I applaud Ms Amanda Wee's courage in sharing her personal story to give hope to transgender people ("Survey: Depression prevalent among transgender people"; Nov 21).

As a transgender woman professional, I have worked for both public- and private-sector organisations.

There is a distinct lack of support for transgender people at the workplace, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises, which employ 70 per cent of Singapore's workforce.

It is still common for employers to deny transgender people access to frontline jobs, and few companies here have implemented equality and diversity policies that protect their transgender workers.

I urge employers in Singapore to keep an open mind and assess transgender job applicants based on their merits, and to create a safe and supportive workplace environment for every employee.

Everyone deserves a chance to live, work and play on an equal footing.

Leona Lo (Ms)