Between the corporation and the closet: Ethically researching LGBTQ+ identities in the workplace

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to engage the ecological model as a conceptual tool to examine the ethics of conducting research on LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace. In particular, it focuses on outness and the act of outing in research.

Design/methodology/approach

Established methodologies for studying LGBTQ+ persons in the workplace are examined using a critical outness lens. The ecological model is used to identify a critical path forward for researchers working with LGBTQ+ participants and to improve LGBTQ+ workplace experiences more broadly.

Findings

The tension between the ethics of coming out of the closet and the ethics of outing someone for the greater good is problematized. It suggests that organizational and diversity scholars approach research methods with an understanding of the role played by the body and sexuality in LGBTQ+ workplace research.

Practical implications

Researchers should recognize that workers may have varying degrees of outness within their organization and/or across their private and public lives.

Originality/value

Research on LGBTQ+ persons in the workplace is limited, and research examining the ethics of relevant methods is scarcer still. This paper begins a discussion on how researchers can trouble current hegemonic approaches to LGBTQ+-centered research in organizations.

Citation

Hodson, J., Jackson, S., Cukier, W. and Holmes, M. (2018), "Between the corporation and the closet: Ethically researching LGBTQ+ identities in the workplace", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 283-297. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-04-2017-0093