Striving for authenticity

The identities that make up the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community stretch far beyond the four letters typically used to represent it. This community is diverse—and has adopted a plus sign to be inclusive of its many identity groups. As the community continues to make space for many different understandings of and labels for sexual orientation and gender identity, its language evolves with it.

Individual LGBT+ lives, families, and experiences are all unique. What brings the LGBT+ community together is less a shared identity and more a shared struggle for acceptance and equality, with each segment of the community experiencing the struggle differently.

In some countries, criminalization continues to force LGBT+ communities to live underground and in the closet. In other places, advocacy and education have spurred significant progress. From legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption to writing equality into their constitutions, more than 150 countries now offer some form of legal protection for LGBT+ people.

45% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people say their employer discriminates against people of the same sexual orientation.

Globally, there has been a massive uptick in the percentage of people who say same-sex relationships should be accepted by society. According to Pew Research, many countries saw a double-digit increase in positive attitudes toward LGBT+ people between 2002 and 2019. In South Africa and South Korea, acceptance jumped roughly 20 percentage points—and India has seen a 22-point increase since 2014.

This shift in perspective has encouraged more LGBT+ individuals to come out publicly. In February, Gallup reported that the number of Americans who self-identify as LGBT+ hit a new high of 5.6%, up 60% over 2012. Most people in this group (56.4%) identify as bisexual, with 11.3% identifying as transgender.

But even in the wake of big wins, such as the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision that the Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people from workplace discrimination, a raft of new legislation is putting LGBT+ rights further at risk. The Human Rights Campaign has declared 2021 to be a record-breaking year for anti-LGBT+ legislation in the US, with limiting transgender rights becoming a common wedge issue. By May 2021, more than 250 bills had been introduced in state legislatures across the US, and 18 bills had either been signed into law or were awaiting gubernatorial signature.

Exploring individual narratives

To learn more about the identity and experiences of the LGBT+ community, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) in collaboration with Oxford Economics surveyed more than 6,000 United States-based professionals between August 2020 and January 2021, including 700 individuals who self-identified as gay or lesbian (73%) or bisexual (27%).

Although offered as an option in our random, anonymous, double blind survey, none of the respondents explicitly self-identified as non-binary. Therefore, the following data is directionally helpful, but as with any studies missing key populations, the analysis and applicability should be taken in this context and not treated as proxy for any subset of the LGBT+ population in isolation.

While the nuances of gender identity were not included in the initial survey, we did want to tell a comprehensive story about the lived experience of LGBT+ people. To capture valuable insights from individuals across this diverse community, the IBV teamed up with Out & Equal and Workplace Pride to host a Global LGBT+ Innovation Jam on April 13 and 14, 2021.

87% of Jammers agree: My company or organization should take a more assertive public position on LGBT+ inclusion and belonging.

During this Jam event, more than 2,000 business leaders, subject matter experts, and thought leaders—LGBT+ and allies—came together online to discuss the unique needs within the LGBT+ community and identity overarching efforts that can increase inclusion and belonging. Jam participants claimed identities across the spectrum, with 43% identifying as gay or lesbian, 33% as non-LGBT+, 9% as bisexual, and 8% as queer. 5.6% of participants identified as non-binary. Digital Jam discussions covered a broad swathe of topics, ranging from the ways technology can reduce bias to how companies can support the mental health of LGBT+ individuals.

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