Although the Supreme Court has banned anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace, it still happens — and many who come out at work are aware of it, a new survey finds. study By the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
“Employment discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity is widely documented,” the report said. executive summary. “In recent studies, LGBTQ Even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, people continue to face unfair treatment in the workplace.” Bostock v. Clayton County.
This discrimination is bad for everyone, the study noted: “Experiences of discrimination and harassment in the workplace have negative effects on employees’ health and well-being, as well as on their job engagement, satisfaction, and productivity. These main effects can result in increased costs and other negative outcomes for employers.”
The study is based on a survey of 1,902 employed LGBTQ+ adults conducted in summer 2023.
“Nearly half (47%) of LGBTQ employees report having experienced discrimination or harassment in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in their lifetime (including being fired, not hired, denied a promotion, or verbal, physical, or sexual harassment),” the summary states. Reported discrimination and harassment was higher for transgender and non-binary employees than cisgender employees, and higher for people of color than white employees, who were roughly twice as likely to have experienced it in the past year.
Many LGBTQ+ workers said they had not come out at work to avoid negative experiences: Nearly half said they had not come out to their current manager, and a fifth said they had not come out to any of their coworkers.
“LGBTQ employees who have come out to at least some coworkers and managers at work are three times more likely to report experiencing discrimination (39% vs. 12%) and more than twice as likely to report harassment (42% vs. 17%) than non-out employees,” the summary states. “LGBTQ employees who have come out to at least someone at work are four times more likely to have experienced discrimination in the past year (12% vs. 3%).” One-third said they had at some point left a job because of anti-LGBTQ+ behavior by their employer.
According to the Williams Institute, these findings underscore the need for better protections against discrimination. “Discrimination and harassment have negative effects on both employees and employers,” Williams Institute founding director and lead author Brad Sears said in a press release. “Stronger protections, including oversight and enforcement, are needed to ensure that LGBTQ people, particularly transgender and non-binary people and LGBTQ people of color, are fully protected from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
