51% Of US GLBT Employees Will Try To Hide Their Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity

A new report from the US based Human Rights Campaign Foundation has discovered that 51% of lesbian, gay and transgender employees will try to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity from those working around them,

The report, “Degrees of Equality: A National Study Examining Workplace Climate for LGBT Employees,”  focused on the work experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and discovered that whilst the attitude towards the LGBT community have improved in recent years, many employees still viewed their workplace as a negative environment.

The report indicated that derogatory comments and jokes were the biggest indicator that there was still a hostility towards the LGBT community, with 58% of employees who’s workplace had a Equal Employment Opportunity policy still reporting derogatory comments were being made, with 9% saying this involved a direct supervisor.

However whilst others around them definitely played an impact, this report also indicated that this wasn’t the only reason that employees were not disclosing their sexuality or gender identity, with many interviewed stating they didn’t feel it wasn’t anyone else’s business, and some going on to say that they also didn’t want to make people feel uncomfortable, or be stereotyped by their sexual preference.

The Degrees of Equality : A National Study Examining Workplace Climate for LGBT Employees is available to read online at the Humans Right Campaign Foundation Website.