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The Social and Economic Imperative of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Supportive Organizational Policies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

Eden B. King  and
José M. Cortina
Eden B. King*
Affiliation:
George Mason University
José M. Cortina
Affiliation:
George Mason University
*
E-mail: Eking6@gmu.edu, Address: George Mason University, Department of Psychology, 4400 University Drive, MSN 3f5, Fairfax, VA 22030
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Abstract

The central premise of this article is that organizations have social and economic interests in building policies and practices that support lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) workers. This argument is based on empirical evidence that (a) LGBT workers continue to face discrimination at work from which they are not protected under federal law, and (b) discrimination has negative consequences for individual's mental and physical health, and on reasoning that (c) organizations share responsibility for the social good of the communities in which they operate. We offer practical suggestions for creating LGBT-supportive organizations and propose that industrial–organizational psychologists have an ethical obligation to support such efforts.

Type
Focal Article
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 69 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2010 

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