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Article
Publication date: 8 November 2011

Todd Brower

Borrowing from the literature on social cognition and schema theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine sexual orientation and sex discrimination, to critique and refine that…

1045

Abstract

Purpose

Borrowing from the literature on social cognition and schema theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine sexual orientation and sex discrimination, to critique and refine that doctrine, particularly when traditional gender roles are enforced in workplaces. The insights of cognitive schemas on lesbian and gay identity are employed to link models of judicial decision making and gender/sexual orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

Methodologically, the paper is located in the sociolegal tradition, but also uses case analysis to supplement and advance its thesis. Because US nondiscrimination law distinguishes between sexuality and gender discrimination, it provides a unique laboratory to critique not only American law, but the structure of nondiscrimination law generally.

Findings

Judges' and others' schemas of lesbian and gay men suggest explanations for the analytical confusion in nondiscrimination law. Additionally, the paper's specific findings both supplement and question aspects of extant models of judicial decision making and gender/sexuality.

Originality/value

Social cognition framework enables judges and commentators to reconceptualize facts and relevant doctrine in gender and sexual orientation discrimination cases and to critique some fundamental assumptions of nondiscrimination law. Further, because the paper bridges judicial decision making and gender/sexuality, researchers in those areas can use this analysis of a specific legal context to provide additional insights into how those models work and their underlying, hidden assumptions. This is a conference paper based on this author's work on schema theory and sexual orientation identity in nondiscrimination law.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2015

Thomas Köllen

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence demographic factors have on the way lesbians and gay men manage their sexual orientation at work.

1179

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence demographic factors have on the way lesbians and gay men manage their sexual orientation at work.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data taken from a cross-sectional survey of 1,308 gay and lesbian employees working in Germany, four regression models are proposed. The means of handling one’s homosexuality at work was measured by the 31 items containing Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure from Anderson et al. (2001).

Findings

Results indicate that being in a relationship is related to increased openness about one’s homosexuality at work. Furthermore, it appears that the older and the more religious lesbian and gay employees are, the more open (and therefore less hidden) about their sexuality they are. Having a migratory background is related to being more guarded about one’s sexual orientation, whereas personal mobility within the country is not related to the way one manages one’s sexual orientation at work. Lesbians tend to be a little more open and less guarded about their homosexuality compared to gay men.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of this research (and the related limitations) offers several starting and connecting points for more intersectional research on workforce diversity and diversity management.

Practical implications

The study’s findings indicate the need for an intersectional approach to organizational diversity management strategies. Exemplified by the dimension “sexual orientation”, it can be shown that the impact each dimension has for an employee’s everyday workplace experiences and behavior in terms of a certain manifestation of one dimension of diversity can only be understood in terms of its interplay with other dimensions of diversity.

Originality/value

It is shown that manifestations of demographic factors that tend to broaden the individual’s coping resources for stigma-relevant stressors lead to more openness about one’s homosexuality in the workplace.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 38 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 October 2017

David Wicks

The purpose of this paper is to explore the positive and negative workplace experiences of gay men that they perceive to be a consequence of their sexual identity.

1116

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the positive and negative workplace experiences of gay men that they perceive to be a consequence of their sexual identity.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses in-depth interviews of a diverse group of university educated white collar men employed full-time in the public and private sector. Its findings are based on a thematic content analysis of these interviews.

Findings

Despite experiencing some negative consequences of being out at work, their positive and neutral experiences show encouraging signs of increasingly tolerant workplaces. Some of the challenges encountered that respondents believe to be a consequence of their sexual identity are, however, not dissimilar to those faced by workers with non-traditional families.

Research limitations/implications

As with any small sample exploratory qualitative research, this paper’s findings cannot necessarily be generalized to larger populations. The uniqueness of the sample (ethnically/culturally homogenous, university educated, public/private sector employees, residents of medium-sized Canadian city) allow for display of certain experiences not representative of the population at large.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the relatively small but growing body of research on the experience of sexual minorities in the workplace. Its findings challenging the notion that sexual minorities are uniquely advantaged in the workplace, and that research on sexual minorities in the workplace is misguided in focusing on the problematic aspects of sexual identity/orientation.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 55 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 December 2021

Jeffrey D. MacCharles and E. Nicole Melton

The purpose of this study was to examine how identity covering techniques can influence raters' perceptions of job candidates who have a socially stigmatized identity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine how identity covering techniques can influence raters' perceptions of job candidates who have a socially stigmatized identity. Specifically, the authors explore how raters respond to two types of candidates: one who does not mention his gay identity during the interview process, and one who openly discusses their gay identity during the interview process. The authors also investigate whether job type (sport operations vs business operations) and the rater's views toward social equality influence perceptions of job fit and subsequent hiring recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an experiment to examine whether an applicant's level of stigma covering, type of job posting and rater's views toward social equality influenced perceptions of job fit. The authors then tested whether perceptions of job fit mediated hiring recommendations. Adults in the USA (n = 237) who were employed and had served on a hiring committees participated in the survey.

