CAP Survey Data on LGBTQI+ Experiences

The Center for American Progress has worked with NORC at the University of Chicago to design a comprehensive, nationally representative survey that collects data on the lives, attitudes, and experiences of LGBTQI+ Americans. The survey results reveal LGBTQI+ communities’ experiences in a wide range of situations in both the public and private spheres—including discrimination, physical and mental well-being, medical care, the workforce, education, and government services. It also breaks down participants’ responses along demographic lines such as race and ethnicity, gender identity, age, disability status, and educational attainment. Survey results play a critical role in better understanding these groups’ realities and informing policy responses to disparities as well as paths forward for potential future research.

People participate in the annual Los Angeles Pride Parade in West Hollywood, California, on June 9, 2019. (Getty/Agustin Paullier/AFP)

In this series

Compact View

Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022 Report
Intersex Progress Pride flag

Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022

A comprehensive new CAP study finds that many LGBTQI+ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, employment, housing, and health care, as well as in the public sphere.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits Article
A young child carries a box of chalk outside their home, September 2018, in Milwaukee. They are one of a growing number of intersex children whose parents are raising them without early genital surgery. (Getty/John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)

Key Issues Facing People With Intersex Traits

New CAP data and analysis offer insights into the experiences of people with intersex traits.

Caroline Medina, Lindsay Mahowald

Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities Report
A man guides his stepdaughter in a wheelchair through a parking lot outside a wound care clinic in Los Angeles, 2021. His stepdaughter is transgender. (Getty/Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities

The federal government and policymakers must address health disparities and barriers to care for transgender communities by implementing holistic policy solutions.

Caroline Medina, Thee Santos, Lindsay Mahowald, 1 More Sharita Gruberg

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination Article
People holding signs supporting Black transgender people gather during a candlelight vigil in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 2020. (Getty/Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle)

Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of Discrimination

The compounding effects of discrimination for Black LGBTQ Americans are evident in the workplace, health care systems, and police interactions, leading to gaps in economic advancement and mental and physical health outcomes.

Lindsay Mahowald

LGBTQ People of Color Encounter Heightened Discrimination Article
A protestor holds a “Resist” sign at a rally in support of transgender people at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, February 2017. (Getty/Spencer Platt)

LGBTQ People of Color Encounter Heightened Discrimination

A nationally representative survey conducted in June 2020 by the Center for American Progress highlights that LGBTQ people of color are more likely than white LGBTQ individuals to encounter discrimination in a variety of settings.

Lindsay Mahowald

Making the Case for Chosen Family in Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies Article
Transgender women at an outreach center in Washington in 2016. (Getty/Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Making the Case for Chosen Family in Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies

To ensure that LGBTQ individuals are included in paid family and medical leave policies, lawmakers must design the policies to cover diverse family relationships and allow for caregiving of chosen family.

Lindsay Mahowald, Diana Boesch

The State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020 Report
A participant holds a rainbow flag as the Reclaim Pride Coalition takes to the streets of Manhattan for the second annual Queer Liberation March, June 2020. (Getty/Erik McGregor)

The State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

A comprehensive new study from the Center for American Progress finds that many LGBTQ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, in the workplace and the public sphere, and in their access to critical health care.

Sharita Gruberg, Lindsay Mahowald, John Halpin

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