Report Reveals Rampant Discrimination and Harassment Faced by Latinx LGBTQ+ Workers in the U.S.
A Williams Institute report reveals that over half of Latinx LGBTQ+ employees in the U.S. experience workplace discrimination and harassment based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
A new Williams Institute report released in October, examines widespread employment discrimination and harassment faced by Latinx LGBTQ+ adults in the workforce in the United States. Based on a 2023 survey of 1,902 LGBTQ employees, including 338 Latinx respondents, the study compares the experiences of Latinx workers to those of white, Black, and Asian LGBTQ+ employees.
According to the report, the majority of Latinx LGBTQ+ adults in the workforce were under 35-years-old (65%), with over one-tenth (12%) identifying as transgender or nonbinary. Additionally, nearly half (48%) of Latinx LGBTQ+ employees earned less than $50,000 annually.
Key findings indicate that more than half of Latinx LGBTQ+ workers have faced workplace discrimination or harassment based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Nearly 20% reported experiencing such treatment within the last year. The types of discrimination include being fired, not hired, or passed over for promotions, as well as verbal, physical, and sexual harassment.
Compared to White LGBTQ+ employees, Latinx LGBTQ+ employees were more likely to report being treated unfairly (22% vs. 13%) or sexually harassed (8% vs. 5%), more than twice as likely to report being verbally harassed (18% vs. 8%) or being denied a promotion (14% vs. 5%), and five times as likely to report being physically harassed or assaulted (5% vs. 1%).
Some Latinx LGBTQ+ employees reported being fired due to their LGBTQ identity. Others said they felt forced to leave their jobs because harassment tied to their identity was ignored.
One of the survey respondents, a Latinx cisgender bisexual woman from New York said, “my boss was extremely homophobic, and when he found out I was a part of the LGBTQ+ [community], he found a reason to fire me.”
It isn’t just employers that Latinx LGBTQ+ felt discriminated against, but also colleagues. Nearly 70% of Latinx LGBTQ+ workers engage in “covering” behaviors to avoid discrimination, such as altering their appearance or speech, with many deciding not to disclose their LGBTQ+ identity to colleagues. The report also states that nearly half are not out to their current supervisors.
“I received numerous hateful notes,” a Latinx cisgender gay man from Georgia said. “[I was] purposely not invited to department and company events.”
One of the most alarming findings in the report is that nearly one in five Latinx LGBTQ+ employees experienced physical harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Reports of physical harassment include being bullied, abused, assaulted, attacked, choked, hit, and strangled. Additionally, one in four employees reported sexual harassment, with incidents ranging from rape and sexual assault to groping, unwanted romantic advances, and inappropriate sexual comments or questions about their gender identity or sexual orientation.
According to the report, A Latinx cisgender bisexual man from Colorado shared that he was physically assaulted by a co-worker and verbally abused because of his sexuality, while being told he was an “abomination of God.
