Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) expatriates: an intersectionality perspective

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) expatriates are under-researched and an increasingly significant group due to the growing demand for global labour. Although LGBT people are becoming acknowledged in diversity management practices, their mobility and freedom to disclose their identity may be limited in many countries. To explain the challenges and identity management strategies of LGBT expatriates, we adapt the social constructionist perspective of intersectionality to show how different spheres of cultural context influence LGBT expatriates’ multiple identities and lead to convergent or divergent intersectionality. Our main contribution is in introducing convergent and divergent intersectionality to explain how the multiple identities of expatriates are redefined during an international work assignment. Furthermore, we examine the overlapping spheres of culture to create a multidimensional view of cultural context. We offer four propositions regarding how cultural context influences LGBT expatriate’s intersectionality and the organizational outcomes of this. Finally, this paper highlights both practical implications for expatriate management and research implications for the International Human Resource Management literature.

Keywords:

• international assignment
• LGBT
• expatriate management
• intersectionality
• identity
• diversity management

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Prof. David C Thomas at Simon Fraser University; Prof. Karin Sanders and Dr Sunghoon Kim at UNSW Australia; Prof. Carl Rhodes and Prof. Alison Pullen at Macquarie University; and, Dr Saba Colakoglu at Berry College for taking the time to provide insightful guidance and feedback for the development of this paper. We would also like to thank the special issue editors and two anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful recommendations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.