As a transgender woman living in Russia, where LGBT+ people often face abuse and state repression, Chloe Golovleva said she felt like an animal trapped in a cage.

Two years ago, Golovleva left Russia and sought asylum in Argentina where trans people have greater legal protections, but she still felt her co-workers did not accept her.

Golovleva’s experience is common across the Americas, where conservative social norms often leave trans people locked out of formal work and pushed to the margins of society.

But increasingly, LGBT+ advocates and tech entrepreneurs are teaming up to offer training and employment in one of the world’s fastest growing industries: information technology.

With relatively well-paid jobs, a disruptive attitude toward traditional work environments and an emphasis on innovation, advocates say the tech industry offers opportunities for trans people often left out in the cold.

“There’s a lot of trans folks ... who are working in the tech space and who are also leveraging their access to resources to help other trans folks,” said U.S. tech entrepreneur and academic Kortney Ziegler.

In countries such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina, LGBT+ rights have become increasingly accepted in recent years, despite resistance from conservative groups.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that workers could not be discriminated against for being LGBT+, while Brazil’s highest court made homophobia and transphobia a crime last year.

Argentina established a quota system in September under which at least 1% of public sector jobs are reserved for trans workers.

Despite these strides, trans people are often left out of the workforce.

But in the tech industry, often centered in liberal, LGBT+-friendly urban centers like San Francisco in the United States or Buenos Aires in Argentina, acceptance of gay and trans people tends to be higher.

Read the full article about transgender workers in the tech industry by Oscar Lopez at Reuters.