‘Schools and employers: do more about declining tolerance of homosexuality’
Young people have become much less tolerant of homosexuality, research has shown. Initiatives like Purple Friday are much needed, says Professor Jojanneke van der Toorn. She believes schools and employers can play a more active role.
‘This decline in tolerance has painful consequences,’ says Van der Toorn, professor of Inclusion of lhbtiq+ employees, in response to recent findings. ‘In a class where pupils joke about lhbtiq+, young people won’t dare to come out. And teachers feel less able to talk about their same-sex partner.’
Keep talking
According to a study by the Trimbos Institute and Utrecht University published recently, in 2021 78 per cent of girls at secondary school were positive about homosexuality, but in 2025 that number had dropped to 51 per cent. For boys, the percentage of those positive about homosexuality dropped from 40 to 22 per cent. Van der Toorn: ‘I’m shocked that tolerance has fallen so far and so fast. It would be good to keep talking to young people about it. What is their opinion based on?’
Other research
The professor also refers to a study by the University of Amsterdam from March 2026 with a less drastic, but still equally unfavourable result: 59 per cent of young people believe everyone is equal, irrespective of who you fall in love with, and 65 per cent believe that you can decide for yourself who you should love. Young people showed more tolerance in answering abstract questions than with concrete examples, such as the introduction of gender-neutral toilets or celebrating Purple Friday at school out of solidarity with lhbtiq+ people. The UvA researchers saw no clear decline from earlier years.
Leiden University is also celebrating Purple Friday on 9 October and encourages everyone to wear purple. The Purple Friday Gathering will take place in the Agora Building between 15.00 and 17.00, and students and staff are invited to share their experiences. Come and join us at the Purple Friday Gathering.
Social media
The question is why more young people today are finding the question of homosexuality difficult. Van der Toorn: ‘The societal debate has become more negative. Young people receive homo-negative and anti-gender messages via social media, but also in politics traditional assumptions about gender and sexuality are becoming more prevalent. Attitudes towards gender diversity are even more negative than towards sexual diversity.’
Role of education
Education has an important job here, says Van der Toorn. ‘Schools are not there just to transmit knowledge but also have a formative role. We want them to educate engaged and respectful citizens. That’s why initiatives like Purple Friday are so important. They offer an opportunity to discuss issues with one another. Invest in dialogue and probe deeper when young people express themselves intolerantly. That kind of attitude can also cover up uncertainty, anxiety or a lack of understanding. These are all feelings that can be discussed without legitimising intolerant assumptions. Young people often assume that other people think more negatively about homosexuality or gender diversity than is actually the case, Talking openly about it can help eliminate misconceptions.’
Tolerance at work
Van der Toorn is researching the experience of lhbtiq+ people at work. Has tolerance also declined there? ‘Good comparative figures are available over a longer period. The LHBTIQ+ monitor from 2024 gives a paradoxal image. On the one hand, social acceptance has grown in recent years, but at the same time, discrimination and lack of safety within the community have increased, At work, too, the norm is still hetero and cisgender: that your gender identity is the same as the gender registered at your birth.’
Switching between work and private life
Her research shows that lhbtiq+ employees experience more identity conflict than other staff and have the feeling they have to switch between work and private life. ‘If they share things about their orientation, it’s seen as less professional than if a hetero person talks about their orientation.’
Role of employers
She also believes that employers should make greater efforts to create an inclusive climate. ‘Within organisations, encourage more visible initiatives like Purple Friday, and use them as an opportunity to discuss issues within teams. Make sure that supervisors actively support an open and inclusive culture. People who belong to a majority group also feel better in an environment where everyone can be themselves.’
Paper tiger
Diversity and inclusiveness policy (D&I) often doesn’t resonate sufficiently in practice with employees, she states. ‘There is often not enough communication about concrete policies and they are not sufficiently embedded in the organisation. With regulations such as transition leave for transgender employees, it is essential that managers actively think this through with the employee. Without that support, D&I policy is nothing more than a paper tiger.’