Career Assessment With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals

Abstract

This article discusses key concepts in the counseling and assessment literature that can guide sound career assessment with lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Sexual identity development and environmental factors are discussed as variables central to career assessment. In addition, a number of potential sources of assessment bias are identified in the design, selection, and use of career assessment tools.Following nearly a century of silence throughout the history of vocational psychology, the study of the career issues relating to lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals has developed recently into a legitimate scholarly focus within the career literature. More than 40 articles relating to the career behavior of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals as a nonethnic minority group have been published in the professional literature-over 75% of these within the past 5 years alone. The literature has focused primarily on providing career counselors with suggestions for practice and intervention with lesbian and gay clients (Pope, 1995) but also includes several empirical investigations and theoretical efforts directed toward expanding our models of career behavior (Croteau & Bieschke, 1996). Rarely, however, have writers specifically addressed the issue of career assessment; any attempt to organize and apply the body of career counseling work systematically to the career assessment of lesbians, gay men, or bisexual individuals is noticeably lacking.This article provides a first step toward correcting that lack. Through a review of existing literature, both empirical and theoretical, this article discusses some of the central concepts that bear directly and indirectly on assessing the career concerns and situations of lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients. The term assessment is defined broadly, to include interview, testing, and other methods of assessment that are used to evaluate an individual's career situation or concerns.

Stigma Narratives: LGBT Transitions and Identities in Malta

“…Negotiating a sexual identity in the workplace means that LGBT young people may face greater risk in this transition. Workplace cultures are not necessarily gay-affirmative since they exist in broader homophobic settings where social interactions may be difficult to regulate (Prince, 1997). These difficulties were confirmed by our interviewees, one of whom characterised experience in the workplace as necessarily "... lying, lying and much, much more lying."…”

Career development and counselling needs of LGBTQ high school students

“…Those who are able to make career plans often restrict their true career interests and instead occupationally stereotype because of negative environmental influences and perceived barriers (Chung, 1995;Chung & Harmon, 1994;Lindley, 2006;Morrow, Gore, & Campbell, 1996;Pope et al, 2004;Prince, 1997). Finally, LGBTQ students who do want to discover their true interests often find no answers in popular career inventories because of the heterosexist testing bias in these tests (Elliott, 1993;Hood & Johnson, 2007;Lonborg & Phillips, 1996;Pope et al, 2004;Prince, 1997). These career-related issues are elaborated in more detail in the following sections.…”

“…Many of these students are struggling with their hidden minority status by internalising their homophobia or trying to 'pass' as heterosexual (Cook-Daniels, 2002;Pope et al, 2004). Whether openly identified or not, LGBTQ high school students are commonly victimised by their peers (Goodrich & Luke, 2009;Toomey, Ryan, Diaz, Card, & Russell, 2010), an experience made all the more damaging by the lack of available support systems in schools (Lindley, 2006;Prince, 1997).…”

“…In particular, LGBTQ students believe their school counsellors lack the competencies to understand their specific career-related concerns (Goodrich & Luke, 2009), such as which career fields are queer-friendly, are they expected to come out, that is, openly acknowledge their sexual orientation, in potential job interviews or on the job, and should they choose careers based on interest or LGBTQ fit (Prince, 1997;Rumens, 2011).…”

“…This may create negative associations between the student and those interests/behaviours which highlight their differentness. Consequently, students may begin eliminating their true interests, thus restricting the amount and types of interests which can be translated into career-related goals and action (Morrow et al, 1996;Prince, 1997).…”