Working Globally: Why LGBT+ Inclusion is Key to Competitiveness

A report ‘Working Globally: Why LGBT+ Inclusion is Key to Competitiveness’, studies the experiences of LGBT+ people working abroad.

Published by Open For Business, in collaboration with Deloitte and Herbert Smith Freehills, the research makes the case that LGBT+ inclusion can improve the competitiveness of global companies, and the countries in which they are based.

Key findings include:

• LGBT+ professionals are very willing to work abroad - over 70% of respondents willing to travel for a short-term assignments, and over 50% willing to travel for a long-term assignment.
• LGBT+ laws and culture are the two most important factors influencing the decision of LGBT+ people to work abroad – even ahead of healthcare and insurance.
• 69% of LGBT+ professionals cited discrimination laws related to LGBT+ people as a reason for rejecting a potential international assignment.
• Despite a desire for ‘local knowledge’, over 90% of LGBT+ professionals working on international assignments did not receive information about laws or culture related to LGBT+ people from their employer.
• LGBT+ people are significantly more likely to accept work assignments to countries with higher levels of social and legal acceptance of LGBT+ people. As a country’s score of social and legal LGBT+ acceptance increases, there is a statistically significant rise in the number of LGBT+ professionals willing to travel there on international assignments.

Kalvinder Dhillon, Deloitte Vice Chair and Tax Partner and Deloitte Globe Ally, said:

“We have seen significant progress made to improve the mobility of the LGBT+ community worldwide. However, there is still a lot more we can do to unlock the economic benefits of LGBT+ inclusion.

“Companies need to make sure they offer their LGBT+ people practical support and information. The research shows that despite 70% of LGBT+ respondents being willing to travel for project work or short-term assignments, over 90% of LGBT+ did not receive information about LGBT+ laws, networks or culture before or after being offered the assignment. This is not acceptable and a clear sign that more needs to be done by organisations to support their people when working abroad.”