The House Judiciary Committee holds the first-ever hearing on the Equality Act today.
A new report from the Williams Institute finds that compared to their heterosexual cisgender peers, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people are significantly more likely to report experiences of employment and housing discrimination. They were also more likely to say they had been bullied often during their youth.
Analyzing data collected by Gallup Inc. in February and November 2018, researchers found
- 60 percent of LGB people reported being fired from a job or denied a job, compared to 40 percent of heterosexual people.
- 48 percent of LGB people said they had been denied a promotion or received a negative evaluation, compared to 32 percent of heterosexual people.
- 15 percent of LGB people reported being prevented from moving to or buying a house or apartment, compared to 6 percent of heterosexual people.
- 41 percent of LGB people said they were often bullied before age 18, compared to 14 percent of heterosexual people.
Other analysis from the Williams Institute estimates that 3,688,000 LGBT state, local, and private sector workers ages 16 and older in the US lack state statutory protections from discrimination in employment. This includes 148,000 state and 185,000 local government workers and 3,355,000 private sector workers. The federal government employs an additional 160,000 LGBT people.
Over 5.6 million LGBT adults ages 18 and older live in states without statutory protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in housing.
Today, the House Judiciary Committee is holding the first-ever hearing on the Equality Act, federal legislation that would expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, education, public accommodations, housing, credit and other settings.