LGBTQ Young Adults’ Attitudes Toward Workplace Antidiscrimination Policies: A Cross-National Analysis Between the USA and Japan

Introduction: Previous US studies showed that LGBTQ workers played a key role in persuading their employers to include LGBTQ workers as a protected category in antidiscrimination policies. These studies tended to assume that LGBTQ workers are generally supportive of the policy change, but the assumption has not been directly examined. Further, the assumption may be unrealistic for countries where LGBTQ worker activism is uncommon. To address these gaps in the literature, this study investigates how national contexts shape LGBTQ workers’ attitudes toward antidiscrimination policies by comparing the USA and Japan. Methods: The study analyzes data from in-depth interviews with LGBTQ young adult workers. The data were collected in the USA between 2011 and 2020 (n = 27) and in Japan between 2018 and 2022 (n = 29). Results: The analysis reveals that US LGBTQ workers strongly support antidiscrimination policies by expressing a sense of collective identity as LGBTQ people and their trust in formal rules. In contrast, Japanese LGBTQ workers question the necessity and effectiveness of antidiscrimination policies by interpreting policy implementation as employers’ PR performance and by underscoring their need to develop interpersonal trust with colleagues while staying closeted. Conclusions: US and Japanese workers’ contrasting views on antidiscrimination policies reflect national differences in how LGBTQ people experience and cope with social marginalization in each country. Policy Implications: We make policy recommendations as to how employers and governments in the USA and Japan can support LGBTQ workers while addressing limitations of antidiscrimination policies that LGBTQ workers perceive in each country.