UK 
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This year, a multitude of different things have changed as a result of the coronavirus crisis; many employees have to get to grips with working from home, job losses have spiked and schools and universities had to close their doors, delaying exams and dashing the hopes of many school-leavers and recent grads to get a job or move on to their next step in education.
Recent figures have shown some promise though; in August the exam watchdog Ofqual shared that the number of students accepted onto UK degree courses had risen by 2.9% compared to the results day in 2019. While this offers a positive outlook, earlier this year the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) stated that employers are seeking 32% fewer entrants on apprentice or school leave programmes than originally planned for this year, while graduate jobs have also been slashed by 12%.
D&I | How P&G has gone about LGBT+ inclusion
These bleak figures offer little comfort to recent grads trying to make a career for themselves during these uncertain times. Due to this, Alex Ehmcke, Operations and People Director at LGBT+ publisher PinkNews, has shared that an increase in anxiety and stress is therefore more likely than ever among this group, adding that LGBT+ grads will also suffer. He told HR Grapevine: “As with everything, coronavirus will exacerbate pre-existing inequalities, so young graduates will be even more susceptible to the effects of minority stress, dumping all their energy into hiding fundamental parts of their identity in an attempt to fit in.”
Research conducted by DIVA Magazine and Kantar also discovered that half of UK LGBT+ women are being outed at their first job, similarly a study shared by Mercer and Santander found that 62% of generation Y graduates who were out in college and university have gone back into the closet after entering the formal work environment. These stats therefore suggest that more should be done to build an inclusive work environment, to ensure every staff member feels accepted.
