According to a new study from LinkedIn and UK Black Pride, LGBT+ workers in the United Kingdom are expected to earn approximately 16% less than their cisgender and heterosexual coworkers, totaling a shortage of nearly 7,000 pounds every year. The study interviewed 4,000 different workers across the UK, both heterosexual and LGBT+, but did not say whether the pay gap resulted from discrimination or other factors.
Joshua Graff, LinkedIn’s UK manager, says that some LGBT+ employees might be suffering at work due to the stress of remaining in the closet. “Concealing such a huge part of your life from colleagues can be extremely stressful and takes up energy that could be spent excelling at your job,” Graff noted, drawing attention to the study’s more than 25% of respondents who said they haven’t disclosed their sexual or gender identities at work out of fear of backlash. Another two-thirds of LGBT+ respondents reported feeling uncomfortable at work due to their sexuality or gender identity at some point.
This report comes in the wake of recent British media reporting on the country’s gender pay gap, where women are compensated at a rate 8.6% lower than men who perform the same job. This new study puts the LGBT+ pay gap at a rate almost twice as high, with an 16% as opposed to 8.6%.
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, co-founder of UK Black Pride, says studies like these highlight the importance of companies striving for LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace, even when Pride month is over.
Read more from Reuters.