Only half of millennial full-time and part-time workers in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and two-spirit community view their financial situation positively, nine percentage points lower than their older counterparts, according to a survey released Tuesday by TD Bank and TD Securities.
Like millennials — and older folks — in the general population, many of these workers have been forced to put off major life goals because of student loan debt: for 63% of survey participants accumulating emergency savings, for 51% saving for retirement and for 46% buying a house.
Seventy-one percent of the millennial workers surveyed who had a bachelor’s degree reported outstanding loans, the median debt being $40,000 per person. About one in five owed $100,000 or more.
Sixty percent of respondents reported that they had less than three months of emergency savings.
Community Marketing & Insights conducted an online survey in April and May among 1,251 LGBTQ community members in the U.S. and District of Columbia, randomly selected from CMI’s 90,000-plus LGBTQ research panel.
TD noted in a statement that the Equality Act recently passed by the House of Representatives would ensure equal treatment in the workplace. At present, however, discrimination remains a daily reality for many workers in the U.S.
Twenty-two percent of millennial survey participants said that being out about their sexual orientation to more senior staff would hurt their career advancement.
Less than one-third reported seeing senior management members in the workplace who were out as LGBTQ2 community members even though older generations were as likely as millennials to be out.
TD said many employers must do more to keep up with the cultural shifts that are being driven by conversations around inclusivity, gender identity and diversity.