How employers can support LGBTQ+ workers during a second Trump presidency

In the aftermath of the election, many in the LGBTQ+ community have expressed concerns about what a second Trump presidency could mean. The president-elect already reshaped the Supreme Court in his first term—a move that has had profound implications on abortion and other major issues—and rolled back several LGBTQ+ protections, with a particular focus on undermining trans rights. In 2023, a whopping 510 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced at the state level, with 75 enacted as law.

These attacks on LGBTQ+ rights have been mirrored by growing pushback to diversity and inclusion efforts across the business world, too. In recent months, several major employers—among them Walmart and Ford—have made notable changes to their DEI policies, from opting out of sponsoring Pride events to pulling out of the Human Rights Campaign’s annual index, which measures how inclusive employers are of LGBTQ+ workers.

“The bottom line is it’s super scary right now out there for the queer community,” says Greg Sottolano, the chief people officer at Folx Health, which provides healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community. “We’ve seen that just in how it has manifested here within Folx.” The company has seen a 70% uptick in clinical visits and a similar increase in the number of people who have reactivated their Folx memberships.

In this moment, corporate America has a significant role to play, particularly when it comes to healthcare coverage for queer employees—and there are steps many employers can take to bolster their existing benefits and ensure LGBTQ+ workers feel heard and supported.

Making sure benefits are inclusive

Sottolano argues that while domestic partner coverage can be crucial for queer families—and it’s important for companies to make it a standard part of their benefits program—those benefits are no longer a major differentiator among employers. According to consulting firm Mercer, domestic partnership benefits became less popular in the years after same-sex marriage was legalized. But there has been a shift in recent years, as more companies have added those benefits again; in 2022, 56% of large employers (those with more than 500 workers) provided healthcare coverage to same-sex domestic partners, up from 53% the year prior and 44% in 2020.

As family building benefits have grown more common across the board, many employers have also taken steps to ensure their offerings are inclusive of diverse family structures. In 2023, Mercer found that 32% of employers provided benefits that helped cover fertility treatments, adoption, and surrogacy for LGBTQ+ workers, with about 17% also offering mental health resources for queer employees. Another 31% of employers said they were either considering or planning to add family-building benefits. While coverage for surrogacy is still less common, 14% of large employers do grant some level of financial support to employees using that service.

A good portion of large employers—about half, as of 2022—also now cover gender-affirming care, not to mention ancillary services like counseling and hormone therapy. But few companies offer additional benefits like gender affirmation leave, which grants workers paid (and unpaid) time off to undergo surgery as needed and other medical care that might be part of their transition.

Investing in the right type of benefits

Beyond adequately covering healthcare for LGBTQ+ employees, however, Sottolano believes it’s important that companies think about whether they are providing benefits that are actually geared toward those communities. “It’s not just about the benefits,” Sottolano says. “It’s about the experience. As a queer person, the healthcare system was not structured for us. At best, it’s awkward conversations; at worst, it’s discriminatory at times. So I think as a benefits person inside a company, it’s not only important to think about the benefits you’re offering, but the experience [an] employee is going to have. Will they be affirmed and get the care that supports their identity?”

Many employers have introduced mental health benefits, for example, in response to increased demand and burnout across their workforce. But queer employees may want more personalized care from practitioners who understand their background and experiences. “It isn’t just about having mental health available,” Sottolano says. “I can go talk to a therapist, but if it’s a cisgender, straight white man, and I am a transgender person of color, the shared experiences and the understanding of that journey is critical.”

This can present a challenge for companies and benefits consultants who are trying to accommodate the desires of a diverse employee population. In many cases, they may be best served by explicitly asking LGBTQ+ employees what they need and want out of employer-sponsored benefits. Sottolano says a lot of the work Folx does is around raising awareness and educating companies on what they can offer for their queer employees. “Most of the people coming to the table are already at the point of: We know we need to care for this community, and they need our care,” he says. “We don’t know how to do that. Help us understand what this would look like.”

Going beyond healthcare

At Folx, Sottolano has already seen both a surge of interest from new employers and questions from existing clients who are thinking about how to show up for queer employees right now—and where they could be doing more. “We’ve gotten a lot of calls asking us to help them navigate communications,” he says. “The work we do when we partner with employers isn’t just about the clinical care that we’re providing to their employees, which is of utmost importance and priority. It’s also [being] a partner in the journey [of] how you are then supporting that community within your organization.”

That can extend to how employers invest in philanthropic and social impact initiatives that might help the queer community even beyond their own workforce. But it also means looking beyond healthcare benefits and thinking more expansively about how to support workers in other ways, whether through employee resource groups or professional development opportunities.

“I think there’s a broader view of what benefits can and should be,” Sottolano says. “What are you investing in around leadership development? How are you helping [with] professional development? That is an absolute benefit that I think folks need to feel right now, especially in a world where they’re scared for their future. To know that there is a future for them at the company, and that [their employer is] investing in those people to grow and develop them, is super important.”