More than half of non-LGBTQ+ workers see LGBTQ+ support as an indicator of a welcoming workplace

As many companies have rolled back DEI initiatives over the last two years, it seems some have also decreased support of the LGBTQ+ community, according to a new Harris Poll survey conducted last month.

Shying away. While 35% of the 650 surveyed LGBTQ+ workers in the US said their company has policies and a culture that are visibly supportive of their community, 62% said they’ve noticed “at least one meaningful change” in communicated support.

Additionally, 40% said that there has been less discussion around LGBTQ+ issues or “none at all.” Another 13% of both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ workers said that public support for the community has been “quietly dropped,” or that their company has “gone silent.”

Visible support is a workforce issue. Twenty-three percent of respondents said that their employers have been more cautious about the language being used regarding LGBTQ+ issues, with 22% shifting their focus to legal compliance and reducing related internal communications. This appears to be impacting how members of the LGBTQ+ community show up to work, with two-thirds of LGBTQ+ respondents saying they self-censor on the job.

Three-quarters of LGBTQ+ workers surveyed said they would “think twice” about working for a company that pulls back its visible support of the community, and 72% would be less loyal to their employer if they did.

More than half of non-LGBTQ workers said they “feel prouder” of their employer when it visibly supports LGBTQ+ issues, and 60% said it makes the workplace more welcoming for everyone.

Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride, recently told HR Brew that while the LGBTQ+ community has faced various challenges, she has some hope. “I do think that some companies are realizing that they don’t have those [Trump administration’s] values, that they do value their queer employees, and that they have lots of them.”