Sadly, institutionalized homophobia is very much an international problem. Though great strides of progress have been made in 2015 alone, many still cling to the hate-promoting tactics of yesteryear with a downright depressing loyalty. After receiving word that a fan had been fired from a job due solely to homophobia, the team behind STHLM Panda decided to conduct an experiment:
Two men would apply for the same position for a company based in Scandinavia, with very different backgrounds. One potential employee would pretend to be absolutely hopeless, largely unemployable, and heterosexual. Meanwhile, the other interviewee would possess and proudly display all knowledge of the position's respective industry and years of experience in the field. The catch? This interviewee was gay.
The results of this experiment, as documented above, are as depressing as you might have guessed. When pairing the clip above with the fact that "lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are unemployed at a rate 40 percenthigher than the overall average," a disturbing global pattern emerges. According to American Progress, these saddening statistics ultimately contribute to "higher poverty rates for LGBT Americans, including a poverty rate nearly four times the national average" for transgender citizens.
