I joined Amazon in 2018 at the delivery station in Grossebersdorf near Vienna, Austria. I started as a sortation associate, and my official name was Leonora Hasler. A short time later, I was promoted to supervisor on the early shift and now, I am a trainer for new delivery drivers who deliver Amazon packages in the greater Vienna area. In this time, I came out as a transgender man and I am currently building our LGBTQIA+ Glamazon group in Austria.
This year I turned 30 and I finally feel like I'm where I belong – professionally and in life as a transgender man. Most of the time, it wasn't like that. There were difficult years where I struggled, fearing I’d never feel there was a place where I belonged.
Amazon welcomed me right from the start. My colleagues encouraged me, I had opportunities to try new things, take on responsibility, and develop myself. At Amazon, all that matters is what you do and achieve, not your history or other people’s opinions.
I grew up in a small village in Lower Austria where I stood out as the tomboyish girl. Transgender or LGBTQIA+ communities do not exist in the Austrian countryside. Moving to Vienna helped improve my life and I had different jobs across various industries. It was always noticeable that I was different, as many people still don't understand the term transgender.
To be honest, I didn't expect things to be any different in logistics. But my job at Amazon became a turning point in my life as I felt welcomed right from the start. My colleagues encouraged me, I had opportunities to try new things, take on responsibility, and develop myself. At Amazon, all that matters is what you do and achieve, not your history or other people’s opinions.
This work environment gave me the courage to come out and my team and managers were great. Everyone knows that I’m transgender and it doesn’t matter. On the contrary, when I changed my gender on our intranet portal, colleagues congratulated me. At Amazon, I’m now introduced as a man and my new name is used in our systems worldwide, from emails to chats – I finally feel like I’m allowed to be myself for the first time.
I am very active in our LGBTQIA+ Glamazon chat groups - the discussion with like-minded people gives me a lot of confidence and helps me build my own chapter here in Austria. I believe this will help future colleagues enormously – showing them that they are welcome and safe.
About the author
Lucius Lazarus has been working at an Amazon delivery station near Vienna since 2018. He is a trainer for delivery drivers and is a transgender man who is currently building an LGBTQIA+ Glamazon group for Austria. "Everyone here at Amazon knows that I'm transgender, and it doesn't matter." Lucius says.
