Inclusion of stigmatized people in the workplace: the case of lesbian employees – ODILE

Inclusion of stigmatized people in the workplace: the case of lesbian employees

The literature on inequalities based on gender and sexual orientation remains underdeveloped, with little known in particular about the experiences of lesbian women in the workplace. This project seeks to fill this gap by looking from different angles at the characteristics of lesbian employees and the way in which their gender and sexual orientation jointly influence their experiences at work.

Main issues raised and general objectives

Inclusion has become a vital issue for companies and organisations (Cottrill et al., 2014) and has been proposed to complement the notion of diversity, emphasizing the importance of authenticity at work. Practices of inclusion in organizations are critical in the case of invisible social identities (Ragins et al., 2007). Indeed, individuals with an invisible social identity face conflicting demands related to hiding or disclosing their invisible identity. Hiding their identity requires strong efforts and a mental burden and prevents them from being authentic at work, which can result in isolation and psychological suffering (Clair et al., 2005; Herek, 1996). Inclusion is, therefore, essential for allowing them to disclose their invisible identity without risking discrimination and stigmatization. This is the case, for example, for homosexual people, for whom it has been shown that inclusion policies are central to enabling people who wish to disclose their identity to do so without risk (Falcoz & Bécuwe, 2009; Maji et al., 2023). LG (lesbian and gay) people are victims of several forms of violence at work: discrimination (in access to employment, responsibilities, for example), stigmatization, humiliation, and sexual violence, among others (Coron & Dorion, forthcoming; Zurbrügg & Miner, 2016). Women, regardless of their sexual orientation, are also victims of discrimination and violence in the workplace (Coron, 2023; Laufer, 2014). This research project lies at the intersection of these two fields. It aims to describe and understand the experiences of lesbian employees at work and how organizations can become more inclusive for these women (acronym ODILE: Organization - Diversity - Inclusion - LEsbians). Our overall research hypothesis, based on the intersectional paradigm and on the fact that discrimination based on sexual orientation is deeply entrenched with gender norms (Beaubatie et al., 2023), is that lesbian women, both as women and as homosexuals, have specific experiences at work. The project, therefore, has several aims: - On an empirical level, to understand, from an intersectional approach, the specific experiences (negative or positive) of lesbian employees and how they differ from the ones of heterosexual female employees or gay male employees (but also heterosexual male employees); - On a theoretical level, to enrich the literature on the inclusion of LG people and the literature on gender by crossing these two themes; - On a managerial level, to offer companies recommendations for implementing policies and practices to ensure greater inclusion of lesbian employees.