Challenges and Opportunities for LGBTQI+ Inclusion at Work

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, an early emphasis on equal opportunities among both human resource management (HRM) practitioners and scholars has gradually shifted to a focus on diversity management and, more recently, a burgeoning interest in inclusion (Oswick C, Noon M, Br J Manag 25:23–39, 2014). This chapter examines inclusion in the context of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) employees and provides an overview of the current state of play and further opportunities for employers to facilitate the full and free participation of these workers. After defining inclusion and its appeal to organizations, we will review organizational challenges to the inclusion of LGBTQI+ workers, including those unique to members of this community relative to other minority groups and also those posed by the diversity within this group.