A recent study finds that embracing differences, rather than being ‘identity-blind’, leaves LGBT+ people feeling more truly accepted in the workplace.
16 September 2025
By Emily Reynolds
Diversity and inclusion have become central priorities for many organisations, with a wide range of strategies emerging to guide how differences are recognised and valued in the workplace. Yet we know less about the subtle, lived nuances of more complex experiences — such as the experience of feeling 'tolerated' in these contexts, a state that goes beyond exclusion, but falls slightly short of feeling like real acceptance.
In the British Journal of Social Psychology, Kshitij Mor and colleagues explore these feelings, asking how different diversity approaches can shape the experiences of LGBT+ people at work. They find that 'identity-blind' approaches, where everyone is treated the same without highlighting differences, are more likely to cause feelings of being 'put up with', rather than truly accepted.
For the first study, the team looked at data from 462 LGBT+ adults collected for a previous investigation. The characteristics of these participants were quite varied, though the vast majority were White. Participants were randomly assigned to read a diversity statement from a fictional company, either framed in an identity-blind way (downplaying differences and emphasising similarities) or an identity-conscious way (highlighting and valuing differences). They were then asked how much they agreed with the statement "I anticipate being tolerated at this company, meaning that people will not really approve of my identity but rather will endure and put up with me at work."
Overall, those in the identity-blind condition anticipated feeling more tolerated; around 30% moreso than those in the identity-conscious condition. In other words, more of those who read that the company encouraged employees to embrace their similarities rather than their differences felt they would only be put up with rather than approved of.
After an additional analysis looking specifically at demographics, the team also found that multiple marginalisation increased concerns about being tolerated overall. In both conditions, transgender participants reported about 19% higher anticipated tolerance than cisgender participants, for example, and non-White participants 16% higher.
Next, 445 participants answered a range of questions about their own workplace, including how diversity was approached by both their organisation generally and their direct supervisor specifically, whether they felt tolerated at work, and whether they had any intention to leave their job.
Similar to the lab experiment, when actual organisations and leaders took an identity-conscious approach, employees reported feeling less tolerated than identity-blind ones: on average, for every 10% increase in how identity-conscious an organisation or leader was reported to be, perceptions of being tolerated fell by around 5%. Unlike the first study, there were no significant differences between White and non-White employees, though transgender employees reported around 30% higher feelings of being tolerated than cisgender employees, suggesting that multiple marginalisation still played a part.
Leadership was also important, with employees of identity-conscious leaders felt less put-up-with regardless of how their wider organisation was perceived. The strongest effect, however, emerged when leaders and organisations aligned. In workplaces where both leaders and organisations took an identity-conscious approach, employees reported the lowest levels of feeling just tolerated, suggesting that consistent messaging can make a big difference to marginalised employees.
As ever, there are some limitations to this investigation. In particular, the team notes that their single-item measure of tolerance may not have captured the complexity of the experience, and that future research could look at its nuances: whether tolerance means acceptance under certain conditions, subtle exclusion, or something else. Capturing emotional factors which influence the feeling of just being tolerated could also have been useful, including wider mental health measures or motivation at work, as well as looking at a more racially-diverse sample.
Overall, the findings suggest that approaches that downplay differences, even when well-meaning, can leave LGBT+ people feeling as if they are not really accepted for who they are. To ensure that employees are genuinely benefitting from workplace diversity initiatives, organisations need to invest not only in their policies, but also their leadership, ensuring that workplaces move beyond tolerance and cultivate a real culture of acceptance and inclusion.
Read the paper in full:
Mor, K., Seval Gündemir, & van. (2025). "Are they just putting up with me"? How diversity approaches impact LGBTQ+ employees' sense of being tolerated at work. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.70006
SOURCE:
https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/feeling-accepted-versus-tolerated(accessed 24.9.25)
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