Better Understand LGBTQIA+ Challenges
The LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual) community has long faced discrimination and marginalisation in many aspects of society, including the workplace. Research conducted by Stonewall in 2018 found that almost 18% of LGBT employees have been subjected to negative behaviour or comments from their colleagues in the past year due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. At the same time, the Census 2021 shows that approximately 1.5 million people in the UK identify as having an LGB+ orientation alone. These studies raise a critical question: are our organisations set up to give the support that our LGBTQIA+ communities need, that could help balance the challenges faced elsewhere?
Watch this 30-minute on how to better equip your workplace for LGBTQIA+ inclusion
In this Towards Utopia Breakfast Briefing, Katya Veleva, Utopia LGBTQIA+ lead, presents crucial insight about the specific challenges and rise in hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community. Plus, the adverse effects of inadequate workplace support on the mental wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ people, and our advice on how workplaces can better support.
“We count. We matter. We exist.”
Our Breakfast Briefings are evidence-based, invite-only, resources for anyone working in or interested in Inclusion and Diversity. If you’d like to be invited to the next meeting, sign up here.
Some key takeaways include:
Compared with the lowest performing countries, those that have passed the most legal protections for LGBT+ people have up to twice as many women in parliament and reduce their gender pay gap by 30%.
33% of LGBTI people face financial hardships. However, it’s also reported that the situation is more severe for intersex and trans people, with approximately 50% reporting difficulties in making ends meet.
A recent study reveals that one in ten violent incidents suffered by LGBT people are specifically hate crimes.
The LGTBQ+ community's estimated buying power worldwide is approximately $3.2 trillion. In the US alone, it’s nearly a trillion dollars, while in the UK it’s nearly $137 billion.
If the moral argument is not enough, these staggering figures alone highlight the need for all businesses to work harder towards queer inclusion.
How can we help you?
Utopia is a strategic DEI consultancy, that provides bespoke support to a range of global organisations to identify and develop both short and long-term opportunities that can lead to better inclusion for all. Because all forms of oppression are connected, it’s important for us all to be better allies. We encourage action over silence, and invite you to connect with us to explore how we can help you and your organisation. Connect with us.
