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Portrait of Jens Rennstam. Photo.

Jens Rennstam

Senior lecturer, Director of third cycle studies, Department of Business Administration

Portrait of Jens Rennstam. Photo.

Peripheral Inclusion Through Informal Silencing and Voice : A Study of LGB Officers in the Swedish Police

Author

  • Jens Rennstam
  • Katie Sullivan

Summary, in English

Seen through the growth of progressive diversity policies it may appear that contemporary organizations are sites of equality. But although inclusion is the formally stated aim of many organizations, exclusionary pressures toward LGBT workers still challenge sexual minorities' access to full inclusion. A central concern in this paper is exploring how to understand inclusion in organizational contexts where inclusion is formally advocated, and yet where both inclusionary and exclusionary pressures exist. Drawing on an interview study of Swedish gay and lesbian police officers we present the concept 'peripheral inclusion' as a way to understand inclusion in contemporary organizational life. In addition, we theorize that the dynamics between silencing and voice is a key mode that impacts the informal ways in which exclusion and inclusion occur. We thereby contribute to previous research on inclusion that has focused on the degree to which minorities are included by conceptualizing the mode in which inclusion occurs in everyday work. Studying modes and degrees of inclusion and exclusion in relation to each other highlights how inclusion is a collective and fragile process in which inclusionary and exclusionary pressures coexist, and that questions of who and what is included in contemporary organizations are shifting and open questions.

Department/s

  • Department of Business Administration

Publishing year

2018

Language

English

Pages

177-194

Publication/Series

Gender, Work and Organization

Volume

25

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Business Administration
  • Gender Studies

Status

Published

Project

  • Managing diversity in the Swedish police
  • Public Management Research

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1468-0432