All of us at the Gender Expansion Project would like to send our thoughts and prayers to the LGBT community in Orlando this morning. The tragic events that unfolded last night deeply saddens us and we send our love from the northwest.

While poverty rates are higher among LGBT populations as a whole when compared to their heterosexual counterparts, transgender people face particular challenges in the workforce due to transphobia, harassment, and systemic discrimination.  One of the most recent major studies on transgender issues, conducted by the LGBTQ Task Force, found that 14 percent of transgender people are unemployed, more than double the national rate of unemployment. One in four transgender people are underemployed, and 90 percent of transgender people report facing "harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination" at work. Transgender people are also four times as likely as the general population to live in extreme poverty—that number doubles for black transgender people. TransTech Social Enterprises, which was founded in July, is dedicated to leadership and technology skill development for the LGBTQ community, with special emphasis on serving transgender people.  Through an apprenticeship program with four current participants and its program assessment services for organizations working to build greater capacity for trans employees, TransTech is empowering transgender people to build their own careers, skills, and sense of personal value.