocolate desserts, and Disney magic. You can find Michelle on LinkedIn and tip them via Venmo @MMissy003.
As a company currently hiring, these are great tips to be aware of that can signal to candidates the type of culture we have. Thank you, Michelle!
Love the advice! Saw allot of red flags in my last job and I’ll definitely look for some of these in my new one!
Hey Sean, Thank you so much! Here is to more organizations planting an abundance of green flags so our communities can thrive. I’m wishing you the best in your career!
Hey Megan, I’m glad this could be of use to you as you hire! While my intention was to share my personal experience rather than tips, I love that this can serve as inspiration for workplaces aiming for a more healthy, sustainable culture. Best wishes in your hiring!
These are all employer goals for sure! Do you have a list of companies that meet most or all of these criteria?
Hey Hanna, So glad this can serve as something to aim towards! While I think a list could be helpful to job-seekers, it’d be challenging to capture the evolving, complex nature of the organization and quality of relationships. A positive recommendation from a friend is fittingly listed as my first sign as a way to uplift relationships and spoken word instead of white supremacy culture’s value of only the written word–which I fear a list would venture into. My hope is for organizations to do the deep work to continually evolve and embed liberatory values at their core, so that the more external layers such as a job posting can signal what they’re working towards. If more organizations did this, we may not need a list, but until then I’m grateful to be connected to a supportive community where I can ask these questions!
Be wary of “… the phenomenon of job ads immediately disqualifying disabled applicants by including job requirements that aren’t actually required for the job. The most common offenders include the capacity to carry at least 25lbs for jobs that generally don’t require physical labour like office work … ”
https://crippledscholar.com/2016/02/14/disability-and-the-job-search/
Deborah, thank you so much for uplifting this ableist practice.
Michelle, thanks for sharing such an upbeat and possible vision of applying for and landing your role. It gives many us a vision for what the sector needs to be doing to really shift old practices. We can all learn from what you have shared! Thank you!
Susan, thank you for commenting! I feel so fortunate to be able to share a positive experience among many oppressive practices and stories in the sector. I hope more organizations will evolve so we can hear more from what is and what can be rather than just what NOT to be.
This is so informative and important. Thank you for sharing this! This will definitely inform the way we hire and share about our team culture.
Alia, I’m so honored this can inform your practices!
#6 really resonates with me – Our organization is always evaluating our hiring process and trying to ensure we value applicants’ time but also learn more about how our values might align.
Hey Chelsea, I’m glad it resonates with you and that your organization is working to evolve your hiring practices to be more values-aligned!
This is incredible! I’m about to start a new job and one of the biggest blessings it offered the opportunity it offered to find more spaciousness in my life personally and professionally. Rest is resistance and resilience!
Anjli, best wishes in your new job! We all deserve a workplace culture full of rest and spaciousness.