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“This is an essential conversation that resonates deeply with Education International (EI) shared commitment to human rights, equity, and dignity for all." These introduction remarks by EI Deputy General Secretary, Haldis Holst, set the tone for a recent online meeting dedicated to the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex – and others – (LGBTI+) educators and students. In a world where the rights of LGBTI+ individuals are increasingly under threat, education unions are stepping up, advocating for justice and inclusion. They reaffirmed their commitment to human rights and the challenges LGBTI+ people face.

A stark reminder of a global backlash

Holst opened the webinar Defending Rights, Advancing Inclusion: Education Unions Organizing for LGBTI+ Justice, held on June 5th and coinciding with the final week of WorldPride 2025, a global celebration held in Washington, D.C., serving as a stark reminder of the ongoing fight for LGBTI+ rights.

She highlighted the urgency of the situation, noting the increasing hostility against LGBTI+ individuals, inclusive education, and academic freedom. “We see this urgency in the growing backlash, where discriminatory laws and far-right rhetoric are targeting LGBTI+ people,” she said.

She also reminded that “at our last World Congress, we adopted a resolution that condemns the rise of anti-LGBTI+ ideology from the far right. That resolution was not symbolic—it was a call to organize, to resist, and to defend.”

Voices from the frontlines in the United States

Hilario Benson, Associate Director of the Human and Civil Rights Department in the National Education Association (NEA) Center for Racial and Social Justice, shared his personal journey and the challenges faced by LGBTI+ educators in the U.S.

He also mentioned “a stark contrast” with the situation two years ago, when he celebrated WorldPride in Sydney, Australia, as part of the EI delegation. “Now, here, in Washington, we are fighting against tremendous attempts to roll back all the protection and all the rights that we, as a union, we, as a society, are no longer able to enjoy.”

Acknowledging that “progress is not linear,” he said that “we keep fighting because we must, we were built for this moment, and it is our responsibility for our students, our communities, to continue to fight.”

He noted that his union underlines the importance of “rebelling and resistance but also celebrating joy.”

He also highlighted that, in February 2025, the Trump Administration implemented measures allowing the identification of teachers using diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) policies, and enabled parents and the public to report them. “NEA, along with our union's siblings, including AFT, filed a lawsuit, and we won. This is not a fight that we fight alone. We must encourage all of us, encourage our parents, our families, to begin to resist.”

Jeff Freitas, a Vice-President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and President of California Federation of teachers (CFT), also spoke about the ongoing fight for LGBTI+ rights in the U.S. "We are continuing to fight for these rights here in the United States, and we are committed, with you as trade unionists, to fight for these human rights across the world," he declared.

He also underlined several progressive policies and judicial and legal victories related to LGBTI+ rights and education.

California has prohibited laws that would require educators to disclose a student’s LGBTI+ identity to parents without the student’s consent. Over the past decade, he said, this state has mandated that “LGBTI+ history, and the stories of advocates, be told in our schools.” And trans athletes are allowed to “compete in the sports with the gender that they identify,” while also ensuring “that women don't lose their rights in these sports.”

Freitas also highlighted a significant labor win in Chicago where a new contract with public schools was overwhelmingly ratified by the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) that includes both traditional demands—“smaller class sizes, salary raises, better health care, classroom resource”—and broader “common good, community goods” provisions related to LGBTI+ issues.

Impact of education unions' efforts worldwide

Worldwide, the efforts of education unions in advocating for LGBTI+ rights have had a profound impact on both the educational landscape and the broader fight for human rights. These unions have been instrumental in creating safer and more inclusive environments for LGBTI+ students and educators, as well as in challenging discriminatory policies and practices.

For instance, in the UK, Phil Siddle, Assistant General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, highlighted his union's efforts in fighting for improvements in LGBTI+ equality: " We have a very proud history of fighting for improvements in LGBTI quality in the UK and trade unions such as mine have played a key role in getting those greater rights over the years, particularly since 2000. We have seen an equal age of consent for gay men, civil partnership rights, same-sex marriage rights for adoption and parenting, and importantly, in 2004, we saw rights for trans people with the Gender Recognition Act,” he noted. These legislative changes have helped create a safer environment in schools for both staff and pupils.

