Pushed Out, Pushing Back: Korean Transgender and Nonbinary People’s Job Search Experiences

The present study explores resilient and proactive strategies that Korean transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people utilize in face of barriers and discrimination in their job search process. Participants were 16 Korean TNB adults living in South Korea who identified as trans men ( n = 7), trans women ( n = 6), and nonbinary ( n = 3), whose ages ranged from 24 to 37 years old (M = 29.6, SD = 4.0). Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, we developed a theoretical framework that explains barriers that puts TNB workers at risk of career interruption as well as resilient strategies they adopt within the job search process to sustain their careers. Findings indicate that despite facing systematic barriers and discrimination during job search, TNB individuals demonstrate notable resilience and resistance, actively paving their career pathways. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the proposed theoretical framework of TNB people’s job search experiences.