Voices from the community – examining our report

On 5th June 2025 we hosted an event in Manchester to launch our report, “Barriers to LGBTQ+ career progression in the UK 2025”. The event, held at Natwest, featured discussions from the report’s authors, Claire Ebrey and Matt Haworth, and a whopping seven guest speakers who each had 6 minutes to offer their reflections on the report’s findings – Sharon Davies, Ramses Underhill-Smith, Jide Macaulay, Amelia Lee, Troy Jenkinson, Toby Mildon and Jodi Fox.

Watch the full event, with all the speakers here:

The report, which surveyed over 1,000 LGBTQ+ individuals across the UK, aimed to provide data on the barriers to career progression faced by LGBTQ+ professionals, as well as highlight their strengths and opportunities. Matt noted that while they initially aimed for 150-200 responses, they received 200 in about a week and ultimately gathered 1,017 responses, with 1,015 being included in the final report after removing two cisgender heterosexual responses.

Key findings and speaker reflections:

• Prevalence of barriers: A significant finding from the report is that 85% of LGBTQ+ professionals have experienced at least one significant barrier in their career due to their identity. These barriers include a lack of LGBTQ+ representation in leadership (70%), uncomfortable or hostile work environments (50%), and inadequate support from HR or management for LGBTQ+ issues (42%).
• Impact on career choices and education: The report revealed that being LGBTQ+ influences career choices, with 56% of respondents stating it affected their chosen path. Additionally, over one-third (34%) of LGBTQ+ adults reported that their identity negatively influenced their educational achievement. Troy Jenkinson, a former headteacher and author, spoke about the lasting impact of Section 28, a UK law that prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities, which affected his own schooling and early teaching career. He highlighted that 42% of LGBTQ+ individuals felt their education was not negatively affected because they “kept quiet”.
• Intersectionality: The report emphasises that barriers are compounded for those with intersecting identities.
  • Trans and Non-Binary people: 95% of trans respondents reported experiencing workplace barriers, compared to 85% overall. Jodi Fox, who designed the report, addressed this, noting that trans and non-binary people face significantly greater workplace barriers, particularly concerning inadequate HR support and hostile work environments. She shared a powerful anecdote from the report: “I was recently unemployed for 3 months; it was like tumbleweeds in terms of interest. Then I removed my pronouns from my CV and got two calls within 24 hours, one of which led to my current role”.
  • Disabled LGBTQ+ individuals: Toby Mildon, an openly gay disabled man discussed how disabled LGBTQ+ people experience significantly more barriers. He shared a poignant quote from the report: “There’s always room for pride, but there’s never room for my access needs”. He also highlighted the inaccessibility of many LGBTQ+ spaces, stating that “very few bars in the Village (in Manchester) are wheelchair accessible. Very few bars in Canal Street are actually wheelchair accessible”.
  • Black LGBTQ+ Communities: Rev Jide Macaulay, Founder & CEO of House of Rainbow CIC, shed light on the additional barriers faced by Black LGBTQ+ communities, including pressures from culture, religion, and immigration status. He noted that “the report highlighted that LGBT professionals from ethnic minority background, including black communities, encounter higher rates of discrimination and exclusion”.
  • Ramses Underhill Smith, founder of Alternative Care Services and a black trans man, also contributed to this discussion, stating: “I think it’s really important that we pull together for each other because we’re all we’ve got”. He also highlighted challenges within the LGBT community itself: “there’s a lot of racism in the LGBT community. You know, so when I see people from the community at the top of their field, it’s normally white gay men, you know, and they don’t have space for me”.
  • Working-class backgrounds: Sharon Davies, Founder of Good Place Co, reflected on how intersecting identities of being LGBTQ+ and from a working-class background can compound barriers to career progression. She spoke about her own experience of imposter syndrome, stating that she “didn’t really believe I had anything of value to contribute publicly until I was well into my forties” due to the lack of visible role models.
• Recruitment and progression: Amelia Lee, Regional Director at Charity People , discussed the findings related to recruitment agencies and how they can overcome barriers to LGBTQ+ career development. The report indicates that 93% of respondents believed bias may have influenced hiring decisions, with 16% directly attributing missed opportunities to being LGBTQ+. Amelia emphasised the importance of “culture add” over “culture fit” in hiring, to ensure diverse talent pools.
• Importance of role models and networks: The report highlights a significant lack of LGBTQ+ role models in leadership, with 76% of respondents having no professional role models early in their careers. Conversely, 37% reported that being LGBTQ+ positively affected their work-based networks. Ramses Underhill Smith underscored the importance of role models and allies, stating, “My allies, I expect the gay community to open up. I expect us in this time to be a force because when we are a force, people have to take us seriously”.

The event concluded with a call to action for organisations, policymakers, recruiters, researchers, and the LGBTQ+ community to work together to dismantle these barriers and foster truly inclusive workplaces. The report aims to spark conversation and lead to tangible improvements in how LGBTQ+ professionals are supported in their careers.

Watch our event overview here:

Photos

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