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Queer theory and diversity management: Reading codes of conduct from a queer perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Regine Bendl ,
Alexander Fleischmann  and
Roswitha Hofmann
Regine Bendl
Affiliation:
Department of Management (Group for Gender and Diversity Management), Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Austria
Alexander Fleischmann
Affiliation:
Department of Management (Group for Gender and Diversity Management), Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Austria
Roswitha Hofmann
Affiliation:
Department of Management (Group for Gender and Diversity Management), Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Austria
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Abstract

Queer theory is a relatively new theoretical approach in organizational discourse that we think can uncover power relations and normative and hierarchical processes in diversity management discourse. ‘Heteronormativity’ and ‘performativity’, core concepts of queer theory, critique categorization and fixed identities and thereby problematize and broaden perspectives on current diversity management discourse, especially those associated with organizational constructions of diversity dimensions. In this article, we focus on the discursive and intersectional construction of subject positions and identities within organizations by drawing upon a queer theoretical framework to analyze three companies' codes of conduct that claim to create an inclusive work environment. The deconstructive analysis of these discursive artifacts emphasizes the intersectional power dynamics of and between the categories of sex, gender and sexuality, and can be taken as a point of departure for questioning the heteronormative arrangements of diversity management practices.

Keywords

heteronormativitydiversitydifferencesidentitycategorization
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 15 , Issue 5 , November 2009 , pp. 625 - 638
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2009

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