These are the industries where LGBTQ+ employees are happiest, but they're still less satisfied than their straight colleagues

• Real estate ranks as the highest-rated industry by LGBTQ+ workers, according to new research from Glassdoor.
• Glassdoor's Daniel Zhao said LGBTQ+ workers "are less satisfied with their workplace experience compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers in every industry."

LGBTQ+ employees aren't as happy at work as their non-LGBTQ+ peers, according to new research from job search and company review site Glassdoor.

Industry-specific ratings that were shared with Insider also show that this is the case even in the top-ranked industries by LGBTQ+ workers.

"Across the board, LGBTQ+ employees consistently are less satisfied with their workplace experience compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers in every industry," Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor senior economist, told Insider in an email statement.

Glassdoor shared with Insider how satisfaction ratings in the highest- and lowest-rated industries by LGBTQ+ workers compare to the ratings of their non-LGBTQ+ colleagues. The following table is based on US Glassdoor reviews from April 25, 2021 to April 24, 2022, and are of current full-time or part-time employees.

The graphic shows ratings on a scale of one to five for LGBTQ+ employees in the highest-rated industries by LGBTQ+ employees and how that compares to the ratings of non-LGBTQ+ workers.

Real estate is the highest-rated industry by LGBTQ+ employees according to reviews on the job site. Even though it has an average rating of 3.99 out of 5 from LGBTQ+ workers, the industry has a higher average rating from non-LGBTQ+ workers, 4.15 out of 5.

Retail and restaurants were the two lowest-rated industries by LGBTQ+ employees.

"These industries tend to have lower employee satisfaction due to lower pay and significant in-person interaction, which have become even more important considerations during the pandemic," Zhao wrote about the different lowest-rated industries by LGBTQ+ employees in the report.

Like the highest-rated industries by LGBTQ+ workers, the ratings in the lowest-rated industries by LGBTQ+ employees are lower than their non-LGBTQ+ peers.

The new report that Glassdoor released right before Pride Month kicks off in June also includes the top companies rated by LGBTQ+ workers and looks at the share of reviews that mention discrimination or burnout for LGBTQ+ workers and non-LGBTQ+ workers.

According to the Glassdoor analysis of US reviews from April 25, 2021 to April 24, 2022, "LGBTQ+ employees rate their companies 3.62 out of 5 on average, 6 percent lower than non-LGBTQ+ employees." Non-LGBTQ+ workers had an average rating of 3.85.

When comparing the ratings for LGBTQ+ employees to non-LGBTQ+ employees for six workplace factors like career opportunities, the LGBTQ+ ratings were lower than the average ratings from non-LGBTQ+ employees in each category.

"LGBTQ+ employees rate their workplace experience lower because of the additional challenges and barriers that they face in the workplace," Zhao wrote in the new research report. "A Glassdoor-Harris Poll survey from 2019 found that over half (53 percent) of LGBTQ+ employees have experienced or witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ comments in the workplace, and nearly half (47 percent) reported believing being out at work could jeopardize their career."

"So although both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ employees report high satisfaction in professional industries like real estate, tech and legal, LGBTQ+ employees are still experiencing a gap compared to their non-LGBTQ+ colleagues," Zhao told Insider in a statement. "It's a stark reminder that companies in all industries still have progress to make when it comes to an equitable work experience for their people."