The relationship between discrimination toward LGB in Japanese corporation and their willingness to continue working


Yerong Zhao, Tohoku University

According to dentsu survey, the proportion of LGBT in Japan is 8.9% in 2021. Although since 2015, the same-sex partner registration has begun in Shibuya ward in Tokyo, the same-sex marriage has not been accepted by Japanese law((Tang, Khor, Chen 2020). In the workplace, whether LGB face discrimination, if they do face discrimination, which specific type of discrimination has a negative effect on their willingness to work, which specific LGBT-friendly policy could elevate the willingness to work under discrimination, also whether coming out in the workplace has a positive effect on their willingness to work has not been examined. Therefore, this paper conducted a study on the impact of discrimination on the work culture of Japanese companies towards LGB individuals and analyzed whether LGBT-friendly policies can reduce discrimination. This paper analyzed data from the 2018 Niji VOICE survey to identify specific types of discrimination that affect the work willingness of LGB individuals in Japanese companies by the method of generalized ordinal logistic regression, which is less restrictive than ordinal logistic regression model but more interpretable than multiple logistic regression model (Williams 2006). The results identified that LGB in who work in Japanese corporations do face discrimination, and this discrimination negatively affects their willingness to continue working, the results also identified that discrimination related to gender stereotypes (saying something like acting more like a woman/man), speculations about sexual orientation, and spreading rumors about sexual orientation negatively impact LGB individuals' willingness to work in the company. This study investigated the effectiveness of LGBT-friendly policies in mitigating discrimination and found that policies related to LGBT knowledge and training and treating same-sex partners as spouses have a positive impact on work willingness. The results found positive impacts of the "coming out" action to colleagues and supervisors on work willingness due to a more supportive work environment. In conclusion, this study contributes to the discrimination against LGB in Japanese corporations that the previous studies did not explore, which sheds light on that discrimination does exist in Japanese corporations, and explores the specific discrimination that negatively affects LGB's willingness to continue working. Therefore, the companies should consider banning discrimination. Although previous studies examined that LGBT-supportive (in general) policies have a positive impact on job outcomes, and mental health, the previous studies did not explore the relationship between specific supportive policies and LGB's willingness to continue working. This study examined that LGBT-supportive policies like treating same-sex partners as spouses and training and learning LGBT knowledge have a positive impact on LGB's willingness to continue working. Companies should consider reinforcing these LGBT-supportive policies. Although some studies focus on LGBT "coming out" to their families, few studies focus on "coming out" in the workplace. This study explored that "coming out" to colleagues and supervisors would increase LGB's willingness to continue working. This may be due to after "coming out" to supervisors and colleagues, LGB get their understanding, which could relieve their work life. This result is inconsistent with the studies in the US and Europe, which if LGBT discloses their sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace, they will face discrimination or harassment. This paper has a significant effect on policy-makers, and with the analysis result, hope that this paper could improve the work environment toward LGB in Japan.

This paper will be presented at the following session: