This is only sector in which data for the sexual orientation of the workforce has been detailed. The data was collected from a survey by the Association of Univerity Teachers and is only based upon the responses of 508 academic staff and 242 academic-related staff so some caution is required when interpreting these statistics.

The AUT report (2001a) reports that within higher education:

• gay men may be less likely to hold senior academic posts than heterosexual men
• lesbian women are more likely to hold a senior post than heterosexual women
• gay men may be more likely to hold administrative, library adn computing posts, but not senior posts than heterosexual men

Sexuality of academic and academic related staff in higher education, 2001

Table presents the percentage of gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual in academic and academic-related occpations in higher education.