Pride, but is There Respect at Work? Survey Based Evidence from Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Workers in the United States.

Do Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) workers experience less workplace respect than heterosexual workers? To date, answers to this question have been limited; few studies have explicitly examined these outcomes for LGB workers. Research examining labor-related outcomes have found marked disadvantages for sexual minorities in the workplace. In a 2007 study Badgett and colleagues summarized findings from numerous U. S. based studies and reported that between 16 percent and 68 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons experienced employment discrimination and between 12 percent and 30 percent of heterosexual coworkers of LGBT workers reported witnessing discrimination against LGBT peers. Gay males earned 10 percent to 32 percent less than their heterosexual counterparts. (1)

Adverse labor outcomes for sexual minorities are also prevalent outside of the United States. For example, researchers Gocmen and Yilmaz conducted a study in Turkey which found LGBT people felt discriminated against in education, employment, and healthcare settings. (2) Studies focusing on the European Union found between 11 percent (in Denmark) to 30 percent (in Cyprus) of LGBT individuals reported perceptions of discrimination in the workplace. (3) More recent studies have found that gay men and lesbians experience adverse outcomes, including discrimination in hiring, earning less than heterosexual counterparts, and perceiving discrimination in the workplace. (4) As the abovementioned studies support, LGB workers face various challenges; as such, it is critical to understand the factors and how they influence workplace respect.

In light of the above findings regarding labor-related outcomes for sexual minorities, we address the following research questions:

* Research Question 1: Do LGB workers experience lower levels of workplace respect relative to heterosexual workers?

* Research Question 2: What factors account for workplace respect disparities in LGB workers?

The present study used data from the 2018 U.S. General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine workplace respect for LGB workers in the United States and the factors that influence these disparities. This study advances the literature on sexual minority discrimination in three ways. First, few studies have examined sexual orientation and labor-related outcomes. Specifically, this study focused on the understudied area of perceived workplace respect. Second, this study controlled for a variety of demographic and labor-related outcomes, which provide a broader understanding of the factors that influence workplace respect for sexual minorities. Third, prior studies have had relatively small sample sizes. The present study utilizes a larger sample size and utilizes data collected after same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States in 2015. The pages that follow present a review of key areas related to workplace respect for sexual minorities including an examination of empirical studies, followed by a presentation of methods and results, discussion of findings, and policy implications.

Literature Review

Lack of workplace respect has been found to lead to various adverse outcomes, including lower levels of job satisfaction, decreased commitment to an organization, and reduced trust in management. (5) In order to effectively study workplace respect we need to first examine its conceptualization. As a concept, the idea of respect has changed over time. For example, in 1999 Heuer and colleagues defined respect as treatment that is polite and respectful, (6) within a few years the definition of respect had evolved incorporating the wider constructs of having positive social evaluations and enjoyable inclusive relationships. (7) By 2010, the definition of respect had evolved, to one's attitudes towards people who they see a reason that by itself "justifies a degree of attention and a type of behavior that in return engenders in the target a feeling of being appreciated in important and worth as a person." (8) For the purposes of this paper, workplace respect is defined as being treated in a polite and inclusive manner, which reflect the need for individuals to be treated with dignity, respect, and professional treatment in the workplace.

A key component of workplace respect is group membership. (9) Members of stigmatized groups may be more negatively impacted by perceptions of disrespectful treatment relative to those in non-stigmatized groups. (10) Members of stigmatized groups face threats to personal wellbeing and motivations in the workplace. (11) Further, by virtue of being a member of stigmatized groups, these individuals face the threat of prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion. (12)

These negative experiences may impede establishing social connections in the workplace. (13) For example, in their 2007 study, Embrick, Weather, and Wilkens interviewed thirty-eight subjects at a baked-goods company based in the southwestern United States, finding that 90 percent of participants would not hire someone they perceived as homosexual. Further, those who did hire gays or lesbians in the past would not do so in the future as they felt it would harm the company image. (14) More recently, a 2021 report by Sears, Mallory, Flores, and Conron examined the experiences of employment harassment and discrimination of LGBT adults and found almost 30 percent of LGBT employees in the study experienced being fired or not hired due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. In regards to harassment, almost 38 percent had experience at least one type of harassment, including physical violence, such as getting hit or beaten up at at work due to their gender identity of sexual orientation. (15) Findings like these suggest that despite the development of more progressive attitudes towards LGB individuals in recent decades, being a member of a group that has historically been stigmatized can still impact workplace outcomes.

Respectful treatment is an essential component of the workplace. It can help reassure those in stigmatized groups of their inclusion by other groups in society. (16) Scholars such as Bergsieker, Shelton, and Richeson (17) have stated that due to the implications for social inclusion, those in stigmatized groups have a strong preference for respect, even if it impedes financial advancement. (18) Those concerned about being treated with respect, such as LBGT workers, may be particularly sensitive to, and affected by, workplace treatment. (19)

Explaining Inequality & Workplace Respect in LGBT Individuals

In order to empirically study workplace respect in LGB populations, we need to understand why these groups may receive less respect in the workplace than heterosexual individuals. Legislation and labor laws in the United States have contributed considerably to the marginalization of LGBT individuals. Historically, LGBT individuals faced unequal social and legal standing, including criminalizing same-sex relationships, lack of marital rights, and unequal protection against employment discrimination. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized samesex marriage, increasing the overall rights of LGBT persons. However, it was not until 2020 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protected LGBT rights in the workplace. (20) Prior to 2020, employment protections were primarily driven by state and local governments, creating a patchwork of protections that were a challenge for legal compliance in organizations that operated in multiple locations. (21) Protections offered by the Supreme Court ruling expanded legal protections for LGBT employees, at least on paper. However, employee experience goes beyond basic legal protections. LGBT persons may still face issues of workplace hostility or bullying, which may negatively influence perceptions of workplace respect. (22)

Many studies have found that LGBT employees face hostile workplace conditions. (23) Hostile environments, which undermine workplace respect for LGBT workers, may come in a variety of forms including, demeaning comments, "jokes," and verbal or physical abuse. (24) LGBT individuals subjected to these behaviors often report feeling victimized (25) and that feeling of victimization may negatively impact perceptions of workplace respect. (26)

Workplace harassment may be rooted in inherent workplace biases. (27) Status inequality theory helps explain how LGBT identity may affect workplace experiences. Status inequality theory argues that interpersonal inequalities are grounded in broadly shared cultural attitudes and beliefs about the "types" of people in different status categories (such as sexual orientation, race, gender, age). (28) LGBT identity has been identified as a devalued...

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