Research

LGBTQ+ Workplace Issues (Quick Take)

May 31, 2022

This is an update to our previously titled “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Workplace Issues” Quick Take.

POPULATION

It Is Difficult to Determine the Size of the LGBTQ+ Population

Stigma and methodological barriers make it difficult to get an accurate count of the LGBTQ+ population.1 The following statistics are the best estimates from surveys around the world.

  • Canada – 4%2
  • United Kingdom – 2.7%3
  • United States – 7.1%4

Because it can be very difficult to measure the LGBTQ+ population, some surveys instead measure the number of people in same-sex relationships.5

WORKPLACE

More Countries Are Providing Legal Protections for LGBTQ+ Employees

Eighty-one countries prohibit discrimination in employment because of sexual orientation, including: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.6

Despite Some Legal Protections, LGBTQ+ Employees Often Face Hostility in the Workplace

In the European Union, one in five (21%) of LGBT people experienced discrimination at work in 2019, but transgender employees specifically reported much higher proportions of discrimination (36%).7

In Canada, LGBTQ2+ workers are twice as likely as straight employees (44% compared to 22%) to have experienced inappropriate behaviors at work as of 2018.8

In the United States, almost half (45.5%) of LGBT workers have experienced, at some point in their careers, some form of unfair treatment at work, including: harassment, being fired, or facing hiring discrimination based on their LGBT status.9

  • When applying for jobs, nearly one-quarter (23.7%) of LGBT Americans have experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,10 but experiences vary by race and ethnicity:
    • LGBT who are people of color – 29.0%11
    • LGBT people who are White – 18.3%12
  • LGBTQ+ employees in the US earn 90% for every $1 the typical worker earns.13
    • Transgender employees make 32% less per year than their cisgender counterparts.14
  • LGBT people are often subjected to harmful language: 67.5% of LGBT employees have heard slurs, jokes, or negative comments about LGBT people in the workplace.15

Transgender workers are subject to different types of harassment than LGB workers. This includes bathroom accessibility, being deliberately referred to by incorrect pronouns, and having to tolerate inappropriate questions, which can lead to employee disengagement and avoidance.16

  • Transgender workers are more likely to face discrimination when applying for jobs (43.9%) and experience verbal harassment at work (43.8%) compared to cisgender LGB employees (21.5% and 29.3%, respectively).17
Fear Prevents LGBTQ+ Employees From Bringing Their Full Selves to Work

About half (50.4%) of LGBT workers in the United States are not out to their supervisors and one-quarter (25.8%) are not out to anyone at work.18 Comfortability with coming out can differ by gender and rank:19

  • LGBTQ+ men are much more likely (80%) to be out to most of their colleagues than LGBTQ+ women (58%).
  • LGBTQ+ senior leaders are more likely (80%) to be out at work than junior employees (32%).

LGBT employees often change their behavior at work to avoid or minimize attention to stigmatized traits—also known as “covering.” This can be a source of stress that negatively impacts their health and well-being.20

  • About two in five (40.7%) of LGBT employees are covering at their current jobs so that they can avoid harassment or discrimination.21
  • Transgender employees are more likely to cover (57.7%) compared to cisgender LGB workers (39.0%).22
    • Altering physical appearance is especially common for transgender employees. Over one-third of transgender employees have changed their appearance (36.4%) or how they dress (35.4%) for the workplace. In comparison, only 23.3% of cisgender LGB workers have done either.23
Unsupportive Work Cultures Push LGBTQ+ Employees to Leave

Around one-third of LGBT employees report leaving a job (34.2%) or looking for other jobs (33.9%) because the work environment did not accept LGBT people.24

Today, the Majority of Fortune 500 Companies Support Their LGBTQ+ Employees by Offering Inclusive Benefits

Fortune 500 LGBTQ+ inclusion policies:25

  • 93% have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation.
  • 91% have non-discrimination policies that include gender identity.
  • 56% include domestic partner benefits.
  • 66% include transgender-inclusive benefits.

