As we approach this year’s International LGBT Pride Day, many have noticed a distinct shift in the landscape. It seems that there are fewer Pride flags on display, and social media feeds are less saturated with rainbow-themed avatars. Is this a sign of a broader “wokelash,” a pushback against inclusivity and diversity initiatives? Or is there a more nuanced explanation?
The 2025 Ipsos LGBT+ Pride Report, a comprehensive study conducted across 26 countries, offers valuable insights into this very question, particularly when examining how Irish attitudes compare on a global scale.
This year’s report highlights that Ireland generally holds very positive views towards LGBT+ people. In fact, Ireland consistently ranks among the top 5 countries surveyed in terms of open attitudes and overall visibility of the LGBT+ community. This suggests a relatively high level of acceptance and understanding within Irish society. Contributing to this positive outlook may be the fact that a significant 60% of Irish people report having a relative, friend, or colleague who is lesbian, gay, or homosexual. This personal connection can often lead to greater empathy and acceptance.
One particularly interesting finding is that, while global support for brands actively promoting LGBT+ equality has dipped slightly in recent years, Ireland bucks this trend. A robust 54% of Irish people support companies and brands taking a stand for LGBT+ equality. This positions Ireland as one of only six countries where a majority of the population supports such corporate activism. This suggests that Irish consumers are increasingly expecting brands to align themselves with LGBT+ rights and equality.
This positive sentiment extends to the workplace, where 49% of Irish people support employers having programmes and policies that explicitly support and celebrate LGBT+ employees. This places Ireland 5th among the 26 countries surveyed in terms of support for inclusive workplace practices.
However, our study also reveals areas where opinions in Ireland are more divided. Support softens somewhat when it comes to transgender teens accessing gender-affirming care and transgender people being allowed to use single-sex facilities. On these specific issues, Ireland ranks 16th in support among the surveyed countries, indicating a more cautious or uncertain stance. This suggests that while Ireland has made significant strides in LGBT+ acceptance, there is still work to be done in fostering understanding and acceptance of transgender issues.
For more details and the full report, please contact Kieran O’Leary: kieran.oleary@ipsos.com
Technical note: Ipsos interviewed 19,028 people online between Friday, April 25, and Friday, May 9, 2025 in 26 countries. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness and data have been weighted to the known population profile of each country. The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and Türkiye. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.
