Gender identity inclusion in the workplace: broadening diversity management research and practice through the case of transgender employees in the UK

Based on 14 in-depth interviews, this paper explores the unique workplace experiences of transgender individuals in the UK employment context. The paper identifies gender identity diversity as a key blind spot in HRM and diversity management research and practice. The findings reveal the range of workplace challenges experienced by transgender employees. Major findings are that discriminatory effects are often occupation- and industry-specific; transition is a period where many transgender workers suffer due to lack of proper organisational support; and expertise deficits exist in supporting and accommodating transgender employees’ needs. In unpacking these experiences, the paper demonstrates the distinctive dimensions of challenges faced by transgender employees, revealing the need for conceptually expanding how we frame diversity and diversity management. Our findings identify the necessity for an emic approach not only to researching diversity but also to devising organisational diversity strategies. The paper provides recommendations for HRM policy and practice in order to develop a more sophisticated approach to achieving inclusion

Work-life, diversity and intersectionality: a critical review and research agenda

Work-life issues have important implications at both organizational and individual levels. This paper provides a critical review of the work-life literature from 1990 onwards through the lens of diversity, with particular focus on disparities of power induced by methodological and conceptual framings of work and life. Our review seeks to answer the following questions: What are the gaps and omissions in the work-life research? How may they be overcome? To answer these questions we scrutinize blind spots in treatment of life, diversity and power in work-life research both in positivist and critical scholarship. In order to transcend the blind spots in positivist and critical work-life research, we argue the case for an intersectional approach, which captures the changing realities of family and workforce through the lens of diversity and intersectionality. Our theoretical contribution is three fold: First, our review demonstrates that contemporary framing of life in the work-life literature should be expanded to cover aspects of life beyond domestic life. Second, our review explains why and how other strands of diversity than gender also manifest as salient causes of difference in experiences of the work-life interface. Third, our review reveals that social and historical context has more explanatory power on work-life dynamics than micro-individual level of explanations. Work-life literature should capture the dynamism in these contexts. We also provide a set of useful recommendations to capture and operationalize methodological and theoretical changes required in the work-life literature

Role of Pumilio proteins during neural crest development

The neural crest (NC) is a multipotent stem cell‐like population, unique to vertebrates, that is characterized by its migratory behavior and broad ability to differentiate into many diverse derivatives including elements of the cardiovascular system, bone and cartilage of the face, the peripheral nervous system, and melanocytes. After neurulation, neural crest cells (NCC) delaminate, undergo EMT from the neural tube, and migrate both individually and collectively as chains. Various developmental diseases, including craniofacial abnormalities and neural crest‐derived cancers such as melanoma arise due to improper development of NC. While there has been much focus on transcriptional mechanisms in regulation of neural crest specification, the process of cell migration involves rapid changes that likely require post‐transcriptional regulation. In order to uncover novel proteins that might influence NC development, we have performed transcriptional profiling of migrating neural crest cells and found >300 genes that are upregulated in the migrating crest including the sequence specific RNA binding protein Pumilio1 (PUM1). PUM proteins are evolutionarily conserved translational regulators that play essential roles during germline development in both invertebrates and vertebrates. Here, we showed that pum1 and pum2 mRNA is present in both premigratory and migratory NC. Pum loss of function resulted in depletion of NC cells migrating neural tube. Conversely, over expression led to an increase in numbers of migrating cells. This led us to think about the potential role of PUM proteins in modulating the specification of NC cells. To identify potential NC targets of PUM, we carried out a bioinformatics screen focusing on NC relevant genes across multiple species that possessed a Pumilio Response Element (PRE) in their 3'UTR region. The PRE element, 5’‐UGUANAUA‐3,’ is a highly conserved consensus that PUM proteins recognize in the 3’UTRs of their targets. Interestingly, several neural crest markers possess a PRE, thus representing potential targets regulated by Pumilio during NC development. Investigation of the specific mechanism whereby PUM proteins regulate NC development is currently in progress

Questioning impact: interconnection between extra-organizational resources and agency of equality and diversity officers

This paper examines the change agency of equality and diversity (E&D) officers with a specific emphasis on the role of extra-organizational influences and resources. The paper is informed by qualitative material collected through interviews with E&D officers from 20 higher education institutions in the UK. The paper offers an evidence-based analysis of the utility of extra-organizational mechanisms and intervention programmes for organizational E&D agenda and for the agentic influence of E&D officers. The paper contributes to both academic literature and policy-making. We present original empirical insights into the change agency of E&D officers by exploring the impact of extra-organizational bodies as potential mechanisms for support and influence. At the policy level, the paper provides evidence on the value of extra-organizational resources and tools that are produced by policy bodies in promoting progressive E&D agendas in organizations

