A new Human Rights Campaign study finds that 46% of LGBT+ workers in the U.S. are still closeted at work, despite an overall favorable shift in public opinion toward LGBT+ people, and sustained efforts by companies to create more inclusive workplaces.
An HRC study released in 2008 found that 50% of LGBT+ workers were closeted. The very slight change over time could imply that, perhaps contrary to conventional wisdom, American workplaces have not become much more welcoming for LGBT+ people.
“While LGBTQ-inclusive corporate policies are becoming the norm, LGBTQ workers too often face a climate of bias in their workplace,” Deena Fidas, director of HRC’s Workplace Equality Program, said in a statement.
Although over half of Fortune 500 companies now have an executive in charge of diversity and inclusion, it appears that the needle has not moved much for LGBT+ employees. One in five of survey respondents report being told they should alter their dress to better conform to gender norms, and more than half say they occasionally hear jokes about lesbian or gay people at work.
Read more at Bloomberg