To be professional is to be straight?! An often implicit though entrenched norm in organizations. Want to know more? Download a free copy of our newest article on heteroprofessionalism until Nov 14th.
Abstract: LGBTQ + people continue to face bias and discrimination in the workplace. In this article, we focus on one subtle yet insidious manifestation of such bias: heteroprofessionalism. In workplace contexts, professionalism is generally encouraged. However, what is considered professional is subjective and often shaped by those with high status identities such as cis-heterosexuality. LGBTQ + identities are thus labelled unprofessional and inappropriate for the workplace context. We discuss (1) how heteroprofessionalism can be viewed as a manifestation of assimilation ideology that is employed to reinforce the gender/sex binary and (2) the negative consequences heteroprofessionalism has for members of the LGBTQ + community. We discuss future research directions and end with recommendations for combatting heteroprofessionalism and its harmful consequences.
