June 17 marks LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Awareness Day—a day to call attention to the pay disparity that has impacted the queer community for far too long. Although data constraints on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) employees have limited research on the pay disparity experienced by this group overall, research has shown that subgroups, such as transgender individuals and LGBTQ+ people of color, are paid less than others in the labor market.
Today, while LGBTQIA+ workers are legally entitled to discrimination protections, inequity persists in the hiring process and in the workplace. Though there have been significant strides within the past two decades, such as President Obama’s 2014 executive order prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the federal government, and President Biden’s reversal of the transgender military ban in 2021, the LGBTQIA+ community is actively losing rights under the current administration.
On January 20, 2025, just hours after his inauguration, President Trump issued several executive orders repealing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government. One week later, the president signed Executive Order 14183, reinstating the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. He has subsequently issued additional executive actions targeting the health of LGBTQIA+ people.
The impacts of the administration’s actions aren’t limited to the federal government. Within the first six months of taking office, President Trump’s erasure of DEI initiatives has caused hundreds of nongovernmental companies to eliminate their DEI programs as well. While DEI initiatives can make the workplace a more equitable place for marginalized and underrepresented communities like the LGBTQIA+ population, over 50 percent of US employees say that prioritizing DEI in the workplace is very important to them. Research shows that inclusive workplaces improve productivity, provide diverse perspectives, and attract unique talent. However, despite evidence of the positive impact of DEI in the workplace, the pervasive discriminatory and inequitable labor market practices that the queer community often face can lead to detrimental employment conditions.
LGBTQIA+ people experience numerous inequities in the workplace that have harmful effects not only on their economic status but also on their emotional well-being. Wage inequities, lack of representation, biases in promotion practices, discrimination, and harassment are consistent occurrences that many of these employees experience in today’s job market. Recent research found that LGBTQIA+ people who were out to a few coworkers and/or their supervisor reported experiencing discrimination at more than three times the rate of those who were not out to their coworkers (39 percent vs. 12 percent).
For LGBTQIA+ individuals who are not out to colleagues, concealing parts of one’s identity through gender identity and/or sexual orientation suppression is a common practice. Known as “masking,” the effects of hiding one’s identity can range from feelings of isolation, burnout, and even detachment from one’s sense of self. For the queer community, this creates a clear catch-22: They can be open and face potential discrimination in the workplace, or they can stay private and bear the exhausting effects of masking. Even if they choose the latter, masking is not a guarantee that employees won’t face discrimination, as coworkers might still make assumptions about gender identity and/or sexual orientation. Either option has undesirable consequences, and both add taxing emotional labor.
The effects of workplace disparities can be further intensified when one’s queer identity intersects with being a member of other marginalized populations who also experience inequality, such as people of color, physically disabled individuals, neurodiverse individuals, immigrants, and religious minorities. Research shows, for instance, that LGBT employees of color reported not being hired due to their gender identity and/or sexual orientation at a higher rate than White LGBT employees who reported hiring discrimination (29 percent vs. 18 percent). Another report finds that Black trans people experienced a 20.0 percent unemployment rate—nearly four times higher than the overall unemployment rate of 5.3 percent at the time.
Achieving equality for the LGBTQIA+ community requires dismantling deep-rooted discrimination and valuing inclusion and authenticity for all intersecting identities in the workplace. IWPR’s Federal Policy Solutions to Advance Gender Equity highlights some of the ways advocates and policymakers can support equity for all workers—including LGBTQIA+ people—such as promoting salary history bans and salary transparency laws and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives aimed at creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces.
When institutions, people, and policymakers work together to strengthen a safe and equitable workplace, economic success is attainable for LGBTQIA+ workers, businesses, and the overall economy.
This is the first of a three-part blog series highlighting the inequities and injustices that the LGBTQIA+ community faces every day in the United States. Through exploring numerous discriminatory labor practices that the queer community experience in the workplace, this series seeks to increase understanding and bring awareness to the systemic barriers that have impacted LGBTQIA+ individuals.
This blog was prepared by Miranda Peterson with contributions from Victoria Gianopoulos and Mrinmoyee Chatterjee.
