LGBTQI+ advocates and leaders have moved us towards a more inclusive society and economy. Unfortunately, continued right-wing attacks on LGBTQI+ rights and safety jeopardize this progress as they seek to further institutionalize discrimination in the labor market, schools, and elsewhere. While the Biden administration has engaged in major efforts to protect this community, Congress must do more to help ensure LGBTQI+ equality.

LGBTQI+ rights are under assault by Republican-led state legislatures.

• State legislatures have introduced more than 520 anti-LGBTQI+ bills in state legislatures as of May 2023, and more than 70 such bills have been enacted. An annual record of at least 220 state-level bills specifically targeted transgender or non-binary individuals.
• Many of these laws discriminate against transgender youth, thus targeting vulnerable, underaged minority children who face higher rates of bullying and an elevated risk of homelessness throughout their lives. 

Despite legal wins, LGBTQI+ communities report continued discrimination in the workplace, lower earnings, and higher poverty rates.

• The 2020 Supreme Court decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, recognized sexual orientation and gender identity as protected from discrimination in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Since this ruling, over 250 cases have cited Bostock between 2020 and 2022, and multiple previously-dismissed cases have returned to court.  
• Still, a 2022 survey found that approximately 50% of LGBTQI+ respondents experienced a form of workplace discrimination in the prior year.
• LGBT adults are reported to have higher rates of food insecurity, averaging 13.1% compared to 7.2% for their non-LGBT counterparts in 2020, face higher poverty rates, and earn 90 cents for every dollar earned by non-LGBT workers. Data for these trends only focused on LGBT individuals.

The Biden Administration has worked to protect LGBTQI+ rights and safety.