Belfast is the most inclusive city for LGBTQ+ jobseekers in the UK, beating London, Brighton and Manchester, according to new research*

For Pride Month 2021, Adzuna analysed nearly 9.7 million job vacancies across 10 different countries that host major Pride parades to reveal the cities and countries most inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community. The research looks at the number of job ads proactively containing inclusive language welcoming jobseekers of all sexual orientations to apply, analysing inclusivity within UK cities, regions and sectors.

Despite a complex political and religious backdrop, Belfast tops the charts as the most inclusive hiring UK city, with 18.5% of job ads actively encouraging jobseekers of all sexual orientations to apply. Northern Ireland legalised same-sex marriage in January 2020 and the number of LGBTQ+ inclusive job ads has grown sharply over the last year to 540 from 193 a year ago, suggesting a positive push from local employers to improve inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community.

Overall, Northern Ireland leads as the most inclusive region with 12.0% of job ads (685 roles) actively promoting LGBTQ+ diversity in the workplace, followed by London (9.4%), Scotland (5.9%) and the South East (5.9%).

Other top LGBTQ+ inclusive hiring cities include Portsmouth (10.1%), London (9.4%) and Edinburgh (9.3%), outpacing Newcastle (8.3%), Brighton (6.9%) and Manchester (6.3%) despite these cities all having vibrant LGBTQ+ communities and well-established Pride celebrations, suggesting local employers may be overlooking the importance of publicly encouraging diverse job applicants. 

However, less than 6% of UK job ads in total actively promote inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community, significantly behind Germany, New Zealand, Australia and the US. A total of 56,261 UK job ads actively promote diversity in the workplace regardless of sexual orientation, up from 24,318  year ago.

Wales and West Midlands lag behind other regions
The regions with the most work still to do to improve inclusivity are the West Midlands (3.3%), Wales (3.5%) and the East Midlands (3.7%).

Swansea in Wales is revealed as the least inclusive hiring city, with just 1.6% of job ads actively encouraging LGBTQ+ applicants, followed by Stoke in the West Midlands (2.2%) and Northampton in the East Midlands (2.4%).

Science & QA is the most LGBTQ+ friendly sector; Trade & Construction is least inclusive
Science & QA is the most LGBTQ+ inclusive UK industry with 12.6% of job ads actively promoting diversity in the workplace regardless of sexual orientation (1,567 job ads). IT is second, with 10.7% of vacancies equalling 12,963 job ads actively promoting inclusivity. By comparison, only 2.6% of Trade & Construction vacancies (2,407 job ads) and 3.0% of Logistics & Warehouse roles (2,200 job ads) are LGBTQ+ inclusive.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, comments: “Fewer than one-in-sixteen job ads explicitly encourage applications from the LGBTQ+ community meaning plenty of room for improvement for UK employers to press for diverse hiring. Many employers are inclusive to LGBTQ+ workers but haven’t updated their job advert language to reflect this. But jobseekers are becoming more discerning and are increasingly looking for statements of support for minority groups when applying for roles. If you’re looking to improve the diversity of your workforce, adding inclusive language into a job ad is a simple and effective way to encourage applications from minority groups. Broadening the talent pool is also a great way to bring different perspectives and ideas to a company

“More UK employers need to become allies to the LGBTQ+ community by showing open support for its members throughout the hiring process and creating more inclusive work environments. On the global playing field, the UK is far behind Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the US in this regard. Encouraging a culturally rich workforce is crucial to strive towards wider equality.”

*Survey by Adzuna