LGBT people more likely to go into their overdrafts, study finds

LGBT people are more likely to go into their overdraft than the general population, according to a study.

More than 1,000 people were surveyed by OverdraftApps.com in 2018, of which 11% identified as LGBT+.

Forty-seven percent of LGBT+ people said they “never” went into their overdrafts, compared to 54% of non-LGBT+ people, the research found.

Around 18% of the LGBT+ community said they went into their overdraft three to nine times in the last year, in comparison to 12% of non-LGBT+ people.

The research also highlighted a difference in earnings between LGBT+ and non-LGBT+ people.

Around 25% of the LGBT+ respondents surveyed said they earned less than $25,000 (£19,000), compared to 14% of the general population.

The survey found 32% of the general population said they earned between $50,000 and $75,000 (£38,000 and £57,000), whereas only 25% of LGBT+ said the same.

LGBT+ employees face a “glass ceiling” when it comes to reaching the highest-level managerial positions (Pexels)

Gay glass ceiling

Last year, a study found gay employees face a “glass ceiling” when it comes to reaching the highest-level managerial positions.

Research published by the IZA Institute of Labour Economics in Germany found gay employees are less likely to be promoted to higher-level management jobs than their heterosexual counterparts, despite having the similar work experience and education.

The study, which uses data from the 2009 to 2014 UK Integrated Household Surveys, found the trend appears to be driven by discrimination, rather than different skills or characteristics.


“We are the first to document that gay men and lesbians are significantly more likely to have objective measures of workplace authority compared to otherwise similar heterosexual men and women,” the researchers wrote in the paper.

“However, we also find clear evidence that gay men face glass ceilings: their higher likelihood of attaining workplace authority is driven entirely by their significantly higher odds of being low-level managers.

“In fact, gay men are significantly less likely than comparable heterosexual men to be in the highest-level managerial positions that come with higher status and pay.”

The study also found that women and people of colour generally face a higher glass ceiling.