Leadership

Discriminatory Experiences Impact LGBTQ+ Employees’ Opportunities for Advancement

About one-third (31%) of LGBTQ Americans reported that experiences of discrimination have affected their ability to get promoted or attain their desired salary.26

  • Transgender workers are more likely to lack the support needed for promotion (37%) than cisgender workers (19%).27 Additional barriers to advancement include a lack of role models in senior leadership, changed or reduced schedules, and not being invited to company events.28
Openly LGBTQ+ Corporate Leaders Are Rare

Just 26 of the 5,670 (0.5%) board seats in the Fortune 500 are held by openly LGBTQ+ directors.29

In 2018, Beth Ford became the CEO of Land O’Lakes and the first openly gay woman to run a Fortune 500 company.30

  • Tim Cook (Apple), Jim Fitterling (DOW), and Jeff Gennette (Macy’s) are also openly gay Fortune 500 CEOs.31
  • Sue Nabi (Coty), who identifies as a transgender woman, leads a Fortune 1000 company (previously a Fortune 500 company in 2021).32

LEARN MORE

DEFINITION: LGBTQ+ is an abbreviation for the community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, plus any other sexual or gender minority. In the United States, LGBT is the most commonly used umbrella acronym to describe the community as a whole. The acronym can vary in a number of ways, including GLBT and GLB, and can include additional letters, such as I (intersex), A (asexual), or 2 (Two-Spirit). Some include a plus (+) after the acronym to denote additional communities.33 We use the LGBTQ+ acronym throughout this Quick Take, except in instances in which a source uses another variation.

How to cite this product: LGBTQ+ workplace issues: Quick Take (2022). Catalyst.

  1. Wilson, T., Temple, J., & Lyons, A. (2021). Projecting the sexual minority population: Methods, data, and illustrative projections for Australia. Demographic Research, 45(12), 361-396.
  2. Additionally, the 2021 Census of Population estimates that transgender and non-binary people make up 0.33% of Canada’s population aged 15 and older. Canada is the first country to publish national census data on this population group. Statistics Canada. (2021, June 15). A statistical portrait of Canada’s diverse LGBTQ2+ communities. The Daily; Statistics Canada. (2022, April 27). Canada is the first country to provide census data on transgender and non-binary people. The Daily.
  3. Sexual orientation, UK: 2019. (2021, May 27). Office for National Statistics.
  4. Jones, J. M. (2022, February 17). LGBT identification in U.S. ticks up to 7.1%. Gallup.
  5. Wilson, T., Temple, J., & Lyons, A. (2021). Projecting the sexual minority population: Methods, data, and illustrative projections for Australia. Demographic Research, 45(12), 361-396.
  6. Mendos, L. R., Botha, K., Lelis, R. C., López de la Peña, E., Savelev, I., & Tan, D. (2020). State-sponsored homophobia: Global legislation overview update. ILGA World.
  7. A long way to go for LGBTI equality. (2020). European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
  8. Statistics Canada. (2021, June 15). A statistical portrait of Canada’s diverse LGBTQ2+ communities. The Daily.
  9. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  10. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  11. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  12. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  13. The wage gap among LGBTQ+ workers in the United States. (2022). Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
  14. Baboolall, D., Greenberg, S., Obeid, M., & Zucker, J. (2021). Being transgender at work. McKinsey Quarterly.
  15. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  16. Rudin, J., Billing, T., Farro, A., & Yang, Y. (2020). Bigenderism at work? Organizational responses to trans men and trans women employees. Organization Management Journal, 17(2), 63-81.
  17. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  18. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  19. Bailinson, P., Decherd, W., Ellsworth, D., & Guttman, M. (2020). LGBTQ+ voices: Learning from lived experiences. McKinsey Quarterly.
  20. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  21. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  22. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  23. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  24. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
  25. Corporate equality index 2022. (2022). Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
  26. Mahowald, L., Gruberg, S., & Halpin, J. (2020). The state of the LGBTQ community in 2020: A national public opinion study. Center for American Progress.
  27. Baboolall, D., Greenberg, S., Obeid, M., & Zucker, J. (2021). Being transgender at work. McKinsey Quarterly.
  28. Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021). LGBT people’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law; Baboolall, D., Greenberg, S., Obeid, M., & Zucker, J. (2021). Being transgender at work. McKinsey Quarterly.
  29. Visibility counts: The LGBTQ+ board opportunity. (2022, March 21). Out Leadership.
  30. Kowitt, B. (2018, July 26). The latest female CEO in the Fortune 500 breaks a new barrier. Fortune.
  31. Aspan, M. (2020, June 16). Fortune 500 CEOs praise landmark LGBTQ antidiscrimination ruling. Fortune.
  32. Collins, A. (2020, August 28). Sue Nabi, breaker of glass ceilings? Yahoo; Hinchliffe, E. (2022, May 23). The number of women running Fortune 500 companies reaches a record high. Fortune.
  33. LGBTQ+ Terms to Know. (2018). Catalyst.; LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary. University of California, Davis; Statistics Canada. (2021, June 15). A statistical portrait of Canada’s diverse LGBTQ2+ communities. The Daily.