Gabriela Augusto’s story is, in many ways, a story about refusing to accept the limits that other people place around a life. Born in São Paulo in 1993, she grew up fascinated by the internet and by the possibilities of the digital world, while privately carrying an understanding of herself that would take years to fully articulate. During her law studies at PUC-SP, at 21, she found the courage to say her name was Gabriela and to begin living openly as the woman she knew herself to be. The transition brought not only freedom, but also encounters with prejudice and discrimination. One particularly painful experience, when she was refused entry to a bar, became part of the chain of events that pushed her to turn personal frustration into something larger. In 2017, she created the Manual Empresa de Respeito, initially written, designed, printed and distributed with her own resources, as a practical response to intolerance in professional environments. What began almost as a one-woman mission eventually became Transcendemos, the diversity and inclusion consultancy she founded and today leads as CEO. Gabriela’s work has since moved far beyond simply asking companies to be more inclusive. Her focus is increasingly on access, development and power, on making sure trans people are not merely hired into entry-level positions but are able to develop careers and reach leadership. In 2024, she wrote about what she learned as the first trans woman on the board of a major national organization, the CIEE, bringing questions of representation and decision-making into the heart of corporate Brazil. And in a recent 2026 interview, she emphasized that genuine inclusion requires hiring, developing and promoting trans people into leadership rather than stopping at visibility alone.
