Williams Institute Studies Show Widespread Discrimination Against LGBT Employees

Two recent Williams Institute reports document a widespread and persistent pattern of employment discrimination against LGBT people in both private and public employment.


This week, the Chicago-Kent Law Review published a Williams Institute study showing that LGBT people face high rates of discrimination in private employment. The report summarizes studies from the past decade documenting discrimination against LGBT people. These studies include surveys of LGBT individuals’ workplace experiences, wage comparisons between LGB and heterosexual persons, analyses of discrimination complaints filed with government agencies, and testing studies and controlled experiments.

Key findings include:

• 16% to 68% of LGBT people report experiencing employment discrimination;

• 15% to 57% of transgender people also report experiencing employment discrimination;

• In states that currently prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, LGB people file complaints of employment discrimination at similar rates to women and racial minorities; and,

• Transgender people report high rates of unemployment and very low earnings.

Full report, click HERE. Bias in the Workplace: Consistent Evidence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination 1998-2008, M.V. Lee Badgett, Brad Sears, Holning Lau, and Deborah Ho, Chicago-Kent Law Review, Volume 84, Number 2 (2009)

When combined with the study released by the Williams Institute last fall, Documenting Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in State Employment, Williams Institute research shows that discrimination against LGBT people is pervasive in public and private employment. This 1,500 page report shows a widespread and persistent pattern of unconstitutional discrimination by state governments on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Full report, click HERE.