Data from a workplace survey conducted by Arcigay reveals that 191% of workers have been treated unfairly, 26.6% have not disclosed their sexual identity, and nearly 51% have been fired because they are LGBTQ+. And in all cases, the percentages increase for transgender people.
ROME – 19% of homosexuals have experienced discrimination in the workplace, 13% have had their applications rejected because of their sexual identity (the percentage rises to 45% for transgender people), 26.6% are completely "invisible" in the workplace, while 39.4% do not hide their homosexuality from the majority of colleagues or clients. These are some of the findings from the "Io sono io lavoro" (I am I work) survey, the first national scientific study conducted in this field. Conducted by Arcigay and presented today in Rome, it collected 2,229 questionnaires completed by LGBT people, interviewed 52 qualified witnesses, and heard 17 stories of workplace discrimination from as many people.
Beyond 60%, they therefore prefer to "keep it quiet" in the workplace. Visibility tends to increase where other homosexual or transgender people exist. Hiding one's sexual identity is, for the most part, a way to avoid unfavorable treatment: the majority of those living in invisibility fear that revealing their sexual identity would worsen their working conditions. However, this expectation is not supported by the experience of those who have come out, most of whom believe their situation has not substantially changed, or has even improved.
The positive effect of visibility at work is also confirmed by the greater
Job satisfaction among those who are visible at work compared to those who are invisible. 4.81% of respondents said they had been fired or had their contract unfairly refused because of their sexual identity in the last ten years, a percentage that rises to 2.51% among trans people. 19.11% of respondents said they had been treated unfairly at work because they were gay, and the percentage rises to 45.81% of trans people from female to male and even 56.31% of trans people from male to female. For the majority of those interviewed, however, the present is better than the past (48.51% of the sample are optimistic) and the future will be better than the present (54.61% are positive). The outlook for those who have been fired or suffered unfair treatment because of their sexual identity is less rosy.
“"Discrimination," comments Raffaele Lelleri, sociologist and scientific director of the research, "directly affects a minority of LGBT workers. The indirect impact, however, is much broader: according to some observers, it is even universal, given that all LGBT people find themselves, sooner or later, wondering whether or not to be visible at work, anticipating the consequences of their coming out. The geographical uniformity of these phenomena is surprising: North, Center, and South appear to share these phenomena. Unfortunately, however, the real crisis faced by trans people in the workforce is not surprising, most of whom are still rejected or expelled from the labor market.".
“"This is a survey that doesn't offer prescriptions," emphasizes Rosario Murdica, project manager for Arcigay's national secretariat, "but it sheds light on an often invisible world that exists and must be protected. It's a snapshot we're offering to the political class, and we hope that sooner or later a response will come from that world." "We know," echoes Paolo Patanè, president of Arcigay, "that this is a time when the political agenda is distracted by other issues: the economic crisis and accounts to be settled. But it's during times of recession that the climate heats up and discrimination intensifies.".
