Half of LGBT Americans closeted at work

[Morphine Prince 109,683]

The HRC Foundation released the results of a survey of employees across the nation, revealing the persistent daily challenges that have led nearly half of LGBTQ people to remain closeted at their workplaces -- a rate largely unchanged over the past decade. A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide, HRC’s third national workplace study over the past decade, shines a light on the often-intangible, nuanced issues in the workplace that keep LGBTQ workers “separate,” leaving many feeling distracted, exhausted or depressed, and believing they have nowhere to turn for help.

The HRC Foundation survey found that:

Forty-six percent of LGBTQ workers say they are closeted at work, compared to 50 percent in HRC’s groundbreaking 2008 Degrees of Equality report;

One in five LGBTQ workers report having been told or had coworkers imply that they should dress in a more feminine or masculine manner;

Fifty-three percent of LGBTQ workers report hearing jokes about lesbian or gay people at least once in a while;

Thirty-one percent of LGBTQ workers say they have felt unhappy or depressed at work;

And the top reason LGBTQ workers don’t report negative comments they hear about LGBTQ people to a supervisor or human resources? They don’t think anything would be done about it -- and they don’t want to hurt their relationships with coworkers

Source: https://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-report-startling-data-reveals-half-of-lgbtq-employees-in-us-remain-clos

 

[Kimmo 82,284]

Facts.... I’m one of them....

[JazzGa 14,654]

 It is a privilege at work to pass as straight.  The workplace environment already has enough problems seeing a female coworker without bias against her, of course there is going to be even more bias against someone who is visibly LGBT. Women perform better at work if they pretend they do not have children and never talk about their children. LGBT people perform better if they pretend they do not have lovers and never talk about their lovers. I personally thought I would never ever come out as bisexual at work, because for me it was "just a distraction" but for many people who don't pass as straight, they do not have that privilege.  Since I work with a lot of queer youth it's advantageous to sometimes come out to them and talk about my experiences, but even in my hyper-LGBTQ-friendly hyperliberal work environment, I can't always be out.  I'm not saying it's right, but it's definitely true in my experience. 

[Pacify Him 9,073]

Good

Spoiler