Executive Summary
Over 8 million employees in the U.S. identify as LGBT and over 600,000 of them work for state and local governments. Employment discrimination and harassment against LGBT people has been documented in a variety of sources and found to negatively impact employees’ health and well-being and to reduce job commitment and satisfaction. Prior research has found that patterns of discrimination and harassment against LGBT employees working in the public sector are similar to those experienced by private-sector workers.
This report examines experiences of employment discrimination and harassment against LGBT people working for state and local governments using a survey of 935 LGBT adults conducted in May 2021. The survey assessed workplace experiences of LGBT adults who were employed as of March 2020—just before many workplaces were forced to shut down because of COVID-19. This report, focused on government employees’ experiences, follows a prior report examining experiences of discrimination and harassment among LGBT employees more broadly.
Our analysis indicates that employment discrimination against LGBT people working for state and local governments is persistent and widespread. Over one-quarter (28.2%) of LGBT employees reported that they experienced discrimination or harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in a state or local government job (or both) at some point in their lives. More specifically, 15.8% of LGBT employees reported experiencing at least one form of employment discrimination (including being fired or not hired) because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in a state or local government job (or both). Over one-fifth (22.3%) reported experiencing at least one form of harassment (including verbal, physical, or sexual harassment) because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in a state or local government job (or both).
A clear majority—85.3%—of LGBT employees who have experienced mistreatment in the workplace and have worked only in state or local government employment report that an employer’s or co-worker’s religious beliefs motivated the unfair treatment against them. By contrast, of LGBT employees who have experienced mistreatment in the workplace and worked only in the private sector, 52.6% say that religious beliefs motivated the unfair treatment against them.
Many LGBT employees, including public sector employees, also reported engaging in behaviors to avoid discrimination and harassment, including hiding their LGBT identity and changing their physical appearance, and many left their jobs or considered leaving their jobs because of unfair treatment.
While the key findings of the report are summarized below, the full report includes quotes from respondents providing more detail about their experiences of discrimination and harassment in state and local government jobs.
Key Findings
- Over one-quarter (28.2%) of LGBT employees who have ever worked in state or local government reported that they experienced discrimination or harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in a state or local government job (or both) at some point in their lives.
- About one in ten LGBT employees reported being fired (11.4%) and/or not hired (8.8%) by a state or local government employer because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Nearly one-fifth (19.0%) of LGBT employees reported verbal harassment while working in a state or local government job, 8.7% reported sexual harassment, and 7.6% of LGBT employees reported physical harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- 85.3% of LGBT employees who have experienced mistreatment in the workplace and have worked only in state or local government employment report that an employer’s or co-worker’s religious beliefs motivated the unfair treatment against them.
- Many LGBT people avoid discrimination and harassment in the workplace by not being out to their supervisors and co-workers. Over 60% of LGBT employees (62.5%) who are currently employed by state or local governments reported that they are not open about being LGBT to their supervisor and 29.7% report that they are not out to any of their co-workers.
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- LGBT employees currently working in state and local government jobs are less likely to be out at work than private-sector LGBT employees. Less than half (48.8%) of private sector LGBT employees are not out to their supervisor; less than one-quarter (23.3%) are not out to any of their co-workers.
- Similarly, many LGBT employees who have ever worked in two of the largest public-sector occupations—education and law enforcement—are not open about being LGBT at work.
- Around half of LGBT people who have ever worked in K-12 education (49.1%) and higher education (54.6%) are not out to their current supervisor. One-quarter (25.0%) of LGBT employees who have ever worked in K-12 education are not out to any of their co-workers, along with 21.5% of LGBT employees who have ever worked in higher education.
- Similarly, 54.4% of LGBT people who have ever worked in law enforcement are not out to their current supervisors and 26.2% are not out to any of their co-workers.
- Many LGBT employees currently employed in state and local government reported engaging in “covering” behaviors in order to avoid harassment or discrimination at work. About 40% of LGBT employees (42.4%) reported that they take steps to change how they present themselves at work, including 35.0% who said they have changed their physical appearance; 25.7% who have changed the way they dress; 16.1% who have changed where, when, or how frequently they used the bathroom; and 30.6% who have changed their voice or mannerisms.
- One-third (34.6%) of LGBT employees who work for state or local government employers said that they have looked for other jobs because of how they were personally treated by their employer based on their LGBT status and/or because the workplace environment was uncomfortable for LGBTQ people in general.