Findings

When applying for sport operations jobs, as opposed to business operations jobs, gay male applicants are viewed more favorably if they engage in high levels of identity covering. Further, the applicant's level of stigma covering influenced raters who reported high or moderate social dominance orientation but did not impact raters with low social dominance orientation. Overall, the findings reveal that identity covering techniques do have relevance for studying the dynamics of hiring gay men who apply for jobs in the sport industry.

Originality/value

The study advances the understanding of identity management techniques by examining the nuances of how applicants can choose to disclose their stigmatized identity, and how those decision influence the hiring process.

Details

Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-678X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2020

Kinsey B. Bryant-Lees and Mary E. Kite

This study aimed to experimentally investigate whether disclosing one's sexual orientation while applying for a job would impact hiring decisions.

1603

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to experimentally investigate whether disclosing one's sexual orientation while applying for a job would impact hiring decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The experiment employed a 2 (Applicant Gender: Male/Female) × 2 (Applicant Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual or Gay/Lesbian) × 2 (Job Type: Masculine/Feminine) between-subjects design. Participants (N = 349) were randomly assigned to one of eight applicant conditions. They were first presented with a job description, followed by a cover letter displaying the applicants' qualifications, gender and sexual orientation. Participants evaluated the applicant's competence, social skills and hireability, and provided self-reports of their attitudes toward gays/lesbians and traditional gender roles.

Findings

The results demonstrated a distinct pattern of discrimination toward gay/lesbian applicants who were rated significantly lower in competence, social skills and hireability than were heterosexual applicants. Additionally, using multigroup structural equation modeling, we found that sexual orientation differentially impacted the relationship between attitudes and hireability ratings; negative attitudes toward homosexuality, beliefs about sexual orientation as a choice and belief in traditional gender roles were significant predictors of hireability ratings for gay/lesbian applicants, but were unrelated to evaluations of heterosexual applicants.

Research limitations/implications

The current study highlights the underlying mechanisms involved in hiring discrimination against Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans (LGBT) workers including lower evaluations of competence, social skills and structural differences in the impact of attitudes. These direct links must be explicitly addressed for continued progress related to equality, diversity and inclusion in Human Resource Management (HRM). Continued multidisciplinary research that considers gender identity and sexual orientation signal salience, consequences of specific career stereotypes, regional differences and the effects of societal shifts in attitudes overtime will continue to improve our understanding and drive us toward a more equitable future.

Practical implications

By identifying the underlying mechanisms involved in hiring discrimination, this study highlights the need for diversity trainings that go beyond the blanket approaches to diversity management and explicitly address conscious and unconscious biases that may influence the hiring process. Additionally, it is critical for organizations to provide top-down support from leadership, and implement mechanisms that allow LGBT voices to be heard and feel comfortable in their work environment to reduce the psychological strain.

Social implications

Prior to the recent landmark ruling by the Supreme Court on June 15, 2020, which extended the 1964 Civil Rights Act workplace protections to gay, lesbianand transgender employees, in many places across the United States Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) identifying workers could still be legally discriminated against. The pattern of discrimination identified in the current study provides clear evidence that these protections are necessary, and long overdue.

Originality/value

This study identifies two clear patterns of hiring discrimination: (1) lower hireability ratings and (2) structural differences in the evaluative process for gay/lesbian applicants. These findings provide experimental evidence, currently lacking in the literature, that support survey-based and qualitative findings of LGBT's experiences, and demonstrate how negative attitudes, irrelevant to the qualifications of an applicant, seep into hiring decisions.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 40 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2017

Kowoon Kim and Mary Ann Von Glinow

The purpose of this paper is to add to the understanding of the international work experiences of lesbian and gay self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) with a particular focus on the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to add to the understanding of the international work experiences of lesbian and gay self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) with a particular focus on the effects of different contexts on their disclosure decisions. In doing so, this study responds to the call for more empirical and extensive studies of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) expatriates.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on in-depth analysis of four interviews of lesbian and gay SIEs.

Findings

The findings presented in this paper support three contextual determinants – personal, organizational, and country-level context. These contextual determinants significantly influence lesbian and gay SIEs’ disclosure decisions and their overall international work experience.

