Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, age, and Roma ethnicity is the most prevalent in Lithuania, but the situation is getting better, according to a new Eurobarometer survey published last week.
Last year’s Eurobarometer poll found that a third of Lithuanians would not be happy if a co-worker with whom they had daily contact belonged to the LGBTQ+ community, and a quarter of them would not want to work with a Roma colleague.
The last time EU citizens were asked the same questions was in 2019. Back then, a third of people in Lithuania did not want to work with Roma people, and 37 percent said they did not want colleagues from the LGBTQ+ community.
The survey showed that the number of people who said they would not be happy if they had to work with a black colleague has decreased. Four years ago, 21 percent said so, compared to 12 percent last year.
No trans people in top positions
When asked about the top political office in Lithuania, the largest number of respondents – 49 percent (59 percent in 2019) – said they would not want to see a transgender person in it.
Moreover, 45 percent would not like to see a lesbian, gay, or bisexual person in top political positions, and 43 percent would be against a Roma person in such positions.
Of those surveyed, 67 percent said they would not be happy if their child had a romantic relationship with a transgender person (71 percent in 2019), and 59 percent would not want their child to be in a romantic relationship with a person of the same sex (70 percent in 2019).
In addition, 46 percent would be unhappy if their child had a romantic relationship with a Roma or Muslim. Four years ago, more than half of respondents said so.
The survey also showed that 61 percent believed that age could be considered a disadvantage for a candidate looking for a job, up from 59 percent in 2019. Also, 43 percent of respondents saw disability as a disadvantage in seeking employment, and 42 percent said the same about being of Roma ethnicity.
No systemic efforts
The Eurobarometer survey shows that discrimination against various groups is still an acute problem in Lithuania, according to Artūras Rudomanskis, chair of the Tolerant Youth Association.
“Some social groups that experience discrimination remain the same: Roma, Muslims, LGBT people, transgender people. These statistics show that not enough efforts are being made in our country to tackle discrimination,” he said, adding that the existing anti-discrimination program in Lithuania is not effective.
Meanwhile, Ištvan Kvik, chair of the Roma community in Lithuania, is pleased that, according to the survey, the discrimination against Roma is slowly decreasing.
In his words, one of the community’s goals over the last four years has been to improve the employment situation for Roma people.
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