Two in five LGBT teachers experienced homophobia in their workplace
The news survey found that many teachers don't feel safe and welcome in staffrooms
By Steve Brown
Two in five LGBT teachers have experienced homophobia in the workplace, new research has found.
The new survey, carried out by the Centre for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Education, found that many teachers don’t feel safe and welcome in staffrooms and classrooms because of their sexual identity.
Around 650 teachers and 250 school leaders, who identify as LGBT, took part in the survey found 40 per cent of teachers disagreed or strongly disagreed when asked if their school had a culture which ‘promotes inclusion for LGBTQ staff.
It also found that the same percentage of teachers had experienced bullying, harassment, discrimination or prejudice in their career because of their sexuality.
Up to 30 per cent said their experiences as an LGBT+ teacher had a negative impact on their mental health.
Nearly half (40 per cent) admitted they didn’t feel able to be open about their sexuality in their school.
Professor Glazzard said: “I think what concerns me is that we know that being a school leader and a teacher is very stressful anyway, and there are a whole range of issues that can result in mental health issues: workload, lack of work-life balance, and also the challenges of leadership anyway, but then this is another layer on top of that.
“If somebody is actually coping with the stresses of being a teacher or leader and yet they have got another layer to deal with on top of that, that’s really worrying.
“You don’t expect these issues to still be evident within current society.”