A “lesbian advantage”?

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to consider whether lesbians may experience an "advantage" in non-traditionally female work compared to heterosexual women, but argues for an intersectional approach to understanding the relationship between gender, sexuality and class in male-dominated work. Design/methodology/approach -The research uses semi-structured interviews with women working transport and construction, focusing here on an analysis of 13 interviews with lesbian workers, eight working in transport and five in construction, representing both professional/managerial and skilled manual occupations. Findings -The paper considers the question of whether lesbians may experience an "advantage" in non-traditionally female work compared to heterosexual women, but finds that their experience is complicated by other factors such as ethnicity, class and organisational culture. Organisational response and practice in relation to sexual orientation is found to be equally significant in shaping the realities of working lives for lesbians in traditionally male work.Research limitations/implications -The findings in this paper are based on an analysis of interviews with lesbians drawn from a larger research project examining the experience of both heterosexual and lesbian women working in the transport and construction sectors. Originality/value -The paper addresses a gap in the literature on lesbian experience in non-traditionally female work and aims to contribute to knowledge of the diversity of lesbian experience through examining the working lives of lesbians in both professional and skilled manual roles.

Envisioning future parenthood among bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women.

“…Here, we examine additional life transitions as related to desires and intentions of parenthood such as one’s idealization of parenthood, their partner expectations during the transition to parenthood, perceived self-efficacy, and changes in professional and financial resources. In terms of professional intentions, given previous work that suggests a difference between LH women (Wright, 2011), we anticipate finding a similar relationship of lesbian women wanting to work more than heterosexual women. However, given that less work has included samples of BLH women together, we make no confirmatory hypotheses regarding the similarities or differences between BLH women in terms of other constructs of interest such as idealization of parenthood, partner expectations, perceived self-efficacy, and financial considerations.…”

“…Compared to heterosexual parents, factors such as being older when becoming a parent (Farr & Patterson, 2013a; Stotzer et al, 2014), greater pressure to be financially stable (Hetherington & Orzek, 1989), and the more frequent pursuit of male-dominated careers (e.g., upper-level management; Wright, 2011) all influence how lesbian women navigate career paths. Given the economic strain on bisexual women (Cerf, 2016), these factors may also impact how they envision future parenthood.…”

Sexual orientation at work: Documenting and understanding wage inequality

“…A number of qualitative studies have looked at what it is like to be a sexual minority in different work environments, including policing (Charles & Arndt, 2013;Hassell & Brandl, 2009), firefighting (Wright, 2008), nursing (Eliason, DeJoseph, Dibble, & Chinn, 2011), accounting (Stenger & Roulet, 2018), academia (Bilimoria & Stewart, 2009;Dozier, 2015;Patridge, Barthelemy, & Rankin, 2014;Taylor & Raeburn, 1995), and engineering (Cech & Waidzunas, 2011;Riley, 2008). Other studies have focused on sectors, including construction and transportation industries (Wright, 2011), and the public and private sectors (Colgan & McKearney, 2011;Humphrey, 1999). These studies reveal that the dynamics of the closet-selective/edited identity disclosureare common across many types of work and that different work cultures lead to different forms of exclusion, stereotyping, or workplace relationships.…”

“…These stereotypes were only attached to positions outside of management, which demanded downplaying gay identities, contributing to a lavender ceiling. Wright (2011) interviewed lesbian women working in the U.K. construction industry and found that in a highly masculine environment, lesbians were actually better able to fit in, avoiding unwanted sexual attention and physical harassment experienced by heterosexual women (although a few reported harassment about their sexual identity).…”

Employer tenure in gays, lesbians and their straight counterparts

“…Lloren and Parini (2017) found that LGBT-supportive policies help to reduce discrimination based on sexual orientation. Qualitative study by Wright (2011) suggests that organizational response and practice is one of considerable factors that shape the realities of working lives for lesbians in traditionally male work. However, organizational policies alone are insufficient to protect gay and lesbian workers (Ragins et al , 2007).…”