“You always have to prove yourself”: trans women’s experiences in the portuguese labor market

Background Trans women continue to encounter deep systemic barriers to access and remain within the labor market, compromised by institutional transphobia, social stigmatization, and systemic neglect. The aim of this study is to investigate how trans women′s work experience in Portugal is related to psychological distress, coping and identity affirmation.Methods This qualitative study was carried out based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten trans women living in Portugal. The data were analyzed through a Thematic Analysis grounded on the Gender Minority Stress Theory and IntersectionalityResults We identified four themes reflecting continuity, rupture, resistance, and resilience: (1) Exclusion and Disqualification, which includes rejection in hiring processes and everyday hostility; (2) Survival Strategies and Informal Paths, which reveals sex work and informal work as responses to systemic barriers, and as a way to finance gender transition; (3) Suffering and Subjectivity, which describes the psychological cost of visibility, surveillance, and persistent loneliness; and (4) Support Networks and Opportunities, which reveals the transformative potential of care, whether through family, therapy, peer networks, or inclusive workplaces.Discussion Across the participants trajectories, work was positioned as a space of violence, in contrast to work being put forward as an opportunity for survival, gender affirmation, and later, belonging. Regardless of barriers and distress participants experienced, they constructed resilience through informal pathways and their support networks confirming the need for inclusive and affirming policy in the workplace.