Employment discrimination against Asian American LGBTQ employees is persistent and widespread, according to a new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. More than four in ten (44%) Asian American LGBTQ workers have experienced discrimination or harassment at work due to their LGBTQ status at some point in their lives.
This includes approximately one-third of Asian American LGBTQ workers who reported being fired, not hired, not promoted, or denied other opportunities (32%) and one-third who have experienced verbal, physical, or sexual harassment (34%) related to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Despite federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ workers, nearly one-third (30%) of Asian American LGBTQ employees have faced one or more adverse workplace experiences within the past five years.
The majority of Asian American LGBTQ adults in the workforce are under age 35 (64%), bisexual (70%), and have at least a bachelor’s degree (70%). Over half (55%) of Asian American LGBTQ workers were not out to their current supervisors, and 17% were not out to any of their coworkers.
Researchers analyzed survey data collected in the summer of 2023 to examine the workplace experiences of Asian American LGBTQ adults.
“The lifetime experiences of discrimination and harassment among Asian American LGBTQ employees are particularly high, considering that almost two-thirds are under the age of 35,” said lead author Brad Sears, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Law and Policy at the Williams Institute. “Not only do they have fewer years of work experience from which to encounter adverse events, but many of them live and work on the West Coast, where there are more protective laws and policies for LGBTQ workers.”
Additional Findings
Demographics
- More than four in 10 (44%) Asian American LGBTQ employees were earning less than $50,000 a year.
- Over one in five (21%) Asian American LGBTQ adults were self-employed or employed by their families.
- Almost four in 10 (38%) Asian American LGBTQ workers live in the Pacific region, consistent with the Asian American population overall but much higher than White (14%), Black (7%), and Latinx (19%) LGBTQ employees.
Harassment
- About one in five Asian American LGBTQ employees reported experiencing sexual harassment (22%) or physical harassment (18%) at work because of their LGBTQ status.
- Over half (56%) of Asian American LGBTQ employees reported hearing negative comments about LGBTQ people in the workplace.
Avoiding Discrimination
- Almost half (48%) of Asian American LGBTQ employees reported engaging in covering behaviors at their current jobs to avoid harassment or discrimination.
- One-fifth of Asian American LGBTQ employees have avoided work-related events or travel (21%) or changed their physical appearance at work (19%) to cover their LGBTQ status.
Retention
- One-third of Asian American LGBTQ employees reported that they had left a job (34%) or looked for other jobs (33%) at some point in their lives because of how their employer treated them based on their LGBTQ status.
- Due to the workplace environment for LGBTQ people in general, 12% of Asian American LGBTQ employees considered leaving their current jobs, and of those, nearly two-thirds (64%) had taken steps towards finding another job.