Managing diversity through transgender inclusion in developing countries: A collaborative corporate social responsibility initiative from Bangladesh

While drawing on a collaborative corporate social responsibility initiative to manage diversity, this article investigates the main drivers of discrimination and the ways to reduce discrimination affecting transgenders in organizations in Bangladesh, a developing country. Often part of the "Hijra" community, transgenders in Bangladesh were acknowledged by the government in 2013 as third gender individuals but remain the most excluded of the excluded and struggle to retain jobs. This research finds that Bangladeshi transgenders at work suffer from internal intimidation because of the gurus or leaders in the community and also from direct and indirect workplace harassment from other workers. Subsequently, it offers a typology of collaborative practices to facilitate inclusion based on persuasion and dialog with gurus, the police, imams, and workers. Finally, this article contributes to the nascent literature on diversity management through transgender inclusion as well as the literature on transgenders and the Hijra community in Bangladesh.