Perspectives on LGBT+ working lives: stakeholders, employers and LGBT+ people

Abstract

Knowing the condition of LGBT+ people in the labour market, defining and investigating discriminatory phenomena is a complex operation that involves different actors and several levels of analysis. This article is aimed at providing an integrated understanding, from different perspectives, of the discrimination phenomenon in the Italian labour market, starting from the data and information produced within the project conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (Istat), in collaboration with the National Antidiscrimination Office (UNAR) on "Labour discrimination against LGBT+ people and diversity policies implemented in enterprises". The project included qualitative interviews with stakeholders belonging to categories operating mainly at national level; a questionnaire addressed to enterprises with at least 50 employees in the industry and services sector on the Diversity management (DM), three surveys dedicated to different targets of the LGBT+ population (people in civil unions, people not in civil unions, trans and non-binary persons) with the aim of capturing the individual experiences of discrimination at work and in other contexts of daily life by LGBT+ people. This article considers the point of view of stakeholders, enterprises and LGB people in civil union in Italy on the basis of the surveys conducted so far. In detail, it focuses on perceptions and characteristics of discrimination in employment in Italy; personal experiences; existing policies and tools to fight discrimination and to promote full inclusion; actions considered necessary to promote LGBT+ rights in Italy.