Title Corporate attitudes towards gays and lesbians in the workplace

Author Lisa O'Hara, Bill McPherson

Year 2002

Concept/Variables 1. Perception or attitude towards gays and lesbians

Indicators /Measurement 1. Survey and questionnaire (covers management, supervisory and entry level workers, negative comments and joke teling, and the need to address gay issues in their careers. 2. Likert scale (statistical tests)

Findings/Results y y y y Target population: 523 Respondents: 251 Usable responses: 243 (46%) Initial result: "don't ask, don't tell" attitude that has been reported in the literature continues to exist >Issue: personal privacy >> heterosexual employees enjoy the privilege of sharing personal events in their lives via conversations, parties or photographs, gay and lesbian individuals are often not afforded that same privilege. (the fact remains that personal life--and the sexual orientation of the person--often do contribute, whether directly or indirectly, to job satisfaction and productivity.) >Issue: Acceptance >>feelings and concerns of co-workers toward gays and lesbians, the waters of acceptance begin to muddy. >>Anti-gay and anti-lesbian attitude: stereotyping, jokes, and negative remarks >Fear: Lack of information, or misinformation, about gay and lesbian individuals perpetuated existing stereotypes and fed the fears of many individuals. Individuals fear what they do not know and many times those fears may surface in the form of jokes, negative comments, or outright harassment. >Issue: Sexual Orientation >>it matters in the workplace because it limits the tolerance for gay and lesbian in the workplace >> being gay or lesbian would "never" or "rarely" affect a co-workers ability to work as part of a team >> half of all respondents also indicated that an employee's sexual orientation could create "stressful" situations at work. >> Nearly the same percentage believed that sexual orientation affects an individual's career success or ability to network >>an openly gay or lesbian person would be "somewhat" likely (52.7%) or "very" likely (11.7%) to be denied a promotion based on their sexual orientation. >>A gay or lesbian individual may be tolerated as a productive member of a work team; however, full acceptance and assimilation into the corporate networks where power is wielded and

promotions are awarded may be off-limits based on one's sexual orientation