Connecticut came out near the top of a 2025 review of LGBTQ+ business climates across the nation, which could bolster the state’s ability to draw and retain talented workers in the coming years, according to global business platform Out Leadership,.
Out Leadership’s LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index is an annual report recognizing that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people can harm business talent mobility, retention and development. Tailored for business executives to inform their decisions, the report ranks every state across five categories that impact LGBTQ+ hiring, including legal protections, health care access and family support.
Connecticut landed third, just under a tie between Massachusetts and New York for first place and above New Jersey, Vermont and Maine, respectively in fourth through sixth place.
Citing a Gallup report that shows more than one in five members of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+, and the belief among 70% of LGBTQ+ workers that being out positively impacts their career, Todd G. Sears, Out Leadership founder and CEO, wrote that “companies that ignore this reality risk losing a talented future workforce and profits.”
“Companies operating in low-ranking states face real consequences from convention losses to employee flight,” the report’s executive summary said. “Meanwhile, inclusive states enjoy stronger growth and greater talent retention.” The report also said 76% of workers avoid jobs in anti-equality states and 75% of consumers boycott brands that don’t align with their values, reaffirming a need to support staff in a thorough fashion.
In reviewing LGBTQ+ protections in communities, Out Leadership considered legal and nondiscrimination protections including laws personally impacting workers and discrimination protections in workplaces. For youth and family support, it measures state-level statistics on support for LGBTQ+ families and resources available for them and their children, as well as laws banning discussion of same-gender marriage in schools and conversion therapy for minors.
The study reviewed political and religious attitudes in states, including whether religious exemptions can provide for targeted discrimination against others and how state leaders represent their LGBTQ+ constituents; health access and safety for LGBTQ+ people, including access to transgender care and hate crime laws; and work environments and employment, monitoring instances of harassment and mistreatment against transgender individuals and assessments of LGBTQ+ employment in a state.
Connecticut scored a 92.27 out of a possible 100, indicating an extremely strong and inclusive culture and environment for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.
The report noted that while some states saw strong results, overall scores fell for the third year in a row on a national basis, with anti-transgender policies in particular causing a number of states to plummet in rankings.
Ohio, Utah and Florida all had noticeable declines; it was also notable that Republican-led states dominated the bottom of the report’s rankings, with Arkansas, South Carolina, Louisiana, South Dakota and Tennessee representing the bottom five. In comparison, all of the report’s top ten states were led by Democrats.
The report encouraged businesses to invest in inclusive states, protect and train their workforces and drive long-term change.
