The Williams Institute

This report explores the issue of employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens of South Dakota. We used the best available data from government sources and from recent research to examine the impact of employment discrimination on LGBT people and on South Dakota businesses. Specifically this report concludes that as many as 12,400 gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals live in South Dakota, and estimates suggest that 2,000 transgender individuals live in South Dakota; LGBT South Dakotans are racially and ethnically diverse, live throughout the state, and actively participate in the economy; across a number of surveys, large percentages of LGBT people report discrimination and harassment in the workplace; and, according to Census Bureau data, South Dakotans in same-sex couples are 15% less likely to be employed than those in different sex married couples.