Most Americans favor protection of transgender people from discrimination at work: Pew research
64% of more than 10,000 adults surveyed strongly favor the protection of transgender people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces.
While many Americans are not following bills or policies towards transgender and gender identity issues too closely, many still support it.
A new report from Pew Research shows that overall, only 8% of Americans say they are following news about transgender issues extremely or very closely. About 68% say they are following it but only a little or not at all closely.
Still 64% of more than 10,000 adults surveyed strongly favor the protection of transgender people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces. Also 58% favor the requirement that trans athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth and 48% believe it should be illegal for health care professionals to help someone younger than 18 with medical care for gender transition.
At the state level, at least 21 states, as well as the District of Columbia, ban discrimination in housing, jobs and public spaces based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Utah bans discrimination in housing and employment, but not public accommodations. Wisconsin bans discrimination in all three categories, but only based on sexual orientation, not gender identity.
More Americans say they would oppose or strongly oppose (44%) than say they would favor or strongly favor (27%) requiring health insurance companies to cover medical care for gender transitions, and 28% neither favor nor oppose this.
Related: Judge: Employers cannot deny health care coverage for transgender employees
The landscape of insurance coverage for gender transitions is varied. Overall, at least 24 states, as well as the District of Columbia, either require private health insurance companies to cover medical care for gender transitions, prohibit them from creating blanket policy exclusions for gender transition and related services, or simply prohibit companies from withholding insurance plans or charging different premiums because of someone’s gender identity.
In February 2021, the U.S. House passed the Equality Act, which would expand the Civil Rights Act to explicitly “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation” in housing, employment, public accommodations and other areas. The bill has been awaiting action in the Senate since March.