(WITHDRAWN) Looking for Werq: An Organizational Understanding of LGBTQ+ Workplace Discrimination

Background and Purpose: LGBTQ+ people continue to experience significant hardships in the workplace. Studies have reported that 53% of LGBTQ+ workers reported hearing jokes about gay and lesbian people and 90% of trans- and non-binary workers experienced harassment or mistreatment at work or took actions to avoid it. The literature on LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination demonstrates that negative experiences are associated with organizational structures and are heavily influenced by the larger environment. The objectives of the project were the following: 1) Review the scope and form of LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination; 2) Explore what the literature says (and does not say) about LGBTQ+ workplace experiences; 3) Identify different areas of influence on LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination; 4) Apply organizational theories to the findings; and 5) Develop a queer-based theory of understanding. This study responds to the overarching question: How does the organizational context and organizational theory aid in understanding practices of LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination?

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted LGBTQ+ workplace experiences covering the last 10 years with 50 studies identified. The academic findings were synthesized within areas of influence including worker experience, climate, culture, organizational structure, organizational field, and environment (i.e., local, regional, and state sociopolitical context). In addition, organizational theories and concepts were applied to the findings in each of the areas of influence including new institutional theory, structuration, myth and ceremony, organizational fields, culture and climate, and racialization. Certain literature was intentionally not engaged (e.g., legal briefs and legislation) in order to maintain a focus on actual worker experiences.

Results: The results of this project involve themes of LGBTQ+ workplace experiences, structures, and environmental influences. LGBTQ+ worker experiences comprised discrimination, harassment, identity management and disclosure, coping, job satisfaction, and career decision-making. Both climate and culture are experienced as negative in the presence of heteronormativity. The logistical moves of workers (e.g., seeking authority and transferring) and hiring practices evidence the impact of organizational structure. Organizational fields reveal the tendency of LGBTQ+ people to seek non-profit work and difference in worker experiences between and within fields. The literature that discusses environmental influences emphasizes the importance of location on probability of being hired and worker experiences.

Conclusions and Implications: The literature provides support for institutionalized workplace cisgenderism and heterosexism akin to Victor Ray’s (2019) theory of racialization within organizations. Oppressive societal structures are internalized by organizations, concretized in practices, policies, and procedures, infused with culture and climate, and felt by LGBTQ+ workers. In this process, cis- and heteronormativity are produced by organizational actors and re-produced by the organizational structures themselves. This work has implications for practice, advocacy, and scholarship. As a field that emphasizes the person-in-environment and systems approaches, it is essential to understand the impact of workplace environments on people’s lives, and the process by which this impact occurs. As advocates, we must point to research which articulates gaps in equity for marginalized groups to promote systemic and policy changes. As social justice-oriented scholars, we must interpret and expand theories to enhance inclusivity for different people and experiences.