DURHAM – Google tops a list of employers providing a high quality workplace experience for LGBTQ+ workers in a new study from Glassdoor of its user’s ratings data.

And while on average, LGBTQ+ employees rank their employee experience 6% lower than non-LGBTQ+ employees, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, and Bank of America, all of which maintain office facilities in North Carolina, are among the 15 top performing companies in the analysis.

Overall, LGBTQ+ employees rating their companies an average of 3.62 out of 5 compared to an average rating of 3.85 out of 5.  But those who identify as transgender rate their employee experience, on average, a 3.43.  That’s nearly 11% lower than the average of non-LGBTQ+ employees.

“LGBTQ+ employees rate their workplace experience lower because of the additional challenges and barriers that they face in the workplace,” the study reads.

A 2019 survey conducted by Glassdoor and Harris Poll found that 53 percent of LGBTQ+ employees have experienced or witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ comments in the workplace, and 47% percent self-reported holding a belief that being out at their workplace could jeopardize their career.

Overall, people who identify as LGBTQ+ are less satisfied with their workplace than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts, the study concludes.  And gaps are even more pronounced for those who identify as transgender.

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Company ratings

At Google, LGBTQ+ employees rated the company 4.38 for employee experience, whereas non-LGBTQ+ workers average rating was 4.41.  At Microsoft, though non-LGBTQ+ workers rated the employee experience a 4.55 on average, LGBTQ+ employees reported an average rating of 4.35.

At IBM, LGBTQ+ workers rated their employee experience higher than their non-LGTBQ+ counterparts, a rating of 4.0 compared to 3.89.

And at Charlotte-headquartered Bank of America, LGBTQ+ employees rated the employee experience a 3.8 out of 5, while non-LGTBQ+ workers rated the experience a 4.0 out of 5.

At Apple, which ranked 10th highest rated company for LGBTQ+ employee experience, at 3.91, non-LGBTQ+ workers rated the company 4.27 out of 5.

Each of these companies recently appeared in the latest Fortune 500, where 13 companies with headquarters in North Carolina appeared ranked among the top 500 companies in the U.S. for performance.  And many North Carolina companies earned top marks for corporate equality conducted by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

13% of survey respondents self-reported as identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the research report.  That’s higher than a recent Gallup poll, which found that as 0f 2021, 7.1% of Americans identify as LGBTQ+ with 20.8% of Generation Z and 10.5% of millennials self-identifying as LGBTQ+.

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