Key Issues That Define the Hiring Obstacle Course for LGBTQ+ Workers in the US

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Happy PRIDE Month!

Over the past few months, I have shared some articles with statistics and trends to help scope out the diversity recruitment landscape for historically underrepresented groups. As many of us know, June is pride month, and I would like to continue in that vein by focusing on the LGBTQ+ community and what our research is telling us about the challenges this community continues to face in gaining and keeping employment.

It is important to remember that formal workplace equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community is a relatively recent development in the US. On June 15, 2020, the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Bostock v. Clayton County established nationwide protection against employment discrimination for LGBTQ+ individuals for the first time, including job applicants as well as existing employees. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the court’s decision obligated all employers with 15 or more employees to ensure that their policies prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.

Given this major legal milestone, you may find it surprising that LGBTQ+ people still face significant barriers to employment and advancement in the US, but this is exactly the situation described by a number of recent studies.

As recruiters who are focused on increasing diversity (which is hopefully all recruiters), we are already looking to improve this state of affairs and ensure the LGBTQ+ community is included in our efforts. Nevertheless, I would like to mention three key ongoing areas of concern that I think are essential to keep in mind.

Obstacle #1: There is significant bias in the recruitment process.

A joint study by academics from Northern Kentucky University and Ball State University identified two distinct dimensions of hiring discrimination against LGBTQ+ applicants. Members of the LGBTQ+ community were not only rated lower than cisgender heterosexual applicants for competence, social skills, and hireability: The authors also found “structural differences'' in the evaluation process for LGBTQ+ versus non-LGBTQ+ candidates, meaning that LGBTQ+ applicants tended to be invited for interview less often, for example.

These findings remind us that there is still much work to do to improve the hiring process for LGBTQ+ candidates. Even when using AI-based recruitment tools in aiming to achieve this, it is important to consider the possibility of algorithmic bias that could affect these applicants. If you are not using an AI based tool, it is still possible to use your ATS data, just as you do as for other historically underrepresented groups, to discover if, where, and why LGBTQ+ candidates are being left behind in your hiring process, and look to identify potential sources of unintended bias.

Obstacle #2: Workplaces are not inclusive.

Almost half of LGBTQ+ employees (46%) are not open about their sexual orientation or gender identity at work, reflecting the level of discrimination they can still experience. In 2021, a survey by UCLA’s Williams Institute discovered that 10.9% of LGBTQ+ people who were out at work were either fired (or not hired) because of how they identify, compared with only 2.2% who were not. More recently, research by BetterUp found that LGBTQ+ employees are less likely to feel like they belong in their organization than cisgender heterosexual workers. Interestingly, remote work increased the belonging score by around 10% for LGBTQ+ staff but decreased it by about the same amount for their non-LGBTQ+ colleagues.

As I often say, retention is a vital part of diversity recruitment, even though it is often overlooked. Optimizing your hiring process does you no good if employees are leaving the organization as fast as they are joining, yet this is a particularly prevalent issue for LGBTQ+ workers. And if they do not find your workplace culture to be inclusive and create a sense of belonging, they will vote with their feet (by walking out the door). Note, the UCLA study found that many LGBTQ+ employees had left jobs, or had at least considered doing so, due to some form of workplace discrimination or harassment.

Obstacle #3: Many studies have found an LGBTQ+ wage gap.

Recent research has found that on average, LGBTQ+ employees earn only $0.90 for every dollar non-LGBTQ+ employees make, but the difference is much larger for some groups than others. For example, the figure drops to $0.80 for Black LGBTQ+ workers, and people who identify as Trans face an even larger earnings gap ($0.70 for Trans men and $0.60 for Trans women). Another study discovered that for recent graduates, the LGBTQ+ earnings gap is 12%, but this increases to 22% ten years after graduation, partly because employees who identify as LGBTQ+ are less likely to work in high-paying jobs. As we have already seen, this might be due to both non-inclusive workplace cultures and persistent recruitment bias.

There has been a considerable focus on the gender wage gap in recent years, and rightly so, but pay equity for LGBTQ+ employees is arguably lagging behind. While this seemingly reflects other forms of discrimination faced by these workers, it perhaps also relates to the fact they may choose to avoid certain occupations that are perceived as unwelcoming toward the LGBTQ+ community. This ultimately impacts on an organization’s ability to attract and retain top talent.

Although we are optimistic here at Team JTC about the employment situation for people who identify as LGBTQ+ going forward, the information I have just shared with you emphasizes the need for employers to understand and respond to the relevant challenges in their diversity recruitment strategies and wider DEI programs. That said, I hope you have found something here to prompt new ideas that can move you toward those goals in your organization.