Task interdependence and the discrimination of gay men and lesbians in the workplace

Research on occupational segregation has found that gay men and lesbians concentrate in occupations with high task independence. This research proposed that gay men and lesbians self-select into such occupations, as it may be easier to manage their sexual orientation if they do not interact closely with others. We provide a complementary explanation that the high concentration of gay men and lesbians in high-task-independent jobs may be due to bias during the selection stage. We conducted two studies to examine (a) whether discrimination at the point of hiring limits gay men and lesbians' access to high-task-interdependent occupations, and (b) whether gay men and lesbians in task-interdependent jobs are less likely to be invited to socialize by coworkers. We found that gay men and lesbians are discriminated against for task-interdependent occupations by hiring personnel, but notably are more likely to be invited to socialize outside of work by coworkers if they are in task-interdependent jobs. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice of occupational segregation of gay men and lesbians specifically and for other minority or stigmatized groups in general.