“We’re Moving in the Right Direction. Still a Long Way to Go”: Experiences and Perceptions of the Climate for LGBTQ+ Employees at a Pediatric Hospital

ABSTRACT

A positive LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/nonbinary, queer) workplace climate is critical for healthcare employee satisfaction, productivity, and patient care. The current study assessed LGBTQ+ workplace climate among 791 employees from a large urban pediatric hospital. Several workplace climate domains were assessed in an online survey: employee attitudes, training, experiences related to working with LGBTQ+ colleagues, patients and families, and LGBTQ+-specific experiences. For most domains, half or more of respondents perceived an affirming LGBTQ+ climate. LGBTQ+ employees perceived a less affirming climate than cisgender heterosexual employees. LGBTQ+ employees, especially transgender/nonbinary employees, experienced numerous discriminatory situations. Over 90% of participants felt competent and qualified to work with LGB patients/families; 80% felt competent and qualified to work with TNB patients/families. Themes from open-ended survery responses reflected three LGBTQ+ climate components: systemic, interpersonal, and “grassroots” (affinity group) initiatives. Findings inform strategies to improve LGBTQ+ employee experiences and competency caring for LGBTQ+ patients and families.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural competency
• diversity
• employee well-being
• LGBTQ
• pediatric hospital
• sexual and gender minority
• workplace climate

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the members of the Boston Children’s Hospital Rainbow Consortium Climate Survey Committee; the former co-chairs of this committee: Jerel Calzo and Valerie Earnshaw; and Elizabeth Casto for her contributions. The authors would especially like to thank Allison Scobie-Carroll for her ongoing support of this project and the hospital employees who participated in this survey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).