Queer theory is a relatively new theoretical approach in organizational discourse that we think can uncover power relations and normative and hierarchical processes in diversity management discourse. ‘Heteronormativity’ and ‘performativity’, core concepts of queer theory, critique categorization and fixed identities and thereby problematize and broaden perspectives on current diversity management discourse, especially those associated with organizational constructions of diversity dimensions. In this article, we focus on the discursive and intersectional construction of subject positions and identities within organizations by drawing upon a queer theoretical framework to analyze three companies' codes of conduct that claim to create an inclusive work environment. The deconstructive analysis of these discursive artifacts emphasizes the intersectional power dynamics of and between the categories of sex, gender and sexuality, and can be taken as a point of departure for questioning the heteronormative arrangements of diversity management practices.
Queer theory is a relatively new theoretical approach in organizational discourse that we think can uncover power relations and normative and hierarchical processes in diversity management discourse. ‘Heteronormativity’ and ‘performativity’, core concepts of queer theory, critique categorization and fixed identities and thereby problematize and broaden perspectives on current diversity management discourse, especially those associated with organizational constructions of diversity dimensions. In this article, we focus on the discursive and intersectional construction of subject positions and identities within organizations by drawing upon a queer theoretical framework to analyze three companies' codes of conduct that claim to create an inclusive work environment. The deconstructive analysis of these discursive artifacts emphasizes the intersectional power dynamics of and between the categories of sex, gender and sexuality, and can be taken as a point of departure for questioning the heteronormative arrangements of diversity management practices.
Diversity management discourse shows that theoretical concepts and strategies often neglect issues of ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘sexuality’, and unwittingly reinforce patterns of exclusion in organizational practice. This chapter considers the diversity category ‘sexual orientation’ within a broader theoretical framework, by highlighting the constitutive connectedness between ‘sex’, ‘gender’, and ‘sexuality’. It uses queer theoretical concepts to give insight into the normative intersections of ‘sex’, ‘gender’, and ‘sexuality’ and, thus, heteronormative phenomena in diversity management discourse. Based on an exploration of multinational corporations (MNCs) and their codes of conduct (CoCs) it highlights the interventional and transformative potential of queer theory as an approach to DM discourse.
This article is engaged with the public availability, provision, and quality of large-scale data on the socioeconomic standing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer persons (LGB[TI]Qs) in Europe. While largescale data on LGB(TI)Qs are a potentially powerful foundation for public discourse and policymaking, their use and sufficiency are highly contested among researchers, activists, and statistical bodies. Analyzing data provided by official national and European statistics institutes, this article describes the inclusion of sexual orientation in the data-generation and reporting processes in thirty European countries and discusses how legal and social acknowledgment make LGB(TI)Qs in/visible in socioeconomic statistics. The article therefore examines if and how LGB(TI)Qs are being "counted" and, importantly, what it means "if queers are counted."
KEYWORDSLGB(TI)Qs, socioeconomic status, data-provision processes, quantitative research, population statistics JEL Codes: A13, B54, R2
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