# ‘Are they just putting up with me’? How diversity approaches impact LGBTQ+ employees' sense of being tolerated at work

## TL;DR

This study explores how workplace diversity approaches affect LGBTQ+ employees' feelings of being tolerated rather than truly accepted.

## Contribution

The study reveals that identity-blind diversity approaches may unintentionally promote tolerance-focused climates that undermine inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees.

## Key findings

- Identity-blind approaches are linked to increased feelings of being tolerated among LGBTQ+ employees.
- Identity-conscious leadership paired with organizational strategies reduces tolerance perceptions.
- Tolerance-focused climates may discourage LGBTQ+ employees from sharing their perspectives.

## Abstract

This research investigates whether and how workplace diversity approaches—identity‐conscious versus identity‐blind—are associated with LGBTQ+ employees' perceptions of tolerance. Whilst tolerance is widely regarded as an important virtue for the harmonious functioning of diverse societies, it can inadvertently harm minoritized individuals. In workplace settings, perceptions of tolerance may hinder the benefits of diversity by discouraging minoritized employees from sharing their perspectives and prompting individuals with relatively concealable stigmas, such as LGBTQ+ employees, to conceal their identities. Across two studies (n = 907), we examine the conditions under which tolerance perceptions may arise. Study 1 explores LGBTQ+ prospective employees' anticipated tolerance in organizations with identity‐blind versus identity‐conscious mission statements. Study 2 examines LGBTQ+ employees' workplace experiences, focussing on how organizational and leadership diversity approaches are related to perceptions of tolerance. Findings reveal that relatively identity‐blind approaches are associated with increased feelings of being tolerated. Moreover, identity‐conscious leadership strategies, when coupled with identity‐conscious organizational approaches, further diminish perceptions of being merely tolerated. Our findings underscore an un‐intended correlate of identity‐blind diversity approaches, which may perpetuate tolerance‐focussed climates and indirectly undermine inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees.