Abstract
The “Organizational Diversity” field concentrates studies on the experiences of groups that are different from the archetypical male, white, heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied and western worker. When analysing the studies regarding gender relations, however, one perceives their concentration on the dynamics between men and women localized in developed western countries. Transgender persons are persons whose identity and/or gender expression differs from what is socially attributed to their bodies, breaking with the heteronormative logic. In Brazil, where only the bodies within this discourse are legitimate, this group is systematically excluded from a myriad of spaces including the formal job market. Therefore, the experiences of these people at and with work are invisible to organizational diversity's theory and practice. To explore this issue, this study analyses the perceptions that the transgender person maintains about their relations (1) with their professional history, (2) with other people in their work environment, and (3) with organizational policies and practices. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were made with six transgender persons that work in organizations. From these narratives, it was found that the person's level of passing usually influences their relations and that the ignorance regarding transgenderity permeates all three domains of relations. The conclusions are: (1) the relations with work are marked by opportunity restrictions; (2) the relations in the job hold the person responsible for their on intelligibility and safety; and (3) the relations with the organization vary according to the way it faces transgenderity and its own voice systems.
Highlights
Equal treatment for the different groups that make up organizations became a subject of study in Human Resources Management in the 1970s
With the increase in the number of women, immigrants, elderly and intellectuals employees (Martinez, 2013), the typical worker studied since the dawn of management as a discipline could no longer be seen as “a worker without body, without sex and without emotions [. . .] but a man” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007, p. 208)
When considering their choice of work and hiring and admission processes, the word employed most often by respondents is passability, the degree to which others take a transgender person as cisgender
Summary
Equal treatment for the different groups that make up organizations became a subject of study in Human Resources Management in the 1970s. With the increase in the number of women, immigrants, elderly and intellectuals employees (Martinez, 2013), the typical worker studied since the dawn of management as a discipline could no longer be seen as “a worker without body, without sex and without emotions [. This is done by identifying and studying groups of workers with ‘diverse’ characteristics, different from those of the archetypal “white, western, heterosexual, middle/high class, able-bodied, male” worker Studies on gender dynamics in organizations focus mostly on relations between women and men Transgender people, the focus of this study, are often forgotten under the category of “diversity”
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
