Homophobia Rife in Northern Ireland's Workplaces
A new study has blasted workplaces in Northern Ireland for being riddled with homophobia, this week.
The Rainbow Project say that more than a quarter of lesbian and gay people have complained about homophobia in their workplace, while one-in-four hide their sexuality.
The results are a damning critique of both the public and private sector.
In the community and voluntary sector, 31 per cent of gay people reported anti-gay comments being made by colleagues at work. In the public sector, that figure was 40 per cent.
Additionally, 70 per cent of gay people who complained about homophobia were not happy with the outcome or how their grievances were dealt with.
Matthew McDermott, the equality officer at the Rainbow Project and the report's author, told The Guardian: "This report presents quantitative data on the experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual people of employment in Northern Ireland. It is the first piece of research of its kind in Northern Ireland, which will inform government and employers of the experiences of LGB people in the workplace. This in turn should then enable government and employers to consider the measures they think appropriate to improve working life for all LGB people.
"This report also presents a narrative: it outlines, in the research participants' own words, what they experience in work and how they feel because of those experiences. Extracts, which appear throughout the entire report, are drawn from online entries and one-to-one interviews with participants. They help tell the story of what same-sex attracted people face in work and what they feel they must accept as 'normal'."
Peter Lloyd
http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory
The Rainbow Project say that more than a quarter of lesbian and gay people have complained about homophobia in their workplace, while one-in-four hide their sexuality.
The results are a damning critique of both the public and private sector.
In the community and voluntary sector, 31 per cent of gay people reported anti-gay comments being made by colleagues at work. In the public sector, that figure was 40 per cent.
Additionally, 70 per cent of gay people who complained about homophobia were not happy with the outcome or how their grievances were dealt with.
Matthew McDermott, the equality officer at the Rainbow Project and the report's author, told The Guardian: "This report presents quantitative data on the experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual people of employment in Northern Ireland. It is the first piece of research of its kind in Northern Ireland, which will inform government and employers of the experiences of LGB people in the workplace. This in turn should then enable government and employers to consider the measures they think appropriate to improve working life for all LGB people.
"This report also presents a narrative: it outlines, in the research participants' own words, what they experience in work and how they feel because of those experiences. Extracts, which appear throughout the entire report, are drawn from online entries and one-to-one interviews with participants. They help tell the story of what same-sex attracted people face in work and what they feel they must accept as 'normal'."
Peter Lloyd
http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory
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