WORKPLACE EXPERIENCES OF AUSTRALIAN LESBIAN AND GAY TEACHERS: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONAL SURVEY

Abstract

Historically, lesbian and gay teachers working in schools have experienced silencing, invisibility, and discrimination. This paper reports on research that examined the experiences of self-identified lesbian and gay teachers working in a variety of school types and school systems across Australia. Specifically, it explores these teachers’ experiences of their sexuality in relation to factors associated with enabling or disabling a queer-positive culture and climate in the workplace. Although broader sociol-cultural discourses have increasingly accepted and even celebrated sexual diversity in Australia, especially over the last decade, resulting in a concomitant shift that has improved some employment contexts for some lesbian and gay teachers, this discussion illustrates that many school workplaces continue to produce challenges for staff that are sexuality diverse.