30% of LGBTQ+ adults have experienced discrimination or exclusion from financial services, study finds

cnbc.com:

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are still struggling, in some instances, to access financial services that would help them manage their money.

Some 30% of LGBTQIA+ adults have experienced bias, discrimination or exclusion in the financial services sector, either from individuals or organizations, a survey from the National Endowment for Financial Education found. The online survey of more than 1,000 adults in the LGBTQ+ community took place from May 6 to May 17.

Of those who experienced such barriers to accessing financial services, many noted that age and orientation were the top reasons they felt led to the experience. In addition, transgender respondents face the most discrimination, the survey found.

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«As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community who has personally experienced many layers of bias within financial services, this issue hits close to home,» said Billy Hensley, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education, in an email.

«I think it's easier to ignore the subjugation, prejudice, bias, phobias and 'isms' that happen within personal finance if we cater to the assumption that financial and social advancement rests solely on the individual's decisions as measured only by financial outcomes,» Hensley said. «If we average everyone together, we ignore the authentic, unique and diverse lived experiences of all.»

He added that these experiences further hinder the wealth of a group that's been historically marginalized in the U.S.

«While not specific to this data, we do know that among gender, people of color