Prejudice in the City: The shocking reality LGBTQ+ workers face

Detailed summary

When Michael Bishop came out in 2002, he became Britain’s first openly gay business leader. Nearly 25 years on, are things any better for his counterparts today

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Hypocrisy is very much alive and well in the City of London. In public, firms say they encourage DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion, or EDI — equality, diversity and inclusion).

Yet a recent Stonewall study had some pretty shocking discoveries: two in five LGBTQ+ employees still feel the need to hide the fact they are LGBTQ+ at work and 12 per cent of LGBTQ+ employees believe they have been fired or dismissed because they are LGBTQ+. It goes on — and makes for very ugly reading.

Nearly a third of LGBTQ+ employees did not agree they could be themselves at work. Of these, more than half have experienced discrimination, such as receiving verbal or physical abuse, or feeling excluded. Three in 10 LGBTQ+ employees wouldn’t feel comfortable reporting discrimination if they experienced homophobic or biphobic bullying or harassment.

This is shaming stuff, made worse because it’s set against a backdrop of businesses and City firms proclaiming their pro-diversity and inclusivity policies. Some have rolled back their DEI programmes to appease Donald Trump’s administration but most still make a virtue of their enlightened approach.

Another study, from Pride in Leadership, found that 85 per cent of LGBTQ+ professionals had encountered career obstacles due to their identity. These ranged from being passed over for promotions and a lack of LGBTQ+ representation in leadership, to verbal and even physical abuse at work.

In City offices there is what’s known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” when it comes to homosexuality.

On macho trading floors it doesn’t pay to be gay. Teasing or being overlooked for promotion may follow. Worse, it could result in dismissal — not on the grounds of being gay, that would be illegal, but another reason will be concocted. Best to play shtum and pretend you’re straight.

It’s a silence that is vividly described in a new book from…

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