Ireland ranks high for LGBTQ+ Inclusivity, according to a new study.Getty Images
Ireland has been ranked as the 10th most inclusive European country for LGBTQ+ professionals in a new study from digital PR agency Reboot Online.
Using the latest data from the LGBTIQ survey by the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the researchers developed scores across several key metrics to compare against their original 2019 study.
While the study ranks various European countries according to metrics such as ‘openness at work’, ‘workplace equality’ and ‘safety’, the researchers noted there still remains more that can be done to ensure against discrimination and harassment, allowing LGBTQ+ citizens to feel comfortable in publicly displaying their identity.
Ireland placed in 10th position with a respectable score of 6.55/10. Receiving their highest score for 'openness at work' (7.93), the country even outranked Sweden when it came to this metric. However, Ireland was let down concerning their score for both 'workplace equality', and 'safety', with 17% of respondents saying that they had been discriminated against in the workplace or when applying for a job, and 13% saying that they'd experienced a hate-motivated attack within the last 5 years.
Sweden ranked as the most inclusive European country for LGBTQ professionals, with an overall score of 8.97/10. With comparatively low levels of job seeker and workplace discrimination- just 10% of those surveyed saying they had experienced discrimination, as well as low levels of harassment (7%) - the Nordic country has the highest levels of equality for LGBTIQ professionals. However, the country scored slightly lower when it came to ‘openness at work’, with over 1 in 3 respondents (37%) stating that they often or always hide their LGBTQ identity in the workplace.
Meanwhile, Malta ranked in second position, with an overall score of 8.85/10. While the country scored higher than Sweden for ‘openness at work’, with fewer LGBTQ professionals hiding their identity, there were also greater instances of workplace and jobseeker discrimination. Those living in Malta also claimed that their day to day lives were mostly free of harassment, with an overall score of 9.31.
Ranking in third place is Denmark, with an overall score of 8.74/10. The country scored higher than both Sweden and Malta for ‘openness at work’ (9.66), and higher than Malta for workplace discrimination. However, the factor that let their score down slightly was day to day harassment, which scored 7.59.
See the complete top 10 list below.
The most inclusive European countries for LGBTQ+ professionals
- Sweden
- Malta
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Finland
- Slovenia
- Estonia
- Portugal
- Czechia
- Ireland