Colorado Named 10th Friendliest State for LGBTQ-Owned Businesses, Workers
We already know Colorado offers plenty of great for queer folks to live and thrive. Now, a new report by Out Leadership proves it, while still highlighting the ways the state could be even better. The corporation ranked Colorado the 10th friendliest state for LGBTQ-owned businesses and workers in their 2022 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index.
Out Leadership is an LGBTQ corporation aiming for equality by using business to connect LGBTQ leaders and business owners. Out Leadership found that, in states where it’s hard for LGBTQ people to live as themselves, it’s also hard for LGBTQ-owned businesses to operate, let alone thrive.
The Out Leadership report found that 24% of LGBTQ employees in the lower-ranked states have already moved to a more inclusive city. Of those that haven’t moved, 36% are considering moving. In support of this, 40% of consumers would change where they shop in order to support LGBTQ inclusion.
To determine the rank of the states, Out Leadership looked into measures like legal and nondiscrimination protections, youth and family support, political and religious attitudes, health access and safety, work environment, and employment. When it came to legal and nondiscrimination practices, Colorado scored perfectly. Colorado missed a few points in youth and family support and political and religious attitudes. When it came down to overall family support, Colorado scored a three out of five. Colorado lost two points in political and religious attitudes because Out Leadership deemed that the Governor Polis hasn’t spoken or campaigned against LGBTQ issues as much as other senators.
Colorado’s health access and safety score was also lower due to the coverage state employees have that doesn’t include transgender-specific care in insurance plans. The report also scored Colorado three out of five points regarding HIV criminalization, a measure the report describes as “whether the state criminalizes exposure to or transmission of HIV.”
In terms of work environment and employment, Colorado scored a three out of five in work safety, food insecurity differentia, and unemployment differential. This is due to higher rates and likeness of poverty and experiencing food insecurity LGBTQ Coloradans face over their non-LGBTQ counterparts. Work safety is impacted by reports of verbal harassment, sexual assault, and mistreatment in the workplace.
This leaves Colorado with room for improvement. However, having LGBTQ businesses and employees thrive in this state means it’s an environment where many people can live freely, feel connected to the community, and feel represented by its businesses.
Photo courtesy of Out Leadership
