Hidden Letters: How the BTQ+ is overlooked in LGBTQ+

Have you ever watched The Greatest Showman? It’s a film that has Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at its very heart and has so many disturbing parallels to today’s society. The premise is based on making people who are different a curiosity – so much so that people from the dominant, majority group are willing to pay to get a look at them. It depicts the fear and hatred towards people who are different and the deep sadness in those it is aimed at.

After having recently spoken to Bendita Cynthia Malakia on the “Why Care?” podcast to talk about the LGBTQ+ experience in the workplace, I was taken aback at the discrimination faced by people who are bisexual, and how it is different to generalised homophobia.

In the last 15 years, it has to be said that we have made good progress in LGBTQ+ rights, both globally and here in the UK. There are greater legal protections, and social rights like marriage and adoption have become more equalised for LGBTQ+ couples. We see fractionally more LGBTQ+ people and characters on TV and in film, and the gradually lessening social stigma allows more and more people to feel comfortable living as their authentic selves.

However, upon examination this progress is undeniably weighted towards the LG more that it is the BTQ+.

Shocking ‘B’ Statistics

Bisexual individuals are less likely to be open about their sexuality at work than lesbian or gay individuals are. They are also less likely to be in stable housing and employment than both heterosexual and LG individuals, have less access to adequate mental healthcare as bisexuality often underrepresented in LGBTQ+ mental health charities, and often suffer higher rates of domestic violence than LG individuals.

Bendita raised my awareness to the negative stereotypes bisexual individuals often face. These include being seen as indecisive or confused, promiscuous and greedy people who just want as much sex as possible. The stereotype is that bisexuality is a “stepping stone” a person may claim before later coming out as ‘fully’ homosexual.

During our podcast episode, Bendita eloquently describes it as “insidious and it’s hidden and people tend to think it’s a joke more than the others [forms of homophobia]”.

And the ‘T’ Statistics Paint Just as Sad a Picture

Transgender individuals are also an underrepresented facet of the LGBTQ+ community. Many LGBTQ+ campaigners have highlighted how the UK is currently gripped by a growing culture of transphobia in the media, with even some lesbian, gay and bisexual activists turning against the transgender community, similar to the moral panic surrounding gay men in the UK media in the 80s and 90s. It is shocking, but what is more shocking are the statistics surrounding transgender individuals in the workplace. 

YouGov and Totaljobs published research earlier this year into how transgender individuals feel in regards to the workplace and employment in the UK.

The statistics speak for themselves.

In the past 5 years the amount of transgender individuals hiding their identity at work has risen, from 52% in 2016 to 65% in 2021.

Over half of transgender individuals believe it is harder for them to find a job and get promoted into senior positions than cisgender individuals. A third have even experienced discrimination directly in interviews or the application process.

A third of transgender employees have reported experiencing discrimination or abuse at work in the past 5 years, whilst a quarter of trans employees have reported discrimination or abuse directly from their colleagues in 2021 alone.

A third of trans employees have said they have felt more confident working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic than they did when working in the office. This raises questions around how returning to the office will impact these individuals, particularly as less than 1 in 10 trans employees reported feeling like they had supportive colleagues during the pandemic. 

These statistics portray the appalling truth about the trans experience in the UK, and how many organisations are still unsafe even in 2021.

Supporting LGBTQ+ Employees

It’s clear that people in the LGBTQ+ community need greater allyship and advocacy, and this is vital in order to start to make even some of the progress for bisexual and transgender individuals that we have made in the last decade for lesbian and gay individuals.

In our podcast episode, Bendita lists some wonderful ways in which companies and leaders can lead inclusively and become change leaders, including approaching minority groups with your privilege and bias in mind and just listening without trying to interject or challenge their views. She makes the point it will be challenging because it should be challenging, but leaders should “stay in the game, stay in the deep end”.

Organisations can also make pledges, like many UK companies have with petitions like www.transrightsarehumanrights.co.uk, and also set measurable and meaningful goals for your organisation with adequate funding and attention behind them.

You don’t have to navigate these challenges alone, though. Here at Avenir, we have a number of programmes designed to help you analyse how inclusive your organisation is for people with different diversity characteristics. We also deliver inclusive leadership programmes and workshops designed to bring awareness to our inherent biases and privileges and to help leaders unlock the mindsets to become inclusive change leaders.

Coming back to The Greatest Showman, we need to strive to be curious of difference, not to make difference a curiosity.