Joshua C. Collins

Identity Matters A Critical Exploration of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity and Leadership in HRD

Conversations about leadership that primarily consider dominant identity groups (e.g., White people, heterosexuals, men, the able-bodied, etc.) may be less productive than those that think about leadership from the perspective of the diverse groups of people that make up our workforces. HRD’s history is gendered and has demonstrated reluctance to discuss topics critically oriented toward individuals with minority-status identities. Presently lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identity has not been addressed in the HRD leadership literature. Utilizing prior HRD leadership literature synthesized via an integrative literature review method, a popular ally development model, and six strategies for being critical in HRD, the purpose of this article is to synthesize an LGB-inclusive definition of leadership in HRD.

Risky business: gay identity disclosure in a masculinized industry

Gay former BP chief executive Lord John Browne resigned his position in 2007 after losing a legal battle to keep a tabloid from printing stories that would ‘out’ him, and purport false accusations of professional misconduct involving a former partner. A comprehensive view of the circumstances leading to Brownes resignation provided a basis for the study of how organizations that value masculine standards work to marginalize gay men. Browne arguably chose not to disclose his sexual orientation for fear of a negative career impact. The purpose of this article is to explore the challenges of disclosure for gay male professionals in masculinized industries and to situate the conversation within Human Resource Development (HRD). Our analysis of the archives of Brownes experiences as an involuntarily outed gay executive in a male-dominated career suggest he struggled with issues of fear related to coping with his gay identity. Implications for HRD practice, research and policy are discussed.

The Problem of Transgender Marginalization and Exclusion Critical Actions for Human Resource Development

Dialogue about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people remains undervalued in Human Resource Development (HRD). Most of HRD’s LGBT-related research has focused on sexual orientation, giving little attention to what differentiates transgender people—gender identity and/or expression that differs from assigned sex at birth. Transgender issues are particularly important to HRD practice, as practitioners increasingly aim to create diverse and inclusive organizations, but there is a lack of understanding about what it means or is like to be transgender. The purpose of this article was to situate transgender experiences as relevant and important issues for HRD, providing critical actions HRD scholars and practitioners might take to shape a more inclusive reality for transgender people in the workplace.

Strategy of Career Interventions for Battered Women

Female victims of domestic violence—also referred to as “battered women”—face serious career development challenges that necessitate the intervention and aid of human resource development (HRD) practice.The purpose of this article is to identify critical factors having an impact on the career development (CD) of battered women and to offer suggestions for how HRD practitioners may begin work to aid battered women in the development of their careers. This article is primarily concerned with career development interventions with battered women who also experience additional economic, educational, or networking hardships. Therefore, the findings of this article should not be considered inclusive of all female victims of domestic violence, but rather the start of an important conversation. The considerations in this article and the interventions suggested herein need testing and development, as do other methods of CD interventions with battered women. The expansion of HRD to include programs for those who have historically been minimized by systems of oppression should be considered a primary concern of current researchers and practitioners.

Characteristics of “Masculinized” Industries Gay Men as a Provocative Exception to Male Privilege and Gendered Rules

Masculinized industries encompass many work contexts described as masculine, male-dominated, and/or gendered. However, the use of any of those three latter designations hinges on the gender binary (men and women) and the inequitable distribution of power in favor of men. Describing an industry or group of industries as “masculinized” is more political, inferring the stance that male privilege applies only to certain men working in these industries. The purpose of this structured literature review was to systematically examine the literature on masculine, male-dominated, gendered, and masculinized work contexts. Findings indicated that masculinized industries create metaphorical barricades that serve to sustain long-standing traditions, customs, policies, and practices potentially detrimental to many, including gay men. Overall, this article moves the conversation about inequality in these industries beyond that of the gender binary.

The “Critical” Turn An Important Imperative for Human Resource Development

The Problem Dominant paradigms have begun to be questioned in some human resource development (HRD) scholarship. However, to date, there have been few systematic interrogations of power and privilege within the field. As a result, there remain unquestioned and tacit assumptions about HRD research and practice that hinder the ability of HRD to address the complexity of identity, perspective, and philosophy that characterize and influence organizations today. The Solution The use of theories and perspectives based on critical theory to interrogate HRD is needed for a deep and careful analysis of whose interests are served by HRD and whose interests can and perhaps should be served by HRD. This concluding article sets forth a hopeful retrospective synopsis of the articles in this Advances issue and illustrates how this body of work can inform HRD research and practice. The Stakeholders Those who are interested in acquiring a greater sense of awareness about how power and privilege serve as organizing frameworks in society in general, and in the workplace in specific, will benefit from this concluding article that casts a hopeful tone over complex and sometimes controversial issues. In particular, we imagine stakeholders to be corporate executives, diversity and inclusion executives, HRD scholars interested in gaining more awareness about diversity, and HRD practitioners who seek to develop programs that embrace those who are visible as well as those who have less visible identities.

Illustrating Relevance, Questioning Norms, and Creating Space: Three Steps for Teaching Critical Perspectives in the HRD Classroom

Scholarly dialogue in HRD (Human Resource Development) has become gradually more accepting of essential conversations regarding equity and social justice in research. However, much work remains in bridging the gaps between this scholarship and the practice of HRD. One way to create change is through teaching, as the ways in which we choose to educate students of HRD inevitably shapes the future of the field. In reflecting on one of my own works, “Identity matters: A critical exploration of lesbian, gay, and bisexual identity and leadership in HRD,” it occurred to me that even well-meaning and skilled instructors could struggle to incorporate its ideas into the dialogue in their classrooms and research. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to use “Identity Matters” as an explicatory example in discussing how emerging critical perspectives could be taught.

“Man, Have I Got a Story for You” Facilitated Autoethnography as a Potential Research Methodology in Human Resource Development

Despite the potential value of narratives to inform and change workplace culture and practice, many stories from individuals at the margins of organizations often go untold or unheard. Based on a methodological framework of existing narrative approaches—autoethnography, guided autobiography, and narrative inquiry—we present in this article a new, emerging methodology: facilitated autoethnography (FAE). We suggest that FAE has the potential to offer human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners a new approach for exploring, collecting, and disseminating workplace narratives to a broad audience. The article concludes with a discussion of the emerging methodology and potential implications for its application in the field of HRD.

Stress and Safety for Gay Men at Work Within Masculinized Industries

Lesbians and gay men still have concerns related to being openly gay at work and maintaining health and wellness. A gay man working within a masculinized industry (historically male-dominated and higher risk, with an emphasis on authority and masculinity) may have additional concerns that are augmented by the nature of his work and related to maintaining safety and reducing stress experienced on the job. The purpose of this article is to examine some of the safety and stress concerns gay men in these industries may face. Fictional, composite cases—derived from relevant news stories and literature published in academic journals—were analyzed through a guided inquiry process based loosely on Riessmans (1993) narrative evaluation. Discussion and implications focus on policies, practices, and future directions for research that may help to ameliorate some of the issues faced by gay men at work within masculinized industries.

Rules of Engagement as Survival Consciousness: Gay Male Law Enforcement Officers' Experiential Learning in a Masculinized Industry.

Gay men face decisions associated with disclosure, the process of coming out as gay, when and if to disclose, and how much information. These decisions carry more weight in masculinized industries such as law enforcement. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to critically explore gay male law enforcement officers’ experiences working in a masculinized industry. A critical interpretation process revealed that gay male law enforcement officers learn tacit and informal “rules of engagement,” which are enacted as a form of survival consciousness to cope in an industry that is continually hostile toward gay identity.