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Gay men are the most likely to go back into the closet when they start work, according to new research.
31% of 18 to 25 gay men said they had returned to the closet when they started work, the highest proportion of all 3,695 UK LGBTQ people surveyed.
The research, by the UK young people’s LGBTQ charity Just Like Us, explored what work was like for 18-25-year-old queer people.
It found one in five (19%) LGBTQ young adults has experienced bullying in the workplace.
That’s higher than their straight counterparts, 14% of whom reported bullying.
Workplace cultures also left 14% of the LGBTQ respondents reporting they rarely or never could be themselves at work.
This figure jumped to 20% for transgender respondents, who were most likely to feel unable to be themselves at work.
Trans young adults are most likely to be unemployed
The research also found a significant disparity and a growing challenge to transgender young people’s livelihoods.
Young trans people were the most likely to be unemployed, with over half (56%) saying they did not have a job.
These figures come at a time where large civic debates about transgender lives are taking place. These have become fraught and fractious. This is acute in the the US, where rights are curtailed in many states.
Meanwhile in the UK, the Government is considering new guidance which could lead to a legal route to ban trans people from some spaces, organisations and sports.
“It is extremely concerning that LGBTQ young adults face so many challenges in the workplace that, in 2023, a quarter go back into the closet when starting a job,” says Amy Ashenden, interim CEO of Just Like Us.
“Our research shows that the treatment of LGBTQ people in British society today is preventing young adults from thriving at work. LGBTQ young people deserve to safely be themselves at school, home and work – there must be no exceptions.”
Is there growing evidence of an LGBTQ pay gap?
The research also showed significant salary disparities based on gender and LGBTQ identities.
The research by Just Like Us found being LGBTQ signficantly worsens the salary gap already faced between men and women.
A third of LGBTQ women surveyed (31%) earned less than £19,999, compared to 25% of non-binary people and 17% of LGBT+ men.
That’s compared to straight women (20%) of whom have a salary of less than £19,999, compared to 12% of straight men.
But asexual people and lesbians were the most likely to have their salaries affected. They were the most likely to earn less than £19,999 (34% and 33% respectively).
“Our research shows young women suffer from lower salaries and a potential gender pay gap very early on in their careers. LGBTQ women and trans people are hit even harder” says Interim CEO Ashenden.
“These high levels of workplace bullying and what appears to be a LGBTQ pay gap among the youngest in our workforces should be a real cause for concern. Workplaces must do more on LGBT+ inclusion, and LGBT+ young people are eager for their support.
It’s not the first research of it’s kind. In 2021, a report by McKinsey & Company found cisgender people in the US took home on average 32% more than their transgender peers.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2023/04/12/young-gay-men-most-likely-to-go-back-in-closet-when-they-start-work/