Trans workers breaking barriers in Brazil
Issued on:
22/07/2021 - 03:20 Brazilian transgender woman Rochelly Rangel, 34, battled for 15 years to find a job in the formal market, facing discrimination and insults MAURO PIMENTEL AFP 3 min
Rio de Janeiro (AFP)
For 15 years, Rochelly Rangel, now 34, struggled to find a formal job in Brazil. As a transgender woman, she faced repeated rejection, insults, and once overheard a prospective boss saying: We cannot hire a transvestite.
She ended up working as a prostitute for six years despite having a high school technical qualification in administrative management, and also dabbled in hairdressing.
Then last year, thanks to one of a growing number of training programs aimed specifically at transgender people in famously macho and homophobic Brazil, she finally found formal employment at a bar in Rio de Janeiro.
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