LGBTI People and Employment: Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics in China, the Philippines and Thailand

According to a new United Nations study, high levels of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people – 21 percent of respondents in China, 30 percent in the Philippines and 23 percent in Thailand – reported being harassed, bullied or discriminated against by others while at work because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

The study was undertaken jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Office (ILO) and was launched today at the Queer Asia Conference hosted by the SOAS University of London. It involved a desk review as well as collection of quantitative data from 1,571 respondents and qualitative data from in-country focus group discussions with 151 participants. The report, entitled LGBTI People and Employment: Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics in China, the Philippines and Thailand,  makes concrete recommendations for governments, the private sector, civil society, multilateral agencies and non-government organizations to take action to improve the situation for LGBTI people in employment settings.