Just as we thought the City was finally moving into the 21st century in terms of accepting openly gay staff, a survey by recruitment specialist Joslin Rowe Associates has shown that the number of workers 'coming out' is falling.
The credit crunch has made all of us - even City high-fliers - feel less secure, and it seems that employability fears are prompting gay staff to keep quiet about their sexuality.
According to Joslin Rowe's managing director, Tara Ricks, "The City was moving away from its traditional image of white, heterosexual and male - which puts off many gay and lesbian applicants. And as a result, the proportion of gay and lesbian workers began to increase ... but it looks as though progress has stalled.
"More of the older generation will identify thenselves as gay - once City workers reach a certain level in their organisation, they feel confident enough to do so. But fewer young people are prepared to identify themselves as such. It's about feeling secure in your workplace".
We've all been busy considering the financial impact of the credit crunch, but it seems we will have social implications to deal with, too.
Comments (1)
Posted by Mark Crail | September 2, 2008 4:43 PM
Hmmm. I'm not convinced by their maths - or at least from the conclusions they have drawn.
The company claims to have collected anonymous monitoring data from around 13,500 people over three years.
The fall in the number of those identifying themselves as gay was from 7.7% of the sample one year to 7.4% the next.
In other words, out of around 4,500 people each year who were monitored, the number identifying themselves as gay fell by a grand total of 13.5 individuals.
I would say that fell within the normal ebb and flow you might expect from any variable - and is probably less than the rise/fall in the number of redheads or left-handed bankers from year to year.
Posted on September 2, 2008 16:43