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Scholarship on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is voluminous. Nevertheless, there is relatively little work that examines DEI from an organization development and change (ODC) or systems perspective. As a result, there is no unified framework ODC practitioners can use for DEI diagnosis and intervention. The purpose of this chapter is to review the ODC literature with respect to DEI and propose a diagnostic Context-Levels-Culture (CLC) framework for understanding and addressing diversity-related challenges in organizations. We also present a case example of how this framework can be used in DEI consulting, including implications for future research and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how mock jurors perceive female-female sexual harassment.

Participants read a case vignette depicting female-female workplace sexual harassment where the sexual orientation of the harasser (lesbian vs heterosexual) and type of sexual harassment (approach vs reject vs generalized) were randomly assigned across participants. Participants were asked to make a liability determination for the case. They were also asked to rate the unwanted conduct on several legally relevant dimensions (e.g. severity, pervasiveness, and unwelcomeness).

Results revealed that the sexual orientation of the harasser is an important factor used to make legal decisions in same-sex sexual harassment cases. Participants found the same conduct to be more severe, pervasive, unwelcome, and threatening when the harasser was lesbian than when she was heterosexual. As hypothesized, female participants found more evidence of discrimination than male participants.

These findings illustrate biases mock jurors may hold when making legal decisions in female-female sexual harassment cases.

Results are discussed in the context of decision-making models and possible future directions and interventions are explored.

The findings extend the literature on female same-sex sexual harassment.

Despite the breadth of knowledge on self and identity formation across the study of organizations, the field of organizational development and change has limited research on the construction of professional identity. Much has been written to describe the “self-concepts” of those practicing and researching in the field, but there have been no investigations that have explored how these “self-concepts” form. In addition, although women have contributed to defining the “self” in the field, men have held the dominant perspective on the subject. Thus, in this chapter, we address a disparity in the research by exploring the construction of professional identity in the field of organizational development and change, and we give voice to the renowned women who helped to build the field. Using the profiles of 17 American women included in The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers, we perform a narrative analysis based upon the concepts and models prevalent in the literature on identity formation. By disentangling professional identity formation of the notable women in the field, we can begin to see the nuance and particularities involved in its construction and gain deeper understandings about effective ways to prepare individuals to work in and advance the field.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the “think manager, think male” research paradigm by examining managerial stereotypes as a function of both gender and sexual orientation, thus comparing the similarity of managerial stereotypes against the stereotypes of male (heterosexual and gay) and female (heterosexual and lesbian) managers.

In total, 163 heterosexual participants used the 92-item Descriptive Index attribute inventory to rate one of five target groups: successful managers, heterosexual male managers, heterosexual female managers, gay male managers, and lesbian female managers. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the degree of correspondence between ratings of the target groups.

The findings showed a higher correspondence between the descriptions of heterosexual male or female managers and the successful manager prototype than between the descriptions of gay male managers and the successful manager prototype. Additionally, results showed that the stereotypes of lesbian female managers were seen as having a moderate level of fit with the successful manager prototype.

The results of this study suggest that heterosexuals’ beliefs about gay male and lesbian female managers’ abilities are important. In particular, heterosexuals’ stereotypes that gay males lack the qualities of being a successful manager can limit gay men’s access to positions with managerial responsibilities and impede their progress into leadership positions.

This study addresses a critical gap in the management literature as it is the first empirical investigation to assess whether the “think manager, think male” phenomenon holds for managers who are members of sexual minority groups.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the “think manager, think male” research paradigm by examining managerial stereotypes as a function of both gender and sexual orientation, thus comparing the similarity of managerial stereotypes against the stereotypes of male (heterosexual and gay) and female (heterosexual and lesbian) managers.

In total, 163 heterosexual participants used the 92-item “Descriptive Index” attribute inventory to rate one of five target groups: successful managers, heterosexual male managers, heterosexual female managers, gay male managers and lesbian female managers. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the degree of correspondence between ratings of the target groups.

The findings showed a higher correspondence between the descriptions of heterosexual male or female managers and the successful manager prototype than between the descriptions of gay male managers and the successful manager prototype. Additionally, results showed that the stereotypes of lesbian female managers were seen as having a moderate level of fit with the successful manager prototype.

This study it is the first empirical investigation to assess whether the “think manager, think male” phenomenon holds for managers who are members of sexual minority groups.

This study examined university students’ perceptions of generational issues in the workplace. Baby Boomers are retiring rapidly (their knowledge and experience retiring along with them), and Millennials are now the largest generational group represented in the workforce. Students at a mid-sized university in the southeast region of the United States, majoring in Leadership or attending a leadership skills development workshop, were surveyed to determine their views on challenges and opportunities that exist due to the current generational landscape of the workforce. Results of the study indicated that reconciling various perspectives was both the top challenge and benefit when working with members of other generations, and that opportunities for reciprocal mentorship were valued by members of each generation surveyed. Recommendations for leadership educators and future researchers are provided.

The goal of this study was to help explain the underrepresentation of lesbian women and gay men (LG) in senior leadership positions by examining bias in the allocation of developmental opportunities (sponsorship/coaching and challenging work assignments). It further sought to test stigma-by-association as one reason for the biased allocation of developmental opportunities.

An online experimental vignette study (N = 273) using a 2 (target gender: male vs female) by 2 (sexual orientation: LG vs heterosexual) design was conducted.

LG workers were less likely to be allocated developmental opportunities than heterosexual workers overall and relative to their same-sex heterosexual counterparts. Further, lesbian women were least likely to be allocated developmental opportunities. These effects also operated indirectly via participants concerns about stigma-by-association.

Sexual orientation and gender identity minority workers remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions and oftentimes despite having better objective qualifications. Research has begun examining bias in leader selection. This study, however, directs attention to the biased allocation of developmental opportunities which make one competitive for senior leadership positions and occur prior to leader selection. In doing so, the authors provide a baseline understanding of an important reason why LG might be underrepresented in leadership positions.