45% of employees report hearing anti-LGBT remarks in the workplace

Significant proportions of Americans believe that LGBTQ people are treated worse than non-LGBTQ people at work and school, and by law enforcement and healthcare providers, according to a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

Using data from a survey by Ipsos in collaboration with Thomson Reuters and the Williams Institute, researchers find an estimated 6% of employees are LGBT.  More than 45% of all employees (both LGBT and non-LGBT) report hearing anti-LGBT remarks in the workplace and almost one in four (24%) employees report that LGBTQ people are treated unfairly in the workplace.

The survey examined perceptions of LGBTQ discrimination in various settings among employees who work in the private sector and those who work at all levels of government. The study also assessed attitudes of all Americans toward non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. Approximately one-third of all Americans (35%) think that LGBTQ people are treated worse than non-LGBTQ people in schools and one-quarter believe LGBTQ people are treated worse by law enforcement.

“Many employees report hearing anti-LGBT remarks at work and say that their LGBTQ co-workers face unfair treatment,” said lead author Brad Sears, Founding Executive Director at the Williams Institute. “Perceptions of discrimination against LGBTQ people are consistent across private and public sector workforces.”

Key Findings

• Almost one in four (24%) employees in all sectors report that LGBTQ people are treated unfairly in the workplace nationally.
  • LGBT employees (53%) are twice as likely to feel that LGBTQ people are treated worse at work than non-LGBT employees (23%).
• One-fourth of all Americans (25%) say that LGBTQ people are treated worse by law enforcement than non-LGBTQ people in the U.S.
  • Almost 46% of LGBT people thought LGBTQ people are treated worse by law enforcement across the nation compared to one in four (24%) non-LGBT people.
• 17% of all Americans say that LGBTQ people are treated worse by health care providers.
  • Almost one in three (33%) LGBT people feel similarly compared to 16% of non-LGBT people.
• Nearly nine in 10 adult students (87%) report hearing anti-LGBT remarks in school.
• Approximately one-third of all Americans (35%) think that LGBTQ people are treated worse in schools across the U.S.
  • Almost six in 10 (57%) LGBT people believe that LGBTQ people are treated worse in schools nationally, while only 33% of non-LGBT people believe so.

Read the report