It’s become a common refrain: nobody wants to work anymore. But why is that the case? Well, for young people in particular, the situation is grim: Canada’s unemployment rate has been on the rise since 2023, and what jobs there are often come with low pay, poor working conditions and negligible benefits. For queer and trans people in the workplace, these issues are often compounded by a multitude of issues—from the employment discrimination and workplace harassment faced by trans people, to the pay gaps facing queer employees, to the far-right’s attacks on queer and trans librarians and teachers.
At the same time, there’s also a lot to be hopeful about: queer people have a long history in union organizing, and have been responsible for significant labour rights victories. And of course, we’ve always been good at working around systems to create our own worlds—and the world of work is no exception, whether that’s through freelancing, co-ops, care work or other non-traditional professions.
With all this in mind, Xtra is excited to announce that we are creating an editorial package around queer people and work—and we’re looking for five early-career BIPOC writers to participate in a mentorship program to make it happen. Mentees will work together with guest editor Saima Desai, along with the rest of the Xtra staff, to create the multimedia package, with each mentee contributing one article. Each person selected for the program will be paid $1,000: $500 for participation, and another $500 for published work.
Desai is an editor, writer and indie-media diehard. She’s written for The Breach, This Magazine, NOW and The Tyee. She’s a senior editor at The Grind; sits on the editorial collective of Between the Lines Books; and was previously the editor of Briarpatch Magazine, where she won Issue Grand Prix at the 2022 National Magazine Awards for Briarpatch’s Land Back Issue. At Briarpatch, she edited the magazine’s annual Labour Issue.
“Workers make the world go round—we put out the fires, we fill the prescriptions, we teach the kids, we tell the stories. But over the past few decades, most labour journalism in Canada has been replaced with business journalism. So we get lots of stories about the stock market and tariffs, and remarkably few stories about workers,” Desai says.
“Work is on people’s minds in a big way: we’re thinking about the high cost of living, how AI will affect our jobs, the union struggles at Canada Post and Air Canada. And queer and trans workers face an extra layer of discrimination, wage gaps and policies and facilities that aren’t set up for us. Queer and trans people’s experiences of work deserve a lot more attention than they’ve been getting. And telling these stories might help us figure out what dignified, sustainable and meaningful work looks like for LGBTQ2S+ workers.”
Topics we’re interested in exploring in the package include (but are not limited to): struggles for labour rights faced by LGBTQ2S+ workers, including harassment, inclusive benefits and equal pay; unemployment and poverty; workers under attack from the far-right; queer and trans people and unions; unconventional workplaces; care work; zero-work, anti-work and degrowth.
“There’s a real lack of ongoing quality labour reporting in Canada these days, and what does exist leaves out LGBTQ2S+ perspectives,” says Xtra’s managing editor Tara-Michelle Ziniuk. “There’s also a need for change within the industry in terms of whose stories get heard and who is telling them. I don’t think we can fix industry-wide problems with a project like this, but I like to think it’s a step in the right direction.”
This project is a part of the Ken Popert Media Fellowship at Pink Triangle Press (Xtra’s publisher), which honours the legacy of former executive director Ken Popert, who retired in 2017. The fellowship provides resources and support for journalists to create and publish unique and powerful LGBTQ2S+ stories. (You can find past content from participating fellows here.)
How to apply:
Applicants must be based in Canada, identify as Black, Indigenous and/or a person of colour and be less than five years into your journalism career. (This doesn’t mean you need to be a student or a young person—if you’re starting your journalism journey later in your life, or without going to school, we’d love to hear from you.) We’ll be accepting applications through Oct. 27.
To apply, please send the following to saima.desai@xtramagazine.com by Oct. 27:
- Your resumé
- Two samples of your writing
- A letter of no more than 500 words that answers the following questions:
—What’s a topic about work that you’re interested in exploring during this mentorship program? Why do you think it’s timely and important? (This could be a broad question or a specific story. Feel free to write about a story idea, but know that—in discussion with Saima and the rest of the mentee group—you may end up writing about something else.)
—Why would you benefit from this mentorship program?
We will contact selected mentees by Nov. 7. Whether or not you’re selected for this program, we will get back to you with a bit of feedback on your application.
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