Barriers to Employers in Developing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender-Friendly Workplaces

Lesbians, gay men and bisexual and transgender people (LGB and T) experience discrimination and harassment in the workplace. To tackle this, employers need to make their workplace more ‘LGB and T-friendly’. The concentration on ‘friendly’ is to highlight the importance of going beyond anti-discrimination and harassment policies and create a culture that enables people to be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The study aimed to identify how to facilitate employers to make their workplaces more LGB and T-friendly. As such, it focussed on facilitators (including business benefits) and barriers to employer action, rather than on LGB and T-friendly policies and practices. It lists specialist organisations providing support for employers to make their workplaces more LGB and T-friendly.

The study was based on qualitative interviews with 27 employers at differing stages of developing LGB and T policies and practices; interviews with seven LGB and T and stakeholder organisations; a brief literature review of business benefits of LGB and T policies and practices research; and a web search to identify specialist providers of employer support for developing LGB and T policies and practices. The fieldwork took place in Spring 2010.