RIWI’s global LGBT+ data were released at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as part of the annual Open for Business report, which focuses on business and development around the world, demonstrating that open, inclusive, and diverse societies are better for economic growth.
In addition to the overall report’s Global Situation analysis, RIWI data contributed to the Open for Business City Ratings, which assess to what extent a city is tolerant and inclusive of LGBT+ populations. Cities are crucial incubators for economic development, and where more than 80% of the world’s GDP comes from. These city indicators show that businesses thrive in tolerant societies where cultural life is dynamic, and that the spread of anti-LGBT+ policies run counter to economic growth.
These data come from the 2017 ILGA-RIWI Minorities Report, which is the largest annual study on global attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities, collecting over 116,000 responses from citizens of 77 countries in 2017.
Protecting the respondent in research that may be seen as controversial is imperative in order to produce reports such as Open for Business, and for future policy initiatives to encourage more diverse and inclusive global societies. Using RIWI technology enabled sensitive questions on this topic to be asked in countries where same-sex relationships and activity are heavily criminalized, such as Uganda.
Read the full report here: Open for Business
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