The Top Findings From LGBT+ Lawyers 'Pride in the Law' Report

"During LGBT+ History Month 2021, LGBT+ legal professionals and colleagues who consider themselves allies to the LGBT+ community, were invited to take part in an online survey about their experiences of being LGBT+ or an ally in the legal sector. There were 617 individual responses to the survey, with 62% identifying as LGBT+." - LGBT+ Lawyers

The Pride in Law report, issued by LGBT+ Lawyers, helps to paint a picture about the state of being an LGBTQ+ person in the legal profession. Through their research, and relying on the testimonies of over 600 legal professionals - both LGBTQ+ and allies - we can begin to better understand where the legal profession is making strides for equality and inclusion, and where it can make improvements.

Key Issues

Some of the key issues that were identified included;

• Role Models: a lack of role models was the greatest issue identified: around half of gay and lesbian respondents said as much, but almost 80% of bisexual respondents said the same - suggesting not only a lack of "LGBTQ+" role models but also the need to make sure that role models reflect sections of the community that aren't necessarily always front and centre.
• 38% of the respondents expressed concerns about coming out to clients: in a world where a client's opinion of you can make or break a deal, LGBTQ+ people are forced to tactically assess whether their opposite would potentially drop - or diminish - work for the firm as a result of discovering that their lawyer identified as LGBTQ+.
• Positively, however, 42% of respondents said that they felt nothing at work was affected by the fact they were LGBTQ+. Whilst this is still a statistical minority, it suggests that with some progress, eventually, the majority of the LGBTQ+ community in the legal sector may feel as though their sexuality is just another part of life.

Out in the Workplace

When asked about being out in the workplace, the data produced some interesting results. 52%, 56%, and 44% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual respondents respectively said that they could be out in the workplace, always. 46%, 42%, and 47% said they could be out sometimes.

What is more interesting, however, is the percentage of respondents who said they could not be out at all at work. 2% of gay men, 1% of lesbians/gay women, said they could not be out at work at all - but 9% of bisexual respondents said they could not.

Very clearly, these results show that more work needs to be done to support colleagues to feel comfortable being out in the workplace - but especially bisexual staff, who are less likely to be out.

Interestingly, there was a break in the support from senior management: whilst 71% of respondents saw a visible commitment to lesbian, gay, and bisexual equality, only 43% said they saw a similar commitment to trans equality. At a time when the trans community is facing increasing challenges, hopefully this research is what is necessary to help companies refocus their efforts.

Out to Clients

Whilst 82% of professionals who responded to surveys said they were out to colleagues, only 38% of all respondents were out to clients. When broken down, this looked like:

• 49% of gay men were out to clients;
• 31% of lesbian/gay women were out to clients,
• 16% of bisexuals were out to clients.

Workplace Discrimination

37% of respondents had experienced homophobia, biphobia, or transphobia in the workplace. Of these, 78% noted that there was recourse to report anonymously, or seek support for, these incidents - but 21% of respondents said they wouldn't feel confident accessing these, compared to 57% who would.

Allies

What did LGBTQ+ professionals want allies to do to support them in the workplace? They said:

• Challenge homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic behaviour (28%)
• Educate themselves on LGBTQ+ issues (19%)
• Visibly demonstrate allyship - attending events, or wearing a rainbow lanyard, for example (17%)
• Listen to, and amplify LGBTQ+ voices in the workplace (16%)
• Encourage others to become allies (11%)
• Work for better representation of LGBTQ+ staff and issues (9%)