Members of Taiwan’s LGBTQ community have seen improvements in interpersonal relationships with co-workers and managers, according to a survey released May 5.
Conducted by the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan and Taipei City-based Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, the poll shows fewer LGBTQ individuals were either encouraged to date someone of the opposite sex or asked about their romantic relationships in the workplace, dropping from 56.3 to 37.9 percent compared to a similar survey conducted by TTHA four years ago.
Other results show that 55 percent of respondents are out to their colleagues—though less than 30 percent had come out to managers—as opposed to 51.1 percent being out at work in 2016.
Other improvements were seen in problem areas such as needing to pass as straight, receiving suggestions to change sexual orientation or gender expression and having one’s privacy violated, with figures down from 39.5 to 34.7, 16.6 to 12.4 and 17.5 to 11.4 percent respectively.
In terms of handling discrimination cases, approximately 75 percent of LGBTQ workers reported being aware of relevant laws and regulations like Taiwan’s Act of Gender Equality in Employment. However, 60 percent of respondents said employers should treat incidents more seriously.
According to METC, advancements in the marriage equality movement, including the legalization of same-sex marriage last May, have played a pivotal role in bolstering public support for LGBTQ groups.
Conducted from Jan. 20 to March 2, the online survey collected 2,121 responses, with the majority of participants aged 26 to 35 and working full-time. (YCH-E)
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