Nearly half of LGBTQ employees in the US think being “out” at work is a bad career move

LGBTQ+ employees face a wage gap in the US

Whether or not one is “out” at work, several studies have found that LGBTQ employees are getting paid less than their peers.

A paper published in the Social Science Research Network last year found that LGBTQ individuals in the US earned 22% less than heterosexual cisgender individuals a decade out from graduation.

Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQ advocacy organization, surveyed over 7,000 queer workers in 2021 and found their median wages were 10% lower that of a “typical” US worker based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That gap broadened for queer Black and Native American workers, which HRC found earned 80 cents and 70 cents, respectively, for every dollar earned by a straight, cisgender worker.

The best places to work, according to LGBTQ+ employees

LGBTQ employees ranked Google, Microsoft, and supermarket chain H E B as the best places to work in 2022 on Glassdoor. The company review site also reported that on average LGBTQ employees rate companies lower than other workers, with transgender employees—who face higher levels of workplace discrimination—giving the lowest ratings.

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