Originally published here.
Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBT+Q+) youth arehighly vulnerable to work-based discrimination, which corre-lates with poor social, physical and mental health. TheEuropean Union funded WE-Project aims to empowerLGBT+Q+ youth in Europe through work-based educationalinterventions. The first leg focused on exploring barriers andfacilitators to workplace equality in Austria, Croatia, Serbia,Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom, gathering experi-ences of LGBT+Q+ youth and stakeholders.
Methods: Self-identifying LGBT+Q+ 15-26 year-olds were recruited viasocial media and diverse organisations for semi-structuredinterviews, while stakeholders from various institutions wereinvited to participate in focus group discussions based onstandardised interview and discussion guidelines.Transcriptions were coded, categorised and thematicallyanalysed, revealing five themes: societal discrimination influ-encing work-life, experiences of workplace discrimination,barriers to resolve discrimination, facilitators to overcomediscrimination and creation of inclusive strategies.
Results: Overall 56 LGBT+Q+ youth interviewees and 38 stakeholdersfrom 6 European countries were recruited. Facilitators over-coming workplace discrimination and inclusive strategiestowards work-based equality for LGBT+Q+ youth werevaryingly emphasised and included: clear policies, opencommunication, staff involvement and inclusive infrastruc-ture, LGBT+Q+ quotas as well as education on diversity inschools and increasing visibility, legal recognition of partner-ships, implementing youth centres, and access to counselling.
Conclusions: Results indicate several strategies to consider when designinginterventions challenging work-based discrimination ofLGBT+Q+ youth. Participating countries differ in socialacceptance and legal protections of LGBT+Q+ youth, butexperiences and voiced issues are similar, necessitating relevantanti-discrimination interventions throughout Europe.
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