Impact of LGBT-supportive Workplace Policies on Productivity

Abstract

Today's workforce is increasingly diverse in terms of personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The “business case for diversity” suggests that such diversity in the workplace will lead to lower costs and/or higher revenues, improving the bottom line. Not surprisingly, employers have considered the economic benefits of adding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-supportive policies, including sexual orientation and gender-identity non-discrimination policies and domestic partner benefits policies. The present study identifies and evaluates the impact of LGBT-supportive employment policies and workplace climates on business outcomes in order to answer two primary questions: