Thai social media is brewing with scorn over an unidentified Thai company that recently canceled a job interview with a candidate being considered for the job after discovering that the applicant is transgender.
Identifying herself as a transwoman, Peerachaya Jankham posted on Facebook an email response from a Thai company that had allegedly scheduled a job interview with her — only to cancel that appointment after Preerachaya wrote back to specify her gender identity.
“What a shame. Our company doesn’t hire transgenders,” the email reads, going as far as commenting on Preerachaya’s appearance.
“Your name — Preerachaya — is a female name, and you look just like one. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known. I didn’t check whether your title was a mister or miss. Thank you,” it reads.
Preerachaya explained that the response came after she had decided to inquire about the company’s view on trans women.
“I’ve been warned that it is difficult for trans women to find a job, but I didn’t think much of it until I experienced it myself. I decided to ask them about how open they were, otherwise, it would have been a waste of time for me to go to the interview,” she wrote on Facebook.
At the time of publication of this article, Preerachaya had yet to respond to Coconuts Bangkok’s request for comment.
Although Thailand is often regarded as an LGBT paradise, transgender individuals cannot legally change their gender, and same-sex marriage has yet to be legalized in the country. “The society is not open [to trans women], they’re just used to seeing us,” wrote Preerachaya in her public post.
Reader Interactions