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Labour market
KEY FIGURES
Employment
83 % of homosexuals and bisexuals ...
52 % of transgender and nonbinary persons ...
87-88 % of heterosexuals and cisgender persons ...
... aged 25-54 years were employed in 2020.
Source: Greve et al. (2022)
Lack of openness
21 % of homosexuals and bisexuals ...
33 % of transgender person ...
... say that they to a limited extent or not at all are open about their sexual orientation or gender identity at their workplace.
Source: Følner (2019).
Discrimination
8 % of homosexuals and bisexuals ...
25 % of transgender persons ...
... have felt discriminated or harassed in their current job because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Source: Følner (2019).
- The employment rate of homosexuals and bisexuals – with the exception of bisexual men – is more or less the same as that of the rest of the population.
- Homosexual men are to a great extent open about their sexual orientation at work.
- LGBT+ persons are protected by law against harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Persons who have experienced harassment or discrimination relating to their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics may file a complaint with the Board of Equal Treatment.
- Transgender and non-binary individuals have a particularly low employment rate. For transgender women, only 43% are employed, while for the rest of the female population, the number is twice as high (85%). This results in significantly lower income levels.
- Almost every second bisexual and every third transgender person is not open about their sexual orientation at the workplace. There can be many reasons for this. However, we know that a lack of openness at the workplace can be associated with poorer well-being.
- One in four transgender individuals has experienced discrimination or harassment aimed at their gender identity at their current workplace. Discrimination and exclusion at the workplace can lead to mental distress and can also play a role in the low employment rate.
Editing was completed September 2023
Most people value being part of a workplace. One’s workplace is not simply a place to make an income; our work also has a great effect on our social life and engagement.
The employment rate of LGBT+ persons is slightly lower than that of the rest of the population. This is a result of the fact that the employment rate of bisexual men and transgender and nonbinary persons is significantly lower than that of the rest of the population. Only 43 % of transgender women aged 25-54 years are employed. This may be a result of various factors, e.g., discrimination in the workplace, lower level of education and poor mental health.
Moreover, transgender and nonbinary persons have a significantly lower average income. Transgender persons make around DKK 199,000 a year on average, which is DKK 170,000 less than the average annual income of cisgender persons, who make around DKK 370,000 a year on average.
Figures show that homosexuals and bisexuals to a greater extent suffer economic deprivation compared to heterosexuals. For instance, they are less likely to buy prescription medication because they feel that they cannot afford it. This may affect their physical as well as their mental health.
Employment
“For LGBT+ persons, a good place to work is a place characterised by openness. Openness and mutual respect.”
- René (LGBT+-person)
At work, some LGBT+ persons doubt whether they should be open about their civil status, family life and gender identity to colleagues and superiors and, if so, to which extent. Especially bisexuals and transgender persons choose to keep their sexual orientation or gender identity a secret at work. One in two bisexual persons and one in three transgender persons are either not open about their sexuality or gender identity at work or only to a limited extent.
Openness means that you can tell your colleagues about a trip you and your partner took during the weekend, a night out with your friends etc.
Naturally, the degree of openness can vary from person to person and context to context. Transgender persons are significantly less inclined to be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity at work than homosexuals and bisexuals. The most frequently mentioned reasons for not being open about one’s sexual orientation or gender identity are uncertainty or fear of the other person’s reaction and the conviction that it is a private matter which belongs in the private sphere. However, lack of openness is associated with a higher risk of poor mental health.
Fewer LGBT+ persons of immigrant or descendant background are open about their sexual orientation or gender identity at work. A survey of the living conditions of LGBT+ persons of immigrant or descendant background conducted by Als Research in 2015 shows that while slightly less than half of all LGBT+ persons of immigrant or descendant background choose not to be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity to colleagues or fellow students, the same is true of only 26 % of other LGBT+ persons.
Lack of openness
“If you want to create a good working environment for LGBT+ persons, you need to establish collaboration between the management, the professional bodies and the working environment representatives. They need to decide how the company should support employees who are LGBT+.”
- René (LGBT+-person)
A significantly larger share of LGBT+ persons experience discrimination and differential treatment in the public sphere as well as in the workplace. Read more here: Discrimination and hatred. 8 % of homosexuals and bisexuals and 25 % of transgender persons have experienced harassment or discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in their current job.
Discrimination or harassment in the workplace can take many forms. It can be a decision not to hire, to dismiss or to change someone’s assignments because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or it can be social exclusion by colleagues, inappropriate comments about the person’s appearance, slander, bullying or sexual harassment.
Moreover, a significantly larger share of LGBT+ persons experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Homosexual men (12 %) experience sexual harassment twice as often as heterosexual men (6 %) in the workplace, while this is true of up to 31 % of bisexual women.
The Discrimination Hotline is open to anyone who has experienced discrimination because of their gender, age, religious orientation, disabilities, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics, and we can guide you if you wish to take your case to the Board of Equal Treatment.
Call the Hotline at +45 3269 8666 Mondays-Thursdays at 12.00-15.00.
Discrimination in the workplace does not merely affect the victim’s job satisfaction. A Danish study shows that persons who have experienced discrimination – due to their sexual orientation or gender identity or for other reasons – have increased risk of depression.
Discrimination
- Greve, J., Østergaard, S. V., Andersen, M., & Thomsen, M. K. (2022). Kortlægning af homo- og biseksuelles samt trans- personers levevilkår og samfundsdeltagelse. VIVE - Det Nationale Forsknings- og Analysecenter for Velfærd.
- Clausen T., Rugulies R. & Li J. (2022). Workplace discrimination and onset of depressive disorders in the Danish workforce: A prospective study. Journal of Affective Disorders; 319:79-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.036
- Følner, V., Dehlholm, M. & Christiansen, J. M. (2015). Nydanske LGBT-personers levevilkår. Als Research.
- Følner, B., Newby, T. M., Kalmark, L. M. & Astrupgaard, S. L. (2019). LGBT-personers trivsel på arbejdsmarkedet. Als Research.
- Følner, B., Goor, A. H. & Bjerregaard, A. H. (2022). Nydanske LGBT-personers levevilkår. Als Research.
- Oxlund, B. & Laursen, S. (2019). LGBT+ - Trivsel og åbenhed blandt lærere i grundskolen. Institut for Menneskerettigheder.