Spatial variability of precipitation regimes over Turkey

Turkish annual precipitation regimes are analysed to provide large-scale perspective and redefine precipitation regions. Monthly total precipitation data are employed for 107 stations (1963–2002). Precipitation regime shape (seasonality) and magnitude (size) are classified using a novel multivariate methodology. Six shape and five magnitude classes are identified, which exhibit clear spatial structure. A composite (shape and magnitude) regime classification reveals dominant controls on spatial variability of precipitation. Intra-annual timing and magnitude of precipitation is highly variable due to seasonal shifts in Polar and Subtropical zones and physiographic factors. Nonetheless, the classification methodology is shown to be a powerful tool that identifies physically-interpretable precipitation regions: (1) coastal regimes for Marmara, coastal Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea; (2) transitional regimes in continental Aegean and Southeast Anatolia; and (3) inland regimes across central and Eastern Anatolia. This research has practical implications for understanding water resources, which are under ever growing pressure in Turkey

Understanding women’s performance of entrepreneurship in the Sri Lankan context

The aim of this study is to explore how women in Sri Lanka cultivate entrepreneurial personae to navigate the various gendered roles they situationally enact, as they attempt to secure legitimacy and acceptance, and overcome their otherness. Drawing on Goffman’s theorisation of symbolic interaction, this study investigates how gender informs the performance of entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. In this way, our study engages with the challenges women in the Global South navigate while undertaking entrepreneurship, and it contributes to the critical entrepreneurship literature on the intertwined nature of gender and entrepreneurship. Following Feminist Standpoint Epistemology (FSE), our qualitative study focuses on women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka by examining the performance of entrepreneurship through 44 Life History Interviews (LHIs) and 40 Field Observations conducted over a seven-month period. The findings reveal that women carefully cultivate entrepreneurial personae by striking a balance between entrepreneurial ideals and social expectations of womanhood. Our findings present how the entrepreneurial personae are constructed by way of appearance, mannerism, and setting, which presents opportunities for future research to explore the dramaturgical aspect of gender and entrepreneurship. This study contributes to the growing body of feminist research surrounding women entrepreneurs, by drawing on insights from the lived experiences of women entrepreneurs in the Global South. This study also expands Goffman’s theorisation of audience segregation and shows that a subject’s understanding of the audience shapes the personae. A further contribution of this research is how space becomes an extension of the personae at play

Gender identity inclusion in the workplace: broadening diversity management research and practice through the case of transgender employees in the UK

Based on 14 in-depth interviews, this paper explores the unique workplace experiences of transgender individuals in the UK employment context. The paper identifies gender identity diversity as a key blind spot in HRM and diversity management research and practice. The findings reveal the range of workplace challenges experienced by transgender employees. Major findings are that discriminatory effects are often occupation- and industry-specific; transition is a period where many transgender workers suffer due to lack of proper organisational support; and expertise deficits exist in supporting and accommodating transgender employees’ needs. In unpacking these experiences, the paper demonstrates the distinctive dimensions of challenges faced by transgender employees, revealing the need for conceptually expanding how we frame diversity and diversity management. Our findings identify the necessity for an emic approach not only to researching diversity but also to devising organisational diversity strategies. The paper provides recommendations for HRM policy and practice in order to develop a more sophisticated approach to achieving inclusion

Challenging the assumptions of social entrepreneurship education and repositioning it for the future: wonders of cultural, social, symbolic and economic capitals

Purpose: Social entrepreneurship education (SEE) is gaining increasing attention globally. This paper aims to focus on how SEE may be better understood and reconfigured from a Bourdieusian capital perspective with an emphasis on the process of mobilising and transforming social entrepreneurs’ cultural, social, economic and symbolic resources. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on qualitative research with a sample of social entrepreneurship educators and mentors, the authors generate insights into the significance of challenging assumptions and establishing values and principles and hence that of developing a range of capitals (using the Bourdieusian notion of capital) for SEE. Findings: The findings highlight the significance of developing a range of capitals and their transformative power for SEE. In this way, learners can develop dispositions for certain forms of capitals over others and transform them to each other in becoming reflexive social agents. Originality/value: The authors respond to the calls for critical thinking in entrepreneurship education and contribute to the field by developing a reflexive approach to SEE. The authors also make recommendations to educators, who are tasked with implementing such an approach in pursuit of raising the next generations of social entrepreneurs.Higher Education Entrepreneurship Group of SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)