Date of Award

12-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Dr. Ismael Diaz

Abstract

Much of the LGB employment research addressing discrimination suggests culture and policy changes for attracting more and retaining their current LGB employees. Some research suggests a cyclical nature between the acceptance of progressive policy and inclusive culture. While many researchers discuss the need for policies protecting LGB employees, little has been written about exactly how to do that. One method is to emphasize LGB non-discrimination policy and already existing gender non-discrimination policy during the hiring process. I built upon the work of other researchers, who emphasized LGB nondiscrimination during the hiring process by additionally emphasizing protections for employees based on gender, an already existing federal law in America. In this study, I conducted an experiment where I primed participants with different anti-discrimination policy text and asked them to rate LGB and non-LGB resumes on their likelihood to be hired. Overall, LGB resumes received lower scores than non-LGB resumes. However, no relationship was found between the policy presented to participants and their scoring of LGB resumes. This may be due to a real lack of relationship between policy and short-term behavior, although it may be due to the strength of the stimuli presented in the study. LGB resume scores were negatively corelated to gay and lesbian homophobia but not to social conservatism. LGB resume scores were also negatively correlated to the participant’s power in their employment role and power in their organization.

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