Is anti-LGBTQ+ bullying and harassment on the rise in the UK insurance industry?
Link launched our first-ever UK insurance industry survey to document LGBTQ+ experiences and attitudes in 2021. This seems a lifetime ago now, so we’re keen to update and expand our information.
Back in 2021, 198 LGBTQ+ industry professionals and allies answered the call. What we learned was interesting. For example, that 95% were “mostly” out to work colleagues, and that 66% came out in their current role within 6 months of starting.
Also back then, 60% of LGBTQ+ respondents and 55% of ally respondents said their organisations had visible LGBTQ+ role models.
Fats forward to today and we have launched our 2025 LGBTQ+ UK Insurance Industry Survey, which you can take part in here.
Already, we’re seeing a few interesting differences from the 250+ responses we’ve had so far.
Today, only 78% say they are out with all or most of their work colleagues, while only 51% of LGBTQ+ respondents say their company has visible LGBQT+ role models. Curiously, allies perceive this differently, with 62% of them saying there are visible LGBTQ+ role models at their company.
What’s more worrying are signs of a possible increase in anti-LGBTQ+ bullying in the workplace. In 2021, 12.6% of LGBTQ+ respondents had either experienced inappropriate behaviour themselves or observed it towards LGBTQ+ colleagues. Today, that figure has risen to 23%. In other words, from just over 1 in 10 to just under 1 in 4!
Of course, our 2025 survey is still ongoing. But some of these changes are unnerving.
This is why our survey is important, and why we hope you’ll take part if you haven’t yet. It’s our sincere hope that this survey captures all the significant issues facing our community and our allies within the industry in the United Kingdom, while also being an accurate snapshot of positive progress.
We will publish the collected results in an official report later in the year, using that to explore and examine the key trends, as well as to inform our advocacy, fundraising, and other group activities for Q4 2025, 2026, and beyond.
Your answers will be recorded anonymously. We as an organisation will not capture, store, use, sell, swap, or otherwise pass on any personalised data relating to your answers. We want you to feel safe and able to be honest with your thoughts and opinions.
This survey contains around 40 questions and can take up to 20 minutes to complete.
For every person who answers this survey, we’re donating £2 to Just Like Us, the LGBT+ youth charity, which supports schools, teachers, and students in creating more inclusive and accepting school environments for all young people.
With that in mind, once you are done, please consider sharing this with any friends or colleagues you think would like to take part. The more money we can raise, the more LGBTQ+ young people we can support, and the more complete and useful our data will be!
If you wish, at the end of the survey you will have the opportunity to add your email address. This is 100% optional and purely so that we can enter you into our prize draw. The winner will be drawn at random and win a £50 voucher.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider joining Link for more great insights and events from the LGBTQ+ community
