Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth volunteering behaviors: Evidence from Northern Ireland

Youth volunteering is associated with a host of individual benefits, in addition to the service provided to organizations and communities. However, little is known about the volunteering behaviors of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth. This is a large and growing lacuna in the literature, as recent demographic surveys show that younger people are far more likely to identify as LGBTQ than those in older generations across many countries. Using Hustinx et al.'s Inequality in Volunteering model as a theoretical lens and analyzing survey data from 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland, this research explores whether LGB youth experience inequalities in volunteering activities relative to their non-LGB peers. Measures of volunteering activities include propensity to volunteer in formal and informal settings, motivations, location for formal volunteering, and experiences while volunteering. Findings indicate that LGB youth are less likely to volunteer in sports or religiously oriented organizations, more likely to volunteer in order to expand social networks, and less likely to report feeling appreciated by the organizations they volunteer with. I discuss implications for philanthropic organizations wanting to move towards creating inclusive environments for LGBTQ youth volunteers and call for increased investment in data collection within gender and sexual minority populations.