Global attitudes to LGBTQ+ rights stabilise, Ipsos Pride Report 2026 finds

Ipsos’ LGBT+ Pride Report 2026 indicates that public attitudes toward LGBT+ people and issues have levelled off across 26 countries, following several years of backlash on questions such as trans inclusion and visibility in media. The findings broadly confirm trends first seen in the 2025 report, with support for equality holding steady in many areas while remaining highly uneven by country and topic.

Across 23 markets, 42% of respondents support companies and brands that actively promote equality for LGBT people, virtually unchanged from 41% in 2025 but lower than 49% in 2021. This points to shifting consumer expectations in multiple countries, even as a significant share still endorses corporate engagement on LGBT rights.

The report highlights that many people recognise the discrimination faced by transgender individuals, while policy debates around access to single-sex facilities and participation in sports remain contentious. Support for trans athletes competing according to their gender identity has declined from 32% in 2021 to 22% in 2026 across 23 countries, with opposition now the dominant view in almost all surveyed nations, including previously more supportive ones.

Public opinion on LGBT representation in TV, film and advertising remains sharply divided. Support for increased representation ranges from 59% in Thailand to 14% in South Korea. On average across 23 countries, 30% favour more LGBT visibility in media and 29% oppose it, reflecting enduring cultural hesitation around mainstream inclusivity.

Same-sex marriage retains strong global backing overall. Support is particularly high in several European countries, including the Netherlands (80%), Spain (74%) and Sweden (73%). Other countries such as Poland (33%) and Türkiye (16%) show much lower levels of support, revealing significant regional differences in legal and social attitudes to marriage equality.

The survey was conducted via Ipsos’ Global Advisor online platform between April 24 and May 8, 2026, among 19,019 adults aged 18–74 in Canada, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Türkiye and the United States, 20–74 in Thailand, 21–74 in Singapore and 16–74 in all other countries. The 26-country average is an arithmetic mean and does not weight for population size.

As global public opinion continues to evolve, LGBT+ professionals and allies seeking concrete ways to advance inclusion in their own workplaces can connect and engage through dedicated networks; signing up to myGwork is one way to turn these attitudes into meaningful workplace equality.