With apologies for cross posting, we would love to receive abstracts from people who are interested in submitting an abstract to our stream at GWO on SEXUALITIES IN THE WORKPLACE.
With warm wishes and thanks,
Nick, Anna and Todd
Gender, Work & Organization
11th Biennial International Interdisciplinary Conference
24th to 26th June 2020
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ organisation sexualities and genders: contemporary workplace issues
Stream Convenors
Professor Nick Rumens, Oxford Brookes University, UK
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Dr Anna Einarsdóttir, University of York, UK
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Professor Todd Brower, Western State College of Law, US
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Ongoing social, legal economic and cultural transformations have (re)shaped organizational contexts in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and Other (LGBTQ+) employees work (Colgan and Rumens, 2015; Rumens, 2018). The nature and effects of these transformations are apparent in the wide array of topics and issues researchers have addressed, such as the embodiment of LGBTQ+ sexualities and genders in the workplace, forms of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship, LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, diversity, identities and relationships (Einarsdóttir et al., 2015; Einarsdóttir et al., 2016; Köllen, 2016; Ozturk, 2011; Ng and Rumens, 2017). While aspects of this scholarship have shed light on how some of these transformations are progressive, the same literature reveals that heteronormativity and cisnormativity persist.
For example, studies show that developing LGBTQ+ inclusive work settings requires anti-discrimination policies but, equally importantly, supportive workplace initiatives, managers, supervisors and coworkers, all of which open up opportunities for LGBTQ+ employees to feel they are accepted and their contributions valued in the workplace (Everly & Schwarz, 2015; Huffman et al., 2008; Ragins & Cornwell, 2001). In inclusive organizational environments, LGBTQ+ employees appear to have less need to conceal their sexual orientation, greater voice, lower stress and symptoms of depression, and improved mental wellbeing (King & Cortina, 2010). Equally, research highlights the necessity of interrogating LGBTQ+ inclusivity. For instance, Einarsdóttir et al. (2016) explore how lesbians and gay men become recognised and known in organizational settings, pointing out the tensions and consequences when lesbians and gay men continue to collide with normative social expectations and stereotypical ideas of how sexual identities should be embodied, ‘worn’ and performed. Similarly, Brower (2013) examines US case law on dress codes and employee appearance standards to examine issues of gender and sexual orientation identity on the job. Additionally, Williams et al. (2009) develop the metaphor of the "gay-friendly closet" to describe how LGB inclusion and visibility in the workplace is contingent upon meeting heteronormative standards of LGB behaviour and identity. As this literature reveals, LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion is linked to old and emerging forms of LGBTQ+ exclusion.
Regarding LGBTQ+ diversity, organizational research has examined how organizations are confronting the challenge of creating LGBTQ+ diverse workforces (Colgan et al., 2009; Huffman et al., 2008). One driver of change here is the employment legislation introduced in some countries to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, but another significant driver is the business case for workplace diversity. As Herring (2009) notes, a "value-in-diversity perspective" asserts that a diverse workforce, relative to a homogeneous one, is generally beneficial for business. However, research shows that the effects of cultivating a diverse workforce are unclear (Choi & Rainey, 2010). Nonetheless, the business case has been mobilized as an incentive for employers to cultivate LGBTQ+ workplace diversity and inclusion (Stonewall, 2017), even if it is unclear how, in what employment sectors and organisations, and to what extent LGBTQ+ diversity "pays" (Badgett et al., 2013).
In this stream we invite papers that address contemporary LGBTQ+ workplace issues. Topics of interest to this stream include but are not limited to:
• Developing LGBTQ+ work environments that are inclusive and diverse;
• Exploring organisation sexualities and genders that are under-researched;
• LGBTQ+ sexualities and genders in under-explored cultural and organization settings;
• LGBTQ+ identity disclosure and management in the workplace;
• The representation of LGBTQ+ issues in the management curriculum;
• Economic research on LGBTQ+ employees and labour markets;
• The role of the law in securing LGBTQ+ employment equality;
• Intersecting differences – sexuality, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, race, age, class, religious beliefs and (dis)ability;
• Contemporary forms of workplace cisnormativity, homonormativity and heteronormativity;
• LGBTQ+ bodies and issues of embodiment in organization settings;
• Forms of LGBTQ+ activism at work;
• Straight allies – how can “heterosexuals” help in campaigning for LGBTQ+ inclusion and diversity;
• Queer theory critiques of organization sexualities including heterosexualities;
• LGBTQ+ sexualities, genders and organization ethics;
• Methodological issues in studying LGBTQ+ sexualities and genders in the workplace.
