Through the Rainbow Looking Glass: Unraveling Queer Inclusion in the Workplace

This dissertation examines how organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and workplace environments shape the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ employees. I begin by investigating how different diversity management approaches affect LGBTQ+ employees’ perceptions and experiences. Organizations differ in whether they emphasize group differences (identity-conscious approaches) or downplay them (identity-blind approaches). In Chapter 2, I find that across three pre-registered studies (N = 1,318), identity-conscious approaches were found to signal greater safety and acceptance, increasing organizational attractiveness and reducing turnover intentions. Chapter 3 builds on this framework by examining how diversity approaches influence perceptions of tolerance versus acceptance. Drawing on both academic and lay understandings of tolerance, the findings demonstrate that seemingly “neutral” identity-blind messaging can inadvertently communicate conditional acceptance signaling to LGBTQ+ employees that they are merely tolerated rather than genuinely included. Chapter 4 shifts focus from policy intent to policy enactment through a comparative case study of two Dutch financial organizations. Using the intended–implemented–perceived framework from HRM literature, it analyses how DEI strategies are translated from vision to lived experience. Based on in-depth interviews, I find that DEI is a dynamic, relational process shaped by interpretation and engagement across levels. Despite inclusive intentions, policies often faltered in practice due to reliance on individual advocates, limited structural embedding, and inconsistent leadership support, creating gaps between policy ideals and daily realities. Finally, Chapter 5 explores the link between workplace relationships and well-being. LGBTQ+ employees reported lower satisfaction, higher absenteeism, and poorer mental health than their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. However, social satisfaction did not emerge as a stronger predictor of well-being specifically for LGBTQ+ employees. Overall, this dissertation provides a multi-layered understanding of how inclusion is constructed, communicated, and experienced. It advances theory by linking diversity approaches, signalling, tolerance, and HRM frameworks to the context of concealable identities, offering insights into how inclusive policies can move from intention to sustainable impact.