Originality/value

Given the rapid globalization and dynamic business environment, workforce diversity has become a business imperative over the past few decades. Diversity in today’s workforce includes not simply gender and racial diversity, but also age, culture, sexual orientation, religion, education, and disabilities as primary categories of diversity. Moreover, new technologies require highly skilled labor the world over, exacerbating existing global talent shortages. These advancements in technology, accompanied by massive shortfalls in skilled labor, have expanded the pool of potential expatriates to include those non-traditional ones who have been excluded from international assignments. Particularly, as LGBT rights to equal employment opportunity and their potential contributions to international assignments have been increasingly recognized worldwide in recent years, attention to LGBT expatriates has grown exponentially. Nevertheless, neither their experiences as lesbian and gay SIEs in international assignments nor the effects of contexts on those experiences, including disclosure decisions, have yet to be fully explored. In this sense, this paper provides a contribution to the deeper understanding of lesbian and gay SIEs in multidimensional contexts of an international assignment. Although the study examined lesbian and gay expatriates, results suggest insights into the entire LGBT expatriate community.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2021

Nicholas P. Salter and Thomas Sasso

Much research has focused on the negative aspects of disclosing sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the workplace but less has explicitly examined the positive aspects…

Abstract

Purpose

Much research has focused on the negative aspects of disclosing sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the workplace but less has explicitly examined the positive aspects. This lack of research is problematic as this can oversimplify the work lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) people. The current study examines positive intrapersonal, interpersonal and work opportunity experiences associated with coming out in the workplace as LGBTQ.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study surveyed 135 working adults who identified as LGBTQ and used a mixed qualitative and quantitative design to examine the relationship between disclosure and various positive workplace experiences.

Findings

Results suggest that sexual orientation disclosure at work was related to participants perceiving multiple positive interpersonal as well as work opportunity experiences. Furthermore, results suggest gender identity disclosure was similar to, but not the same as, sexual orientation disclosure in terms of perception of positive experiences.

Originality/value

Previous research on disclosure at work has taken a somewhat narrow and typically quantitative approach. The current study provides more nuance to the phenomenon by broadly examining multiple positive experiences associated with disclosure and studying them qualitatively in order to best understand participants' experiences in their own voices.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

Williams Ezinwa Nwagwu

The purpose of this study was to examine how the identity of undergraduates who use social networking sites in selected Nigerian universities influences the prediction of their…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine how the identity of undergraduates who use social networking sites in selected Nigerian universities influences the prediction of their sexual behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 388 students from three public universities in Nigeria.

Findings

Sex and age exerted sufficient influence on the youth’s sexual behaviour, but the identity variables seemed only to increase the tendency of younger males to form intimate relationship with partners. Specifically, young males who maintain high level of social relationships have a high tendency of developing intimate relationship with partners.

Research limitations/implications

This study that deployed identity variables provides wide-ranging information on how identity moderates sexual behaviour in the presence of traditional predictors of demographic characteristics and social networking.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates that identity has a very strong influence of the predictive power of sex and age on sexual behaviour.

Originality/value

This study is the first that examined sexual behaviour, identity and social networking together.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2014

Trevor G. Gates and Pamela A. Viggiani

Stigmatization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people at work is an enduring social problem, yet little is known about how those experiences differ. The purpose of this paper…

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Abstract

Purpose

Stigmatization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people at work is an enduring social problem, yet little is known about how those experiences differ. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the above issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a framework of modified labeling, this conceptual paper addresses that gap by reviewing the literature on differences in LGB worker stigmatization by type of sexual orientation identity, outness, sex and gender identity, and education and social class.

Findings

Findings in the literature were that LGB workers are labeled as outsiders, and treated differently in many workplaces. However, there are other distinctions, based upon type of sexual orientation identity (i.e. whether someone is lesbian, gay, or bisexual), sex and gender identity, outness at work, and education and social classes.

Originality/value

Moreover, the paper proposes additional aspects of LGB worker stigmatization needing further empirical study.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 34 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2019

Rifat Kamasak, Mustafa Ozbilgin, Sibel Baykut and Meltem Yavuz

Treatment of intersectionality in empirical studies has predominantly engaged with individual categories of difference. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is…

Abstract

Purpose

Treatment of intersectionality in empirical studies has predominantly engaged with individual categories of difference. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is utility in exploring intersectionality at the intersection of individual and institutional levels. As such the authors move beyond the polarised take on intersections as either individual or institutional phenomenon and tackle intersectionality as a relational phenomenon that gains meaning at the encounter of individuals and institutions in context. Therefore, the authors explicate how intersectionality features as forms of solidarity and hostility in work environments. As such the authors posit that not only individuals but also the institutions should change if inclusion is aimed at societal and organisational levels.

Design/methodology/approach

A thematic analysis on qualitative interview data of a purposive- and snowball-selected sample of 11 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer working adults in Turkey was used.

Findings

This paper finds evidence to support the existence of a multidimensional model of intersectionality, where conflicting and complementary individual and institutional intersections create four intersectional typologies in the form of intersectional hostility, intersectional struggle, intersectional adjustment and intersectional solidarity.

Originality/value

The extant literature offers rich insights into individual intersectionality but sheds very little light on institutional intersectionality and its interaction with individual intersectionality. This paper attempts to fill in this gap by investigating intersectional encounters as interactions between the individual and institutional intersections.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 3000