He however touched on “that swing that we're seeing in the UK and the backlash.” Talking about the negative impact of the Supreme Court judgment of April 16th, 2025, clarifying how the terms “man”, “woman” and “sex” are to be interpreted under the Equality Act 2010, particularly in relation to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, he said: “The anti-LGBTI+ narrative we are seeing is really focusing on trans and non-binary people in the UK. The Supreme Court judgment marks a really worrying rollback in rights, essentially because it is getting misreported a lot. What that judgment said is that for the purposes of the Equality Act, our main legislation that protects people against discrimination, trans people are not protected based on any new gender, a changed birth certificate or a gender recognition certificate. They can only have protection based on the sex they are assigned at birth.”

You can read Siddle’s blog article for Worlds of Education, Challenging LGBTQ+ discrimination: The fight goes on, here.

In Argentina, Ayelén Maitén Díaz spoke about the union's efforts to combat the far-right rhetoric and hate speech promoted by the current government: “President Milei’s speeches are legitimized in social media, creating an atmosphere of hate. We had an accident in Barracas in Buenos Aires where a neighbor set fire to the house where lesbians lived.”

She explained that CONADU has been actively mobilizing to defend the rights of the LGBTI+ community and to protest against discriminatory policies.

In Latin America, she added, “we have been sharing a big movement in the past two decades. On June 3rd, we celebrated the anniversary of the Ni Una Menos ["Not one (woman) less"] movement in Argentina. We cannot act in an isolated manner. We need to make this a class fight. And our slogan this year will be ‘We don't want one single person less’.”

She went on acknowledging that “if you do not mention something, it doesn't exist. We need to put words into everything, for all of us, the identity, the different trans, non-binary identities. That is why we decided to get mobilized in all corners of the country to get more visibility.

“The far right wants to deny the existence of our sexual diversity and our trade unions need to be there, facing the challenge. We are union leaders. We need to remain firm and raise awareness of LGBTI+ reality and move forward.”

Maitén Díaz concluded: “We have the power of teachers that are in classrooms, preparing inclusive lessons. They do their best. They are joining us in our fight, also the trans community in South America that fought so much for gender equality. Children and students are learning to speak, to write, and to read in our classrooms. And we are using their power to go through the darkness at the current time. We have no doubt that we will rise to the challenge.”

Atsushi Takehana, a secondary school teacher with the Japan Teachers’ Union (JTU) and President of the Kyoto Teachers’ Union, shared alarming statistics from a survey conducted by ReBit –a nonprofit organization which promotes understanding of and provides support for sexual minorities in Japan. Ninety per cent of the responding LGBTI+ students have experienced some harassment issues, he said.

Takehana also revealed the percentages of respondents who reported “I thought about suicide in the past year”. In the case of teens, it was more than 50 per cent, and students in their 20s, 40 per cent. The ratio of LGBTI+ teens who thought about suicide is 3.3 times higher than for other teens. Comparing with the previous LGBTI+ Children and Youth Survey of 2022, this proportion is increasing, he noted.

He also reported that almost 64 per cent experienced troubles and harassment caused by their educators at school. “As a result, those students cannot really talk with confidence.”

Takehana further explained: “I am usually conscious of human rights education everywhere in school life, I do not leave aggression unaddressed, or I engage students with assumptions that there are minorities in classrooms. So, the students come out.”

He went on informing participants that JTU has been working to create an LGBTI+ network to provide support and protection.

Mentioning the North-Asia Sub-Regional Network – Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia and Japan – among EI affiliates, he said that “it was set up to promote equity and inclusion at school and to protect rights of the students as well as of the educators.” And positive news is reported: “A Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) representative reported that a transgender soldier was dismissed from the military, but this was ruled unconstitutional. And South Korea celebrated LGBTI+ Day, and educators are provided materials on sexual minorities and diversity at different school levels.”

Education unions continue to be at the forefront of advocating for justice, inclusion, and democracy. They have not only improved the lives of LGBTI+ individuals within the education system but have also contributed to the broader struggle for human rights and equality. Their collective efforts of education unions have also fostered a sense of solidarity and resilience among LGBTI+ individuals. As Haldis Holst said: “Let us continue to build education unions that protect every member, defend every student, and uphold the universal human rights that belong to us all.”

On July 14th, the Council of Global Unions LGBTI+ Committee will also hold a webinar on Fighting back builds union power: How trade unions are responding to the anti-LGBTI agenda of the far right across the world. You can register here.