Degrees of Equality

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation studied how LGBTQ+ identity surfaces and unfolds in the workplace, how environment can affect the retention and productivity of all employees and how organizations can identify and address opportunities to improve climate. The findings were striking: a majority "51 percent" of LGBTQ+ workers continue to hide their identity from most or all co-workers, and younger workers are even more likely to hide — only 5 percent of LGBTQ+ employees ages 18 to 24 say they are totally open at work, compared to more than 20 percent of older workers.

The Cost of the Closet and the Rewards of Inclusion

In this follow-up to the groundbreaking 2009 study, Degrees of Equality, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation has studied the national picture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workers’ experiences of inclusion on the job as contrasting with the perceptions of their non-LGBTQ+ coworkers on issues. The study reveals that despite a changing social and legal landscape for LGBTQ+ people, still over half (53%) of LGBTQ+ workers nationwide hide who they are at work.

Transgender Inclusion In the Workplace: A Toolkit for Employers

This toolkit was created to provide human resources and diversity and inclusion professionals with an overview of legal and other issues, such as access to inclusive healthcare and barriers to employment, surrounding transgender inclusion, while outlining current best practices from leading U.S. companies today.

Collecting Inclusive Data in Workplace Surveys

Employers committed to diversity and inclusion routinely invest in the LGBTQ+ community with initiatives related to in recruiting, retention, professional development or other employee satisfaction measurements. Many employers want to track the impact of those investments and adopt LGBTQ+ self-identification programs to gather important data on the composition of their workforce with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity.