25 October 2023 , 23:01
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Cabin crew have the biggest proportion of LGB+ staff out of any profession in England and Wales.
Some 13.7% of flight attendants identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another orientation. And theirs pipped the entertainment industry, on 12.3%, as the most LGB+-friendly. Leisure and theme park attendants (11%) were third on the list, with coffee shop staff (10.8%) the only other to have more than one in 10 representation, the 2021 census shows.
Roofers were the least likely to identify as LGB+ on 0.5%, with bricklayers, farmers and scaffolders on 0.6%. The International Association of Flight Attendants said: “Decades before the law caught up, we worked together to negotiate job protections for LGBTQ+ workers and secured domestic partner benefits in contracts.
Industry says cabin crew can be their 'authentic selves' (Getty Images)"Our solidarity has allowed thousands of flight attendants to live and work as their authentic selves.” The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said employers should “act now to improve equality, diversity and inclusion at work”. Jill Miller, who is senior diversity and inclusion policy adviser at the CIPD, said: “Attracting a more diverse workforce through reaching out to a diverse talent pool is important, but organisations must go further.
“Employers need to focus on creating an inclusive organisation culture where there is equality of opportunity and outcomes for all.” The Census data showed that across every occupation there was a small proportion who chose not to answer the question on sexual orientation - for example, 6.4% of air travel assistants and 7.8% of theme park attendants - meaning levels of diversity in the workforce could be even higher.
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In the 2021 Census, 92.5% of respondents aged 16 or over answered the question on sexual orientation, while the remaining 7.5% chose not to. Out of those that responded, 89.4% of respondents identified as straight or heterosexual. Around 1.5 million people, or 3.2%, identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual orientation, known as LGB+ in the Census.