Postgraduate Research Opportunities: Pro Forma - Missing and Marginalised Voices: Exploring LGBT+ Networks as a Catalyst for Employee Voice and Intersectional Representation in the Workplace

Project summary:

This project explores the role of LGBT+ Networks as a crucial voice mechanism for LGBT+ employees in the workplace. The project adopts an intersectional approach, considering the intersectionality and the unique characteristics of individuals when analysing voice and silence in organisations.

Opens: For 1^st October 2024 start

Duration: 36 months

Funding towards:

Home fee

Stipend -UKRI stipend rate for UK students.

Funding details: Fully-funded scholarship for 3 years covers all university tuition fees (at UK level) and an annual tax-free stipend. International students are also eligible to apply, but they will need to find other funding sources to cover the difference between the home and international tuition fees. Exceptional international candidates may be provided funding for this difference. 

Number of places: 1

Number of places extra: There will be a shortlisting and interview process.

RCUK eligibility: No

Eligibility: Please provide details on the eligibility criteria for the opportunity. What qualifications/skills should applicants have?

Strathclyde Business School is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive postgraduate research population. We make decisions on entry by assessing the whole person and not relying solely on academic achievements. On that basis, please ensure that your application (via your CV and covering letter) can evidence your resourcefulness, commitment and resilience as demonstrated by broader professional and life experiences. This evidence should be centred on your ability to undertake and complete a PhD and contribute to a positive PhD community.  

If English isn't your first language, you'll need an IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent with no individual element below 5.5.  

Your application must include:  

• An updated curriculum vitae  
• Details of two academic referees, including email addresses  
• Academic transcripts, which must be certified copies  

Study modes eligibility: Full-time

Fee Status: What fee status applies to applicants? Please omit any of the below that do not apply:

• Home
• International

Project Details/Summary: Employee voice has long been recognised as a central dimension of fairer workplaces and good jobs (Dundon et al. 2004; Wilkinson and Fay, 2011). However, much of the literature on employee voice assumes that employees are homogeneous and express themselves in a generic way, neglecting the the workforce's diversity in terms of intersecting factors such as gender, race, and sexuality (Syed, 2021). An exception to the above is the emergence of research on ‘employee networks’, and their potential to offer a distinct ‘form’ of voice for the representation of marginalised organisational communities and those who remain ‘invisible’ and/or silent. Yet while calls have been made for studies which address the potential ‘missing voices’ of diverse workforce identities (Kouggianou, 2019; Bell et al., 2011), such studies remain limited (Syed, 2021).  For example, the literature predominantly – and erroneously – makes heteronormative generalisations, perpetuating a heterosexist approach and neglecting the voice of diverse sexual identities.  Few studies have explicitly examined the voice opportunities and experiences of sexual minority employees; indeed LGBT+ employees remain missing in most theoretical and empirical conceptualisations of voice (Bell et.al, 2011; Syed, 2021; McFadden and Crowley-Henry, 2018; McNulty et al., 2018). This PhD project will therefore ‘give voice’ to LGBT+ employees, including transgender and non-binary workers, currently underrepresented in the extant literature. It will also contribute to the modest literature concerning the potential of employee networks to amplify the voice of minority groups, as well as the theoretical and empirical laguna of LGBT+ voice and intersectionality. 

Primary Supervisor: Dr. Tasos Hadjisolomou

Additional Supervisor/s: Dr. Stewart Johnstone

Contact Details: a.hadjisolomou@strath.ac.uk

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