This 2016 report by National LGBT Chamber of Commerce was the first ever snapshot demonstrating the economic and social impact of America’s leading LGBT business owners and entrepreneurs. The report explores the types and sizes of LGBT-owned businesses certified by the NGLCC, the number of jobs they create, their geography, and the personal narratives of successful LGBT business owners.

"The Center for American Progress has worked with NORC at the University of Chicago to design a comprehensive, nationally representative survey that collects data on the lives, attitudes, and experiences of LGBTQI+ Americans. The survey results reveal LGBTQI+ communities’ experiences in a wide range of situations in both the public and private spheres—including discrimination, physical and mental well-being, medical care, the workforce, education, and government services. It also breaks down participants’ responses along demographic lines such as race and ethnicity, gender identity, age, disability status, and educational attainment. Survey results play a critical role in better understanding these groups’ realities and informing policy responses to disparities as well as paths forward for potential future research."--Publisher's description.

Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.

"In The Economic Well-Being of LGBT Adults in the U.S. in 2019, the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR) analyzes data from the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking to create a detailed picture of the financial experiences of LGBT adults before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report finds evidence of significant gaps between LGBT and non-LGBT adults in income, savings, employment, housing, banking & credit, and financial security."

Published by Out Now, this report presents a measurement of the financial impacts LGBT diversity policies make in the average workplace. The full report can be downloaded with registration.

LGBT Economic Security is one of the policy issue areas Movement Advancement Project (MAP) works on. This page offers resources that provide an overview of the economic challenges LGBT people face simply because they are LGBT, including the “Paying An Unfair Price” report series released in partnership with economic security and LGBT organizations.

Using data from the Federal Reserve Banks’ annual Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS), the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR) and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) look at the financial health and needs of LGBTQ-owned small businesses.

The LGBTQI+ Economic and Financial (LEAF) Survey report analyzes findings from an original survey of 2,505 LGBTQI+ individuals and 503 non-LGBTQI+ individuals conducted Dec 2022-Jan 2023. Respondents were asked questions about their current financial status, financial priorities and concerns, their experiences with discrimination or exclusion, as well as their experiences and costs associated with family formation, gender-affirming healthcare, and legally changing their name or gender marker on identity documents, among other questions.

This page offers resources for equal access, workplace protections, marriage equality, and more for diverse groups of workers. Also listed are executive actions by the Biden Administration to advance equality for LGBTQI+ Americans.

Open For Business reports represent comprehensive evidence base for the economic and business case for LGBT+ inclusion. The reports synthesize hundreds of academic studies, business reports, data set, and expert perspectives into a clear and convincing case that shows LGBT+ inclusion is good for business and good for economic growth.

Articles and reports that discuss workplace issues the LGBTQ+ community encounters and offer resources employers need to improve and promote fairness in the workplace.

The goal of this report is to uncover the prevalence of LGBTQ workers feeling pressure to hide their sexual orientation and/ or gender identity on the job and the cost of that hiding both to individuals and employers writ large. Conversely, it also looks into the benefits to employers and workers when workplace climates are more welcoming of LGBTQ people.

By Diana Ellsworth, Ana Mendy, and Gavin Sullivan, 23 June, 2020.
This article points out the many challenges that still exist in the workplace for the LGBTQ+ community, despite the progress made in recent years. It calls companies to move beyond public gestures of support to take specific steps to ensure safe and welcoming environments for LGBTQ+ employees.

ISSN: 2158-3889
Weeks, Kelly P. 2015. "Attracting and Retaining Entrepreneurs: The Role of City and State-Wide Employment Nondiscrimination Ordinances to Protect LGBTQ Employees." The Journal of Business Diversity 15 (2) (12): 9-13. Full text available to subscribers External

Publication Date: January 7, 2016
The Graduate School of Business at Stanford University is now offering a leadership program to help LGBT business leaders advance their careers.