By Robyn Ochs
A report issued by the Williams Institute compared cisgender bisexual adults to cisgender lesbian and gay adults in the workplace. The report was based on a survey of 935 U.S. LGBT adults conducted in May 2021.
Here are a few of their findings:
OUTNESS: Cisgender bisexual employees are less likely than cisgender lesbians and gay men to report being out at work. Approximately one third (36%) of cis bisexual employees are out to their supervisors, compared to three quarters (75%) of cis gay men and lesbians.
DISCRIMINATION:
o Overall, bisexual workers are significantly less likely than lesbians and gay men to report experiencing discrimination at work.
o But this difference shrinks when looking only at those who are out. Among cisgender LGB people who are out at work, the reported level of discrimination is similar for lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees.
HARASSMENT OVERALL:
o Overall, bi cis employees were less likely to report experiencing harassment in the workplace than their lesbian and gay counterparts.
o However, when you focus only on those who are out at work, the study found that bisexual men in particular experience high rates of workplace harassment. Out bisexual women’s rate of reported harassment was similar to that of lesbians.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT: 29.2% of out bisexual women reported experiencing sexual harassment, compared to 17.4% of lesbians.
The authors state that:
“Overall, we find that cisgender bisexual employees are significantly less likely to report experiencing discrimination and harassment in the workplace than cisgender gay and lesbian employees. However, our analysis suggests that higher rates of concealing LGB identity among bisexual employees may mask the extent to which bisexual employees experience unfair treatment at work. When we focus only on employees who are out to at least some people in the workplace, we find that cisgender bisexual employees face similar or higher rates of discrimination and harassment as cisgender gay and lesbian employees. Once we control for who is out in the workplace, our analysis also shows that in many instances workplace experiences also differ by gender, with cisgender bisexual and gay men often reporting higher rates of unfair treatment compared to lesbian and bisexual women.
The report concludes with a recommendation that LGB employees not be treated like a monolithic group.
The entire report can be found at williamsinstitute.law.ucla.
Citation: Christy Mallory, Brad Sears, and Andrew R. Flores, The Role of Sexual Orientation and Gender in Workplace Experiences of Cisgender LGB Employees, Williams Institute, 2022.
Robyn Ochs is a global speaker, a writer, and editor of this publication.
