Why Homophobia Doesn’t Make Financial Sense - West
I had brought this up before - bigotry costs a nation much - treasure, dignity, social ills, etc….
It is worth repeating - this is quite a good breakdown from WEST - there isnt much more to the article - but they have a good site worth perusing.
According to the World Bank, homophobia costs a country the same as a financial crisis: on average, 0.1-1.7% of GDP. The data, which was presented at a recent conference, examined four areas in detail: discrimination in the workplace; disparity in health mainly regarding HIV; suicide and depression. The research concludes that these behaviours can cost society billions of dollars each year.
More specifically, the value of lost productivity caused by the difference in salaries was calculated to be about 10%. This cost is related to the fact that LGBT people, as a result of discrimination, have a role in society well below what they could or should be capable of. They are therefore less productive at work and do not earn fair wages. In addition, they also face health problems, have less access to education and are under cultural and emotional pressures that make them more vulnerable in society. In other words, if they could live with peace of mind like other people, they would be more able to study and work, creating more value for themselves and for their country.
So, regardless of the reasons underlying homophobia, the World Bank Organisation - a financial institution whose mission is to reduce poverty worldwide, especially in developing countries - has thrown down a challenge to economic research. It’s a truly revolutionary view of homophobia, completely based on numbers. In fact, during the conference, as well as the general presentation of the study, an unprecedented example of data mining to determine the actual size of the LGBT population was also showcased. This pragmatic and quantitative approach could perhaps be more effective in the fight against homophobia than considerations of principle.