ABOVE: The Virginia Capitol (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A new climate survey conducted by Equality Virginia found that 43 percent of the LGBTQ community have experienced discrimination in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the organization said in a statement Monday.
Equality Virginia, a nonprofit organization devoted to advocating for the LGBTQ community, conducted the survey on more than 400 LGBTQ people and allies in the state through July. Eighty-one percent of respondents were white while only seven percent identified as Black.
Of those participants, 43 percent said they had experienced some kind of employment discrimination. More than half of respondents said they had experienced street harassment, the organization said in the statement.
Sixty-two percent said they had experienced discrimination firsthand for their identity and 89 percent said they know someone who has experienced discrimination.
This comes shortly after the implementation of the Virginia Values Act, a law that protects all Virginians—including the LGBTQ community—from discrimination in employment, housing and public spaces. Equality Virginia was a leading advocate for the law which went into effect on July 1.
“It’s significant and historic that Virginia has comprehensive nondiscrimination protections, but this data shows that LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination in the workplace and in their communities,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Vee Lamneck said in the statement. “All Virginians have the right to earn a living and go about their daily lives without the fear of discrimination. We know there’s still work to be done.”
