Elizabeth Goryunova

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the workplace experiences and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender employees and to apprise organization leaders of opportunities to create an all-inclusive workplace environment. Design/methodology/approach This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in the US. Study participants (n = 12) varied slightly in racial and ethnic identities, the highest level of formal education completed and the industry sector they were employed at the time of interviews. Findings The data reveals a lingering presence of dominant narrative (cissexism) in US organizations and its adverse impact on workplace experience and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The participants’ narratives reveal recommendations for effective organizational practices for a transgender-inclusive workplac...

Employment opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) sectors in Utah are estimated to reach 101,000 by 2018.1 These jobs are recognized nationwide as being well compensated and generally recession proof. Yet Utah women continue to hold a lower percentage of STEM sector jobs than women nationally; in fact, Utah is ranked last in the U.S. in terms of the percent of women employed in STEM. In addition, Utah women work in STEM occupations at a rate that is less than half that of Utah men.2 Recognizing the role women must play as an integral part of a strong statewide workforce, Utah educational and civic leaders are working to increase opportunities and pathways for more Utah women to enter and thrive in STEM fields.

In September of 2013, the Center for American Progress released a report titled “The State of Women in America: A 50State Analysis of How Women Are Faring Across the Nation.”1 The report ranked Utah last of all 50 states in terms of women holding positions of decision making and leadership. Because the focus was solely on the percentage of women in elected office and private sector management positions, we determined that a more detailed look at the status of women and leadership in various sectors within the state would be useful. This is the third of four 2014 briefs, and it focuses on the status of women leaders in Utah education (higher and public K–12). The previous briefs highlighted data on women in Utah politics and nonprofit organizations, and the remaining one will focus on business. Each compares Utah data with national data and reviews applicable literature.

The challenges and opportunities for women in countries and regions around the world continue to be topics of great interest. In fact, Joshi et al. (2015) recently reported that “gender equality appears to be at the forefront of the global humanitarian agenda” (p. 1459). Although women are now entering the workforce in higher numbers globally and gender diversity in the workforce is increasing (Ali et al., 2011; McKinsey Global Institute, 2015), this progress is “both promising and problematic” (Joshi et al., 2015, p. 1459) because the higher numbers are slow to translate into substantial changes with regard to women in the most significant positions of influence, particularly in politics and business. Yet, progress needs to be tracked and discussed so that targeted and strategic initiatives can be designed and implemented in organizations, industries, sectors, communities, countries, and regions around the world. In addition to mapping global patterns, there must also be an examina...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the workplace experiences and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender employees and to apprise organization leaders of opportunities to create an all-inclusive workplace environment. Design/methodology/approach This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in the US. Study participants (n = 12) varied slightly in racial and ethnic identities, the highest level of formal education completed and the industry sector they were employed at the time of interviews. Findings The data reveals a lingering presence of dominant narrative (cissexism) in US organizations and its adverse impact on workplace experience and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The participants’ narratives reveal recommendations for effective organizational practices for a transgender-inclusive workplac...

Leadership education and development must effectively prepare learners for living, working, and leading through complex global problems. We assert that climate change is a representative and exemplar complex problem, and explore relevant skills, competencies, mindsets, and the pedagogical tools and methodologies that can help learners develop the orientations that are needed.