Gender and Regional Differences in Coming Out, Discrimination and Social Support in 932 Italian Homosexual Employees

According to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Italy - divided into North, more progressive, open-minded and modern, and South, more conservative, narrow-minded and traditional when it comes to gender differences and sexual orientation questions - is the second most homophobic Country among EU Members. The abstract reports the results of a survey dealing with "coming out" and the perception of discrimination and social support in the workplace conducted with an ad hoc questionnaire filled out by 932 Italian homosexual employees divided by "gender" (664 males, 268 females) and "regional belonging" (672 North, 260 South). Results show that males and homosexuals from the North tend to be more disclosed than females and homosexuals from the South in organizations. Besides, homosexual males from the North declare more self-directed discriminatory behaviors but also more social support coming from colleagues, while homosexual females from the South report more other-directed discriminatory behaviors and less social support.