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Causes: Civil Rights
Mission: Gender spectrum provides education, training and support to help create a gender sensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens
Programs: Child, youth and family education and resources:the annual gender spectrum conference continues to be the nation's preeminent gathering for transgender, non-binary and other gender-expansive youth and their families. Every summer hundreds of families from across the country come together for two days of parenting workshops, youth programming, and individual support from the country's leading experts on transgender and gender-expansive youth. We also host regional workshops for parents and work with youth leaders from around the country. We provide hundreds of parents and caregivers annually with individual support, referrals and resources. We partner with national organizations such as pflag and big brothers big sisters to support their tremendous work with families across the country. We are co-founders of and continue our work with the child and adolescent gender, which is a unique collaboration between the ucsf benioff children's hospital and community organizations dedicated to the health and well-being of transgender and other gender-expansive children.
professional development and partnerships :gender spectrum offers comprehensive professional development and training services to educational, civic, social service, business, and other organizations to help to create more gender inclusive environments. Our professional trainings underscore that restrictive notions of gender limit everyone's ability to reach their full potential. As the leading organization in the country working with educators at all levels specifically on issues related to children, youth and gender, we are helping create inclusive spaces that consider the needs and experiences of all children, impacting the lives of millions of students nationwide. In addition to our work in schools, we work with a broad range of youth-serving professionals to expand their understandings of gender and consult with them as they apply these ideas to create policies and practices that respect and affirm every child and teen. We also provide professional development trainings to leading companies and institutions. Major corporations, government agencies and other institutions are recognizing that society's evolving understandings around gender have significant implications for their work. Gender spectrum offers individualized trainings tailored to each company, agency, or institution's needs, working on developing gender-inclusive workplaces and policies, recruiting and retaining employees, identifying best-practices for gender-related marketing, and other issues to make their work more effective. Through our partnerships nationwide and internationally we support organizations who are doing invaluable work in making our families, communities, companies and institutions more inclusive of all people's gender. Our expertise helps facilitate their progress and make their work even stronger.
online community, education and support:gender spectrum provides programs, discussion groups, and other opportunities online for youth, families, and the professionals who serve them to find information about youth and gender, as well as opportunities to connect with each other and feel less isolated. We create original online content to provide essential education on all issues related to gender and youth, including interviews with thought leaders to help parents and other adults support the youth in their lives. We facilitate peer groups for parents - including a national online group, a spanish language group, and a variety of topic-based discussion groups. We also host online groups for pre-teens and teens. For many youth, our online community and programs provide a lifeline of support, accurate information and up-to-date resources. Our approach in youth programming is based on research indicating that a supportive community and family, connection with other gender-expansive youth, and access to quality and empowering resources are all essential for healthier outcomes for gender-expansive young people. In addition, the gender spectrum lounge is a safe and welcoming online community for teens, caregivers, and professionals from around the world to connect with each other, ask questions, share stories, and feel supported. Membership spans all 50 states, 46 countries, and every continent.