Abstracts of approximately 500 words (submitted direct to stream leaders, ONE page, WORD NOT PDF, single spaced, excluding any references, no headers, footers or track changes) are invited by Friday 1st November 2019. Decisions on acceptance of abstracts will be made by stream leaders within one month and communicated to authors by Monday 2nd December 2019. All contributions will be independently refereed. Abstracts should include FULL contact details, including name, institutional affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail address. Abstracts should be emailed to [log in to unmask]
Nick Rumens is Professor in Business and Management at Oxford Brookes University, UK. His main research interests are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) sexualities and genders in organisations, workplace friendships and queer theory. He has published on these topics in journals including Human Relations, Organization Studies, British Journal of Management, Organization, Journal of Personal and Social Relationships, Sociological Review and Gender, Work & Organization. He has also (co)authored and (co)edited books including Contemporary perspectives on ecofeminism (Routledge, 2016); Sexual Orientation at Work: International issues and perspectives (Routledge, 2014); Queer Company: Friendship in the work lives of gay men (Ashgate, 2011). His latest single authored book is Queer Business: Queering organisation sexualities (Routledge, 2018).
Anna Einarsdóttir is senior lecturer in Work, Management and Organisation at The York Management School, University of York. With longstanding interest and contribution to issues faced by LGBT+ communities largely centred on social and organisational injustices, Anna has worked on major funded projects with large public, private and third sector organisations to investigate and address issues such as bullying, harassment and discrimination and is currently leading on a major ESRC funded study into LGBT+ employee networks operating with the National Health Service in Britain. Anna is particularly interested in forms of collectivism, practices of emancipation and suppression of gender and sexual minorities/identities and has published widely in the areas of formalised same sex unions, family life and workplace bullying.
Todd Brower is professor of Constitutional Law at Western State College of Law in California and is the Director of the Institute for Global Law and Policy there. He has an LL.M from Yale Law School, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, an A.B. from Princeton University, and was a Fulbright scholar in France. Professor Brower is also the Judicial Education Director for the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA School of Law. He served on the California Judicial Council - Access and Fairness Advisory Committee and is the author of various law review articles, research studies and publications on the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons in the courts of the United Kingdom, California and New Jersey. He has worked with the courts of several nations in Europe, Africa, and North and South America, with many US states and federal agencies on judicial education programs, and with international and national judicial organisations. He is the current President-Elect of NASJE, the National Association of State Judicial Educators.
References
Badgett, M. V., Durso, L. E., Mallory, C. & Kastanis, A. (2013) The business impact of LGBT-supportive workplace policies. Retrieved May 6, 2017, from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3vt6t9zx
Brower, T. (2013). What's in the closet: dress and appearance codes and lessons from sexual orientation. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 32(5), 491-502.
Choi, S. & Rainey, H. G. (2010) Managing diversity in US federal agencies: Effects of diversity and diversity management on employee perceptions of organizational performance. Public Administration Review, 70(1), 109-121.
Colgan, F. & Rumens, N. (2015) Understanding sexual orientation at work. Sexual orientation at work: Contemporary issues and perspectives. London: Routledge.
Einarsdóttir, A., Hoel, H. & Lewis, D. (2015) ‘It’s Nothing Personal’: Anti-Homosexuality in the British Workplace. Sociology, 49(6), 1183-1199.
Einarsdóttir, A., Hoel, H. & Lewis, D. (2016) Fitting the bill?(Dis) embodied disclosure of sexual identities in the workplace. Work, Employment & Society, 30(3), 489-505.
Everly, B. A. & Schwarz, J. L. (2015) Predictors of the Adoption of LGBT-Friendly HR Policies. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 367-384.
Herring, C. (2009) Does diversity pay?: Race, gender, and the business case for diversity. American Sociological Review, 74(2), 208-224.
Huffman, A. H., Watrous-Rodriguez, K. M. & King, E. B. (2008) Supporting a diverse workforce: What type of support is most meaningful for lesbian and gay employees? Human Resource Management, 47(2), 237-253.
Colgan, F., Wright, T., Creegan, C., & McKearney, A. (2009). Equality and diversity in the public services: moving forward on lesbian, gay and bisexual equality?. Human Resource Management Journal, 19(3), 280-301.
King, E. B. & Cortina, J. M. (2010) The social and economic imperative of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered supportive organizational policies. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3(1), 69-78.
Köllen, T. (Ed.). (2016) Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations: Global Perspectives on LGBT Workforce Diversity. Switzerland: Springer.
Ng, E. and Rumens, N. (2017) Diversity and inclusion for LGBT workers: Current issues and new horizons for research. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 34(2), 109-120.
Ozturk, M. B. (2011) Sexual orientation discrimination: Exploring the experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual employees in Turkey. Human Relations, 64(8), 1099-1118.
Ragins, B. R. & Cornwell, J. M. (2001) Pink triangles: antecedents and consequences of perceived workplace discrimination against gay and lesbian employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(6), 1244-1261.
Rumens, N. (2018) Queer Business: Queering organisation sexualities. New York: Routledge.
Stonewall. (2017). Stonewall Top 100 Employers: The Definitive Guide to the Most Inclusive Employers in Britain. London: Stonewall.
Williams, C. L., Giuffre, P. A. & Dellinger, K. (2009). The gay-friendly closet. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 6(1), 29-45.
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