Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

About this course: What is sex? What is gender? What is sexuality? What do we mean by LGBTQIA? How are these concepts related to the workplace? How have our understandings of these terms changed over time, and how have these changes impacted work and culture? To help you answer these important questions, this course will introduce you to the exciting field of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, and to LGBTQIA identities. We will use a range of interdisciplinary concepts, tools, and methods to understand and analyze how identity shapes our experiences in culture and in the workplace. Because we all live with gender expectations, this course is crucial for any profession, and for understanding the world around us. Also, you will learn key concepts that will help you to interpret and understand the world we share.

Created by:  University of Pittsburgh

• Taught by:  Julie Beaulieu, Lecturer

  Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program

• Taught by:  Susan Marine, Guest Lecturer

  Assistant Professor and Program Director, School of Education and Social Policy, Merrimack College

Level Beginner Commitment 4 weeks of study Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said Coursework

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Syllabus


WEEK 1


Changing Landscapes, Identities, and Discourse



This week, we introduce a set of key terms (specifically, LGBTQIA) and explore the significance of these terms in a wider social and political context. This sets the groundwork for the following weeks by providing a shared language to discuss key issues in gender and sexuality studies and by introducing a range of critical issues that are directly related to gender and sexuality.


5 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: Course Introduction
2. Reading: Key Terms
3. Discussion Prompt: Welcome & Introduction
4. Video: Intro to LGBTQIA
5. Reading: Intro to LGBT Workplace Issues
6. Video: Sex
7. Video: Gender
8. Reading: Understanding Gender Diversity
9. Video: Sexuality
10. Reading: Sexual Orientation
11. Discussion Prompt: Lecture Reflection
12. Discussion Prompt: Genderbread Person
13. Reading: Self-assessment
14. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Changing Landscapes, Identities, and Discourse

WEEK 2


The History of Gender and Gender in Theory
This week, we cover a range of topics on gender including the evolution of ideas about gender, the history of gender in the U.S. workplace, and key theories of gender from the 1970s to the present.


4 videos, 7 readings expand

1. Reading: Key Terms
2. Video: Gender in Theory
3. Reading: Doing Gender
4. Video: Intersectionality
5. Reading: Gender Stereotyping
6. Discussion Prompt: Lecture Reflection
7. Video: Gender and Sex Discrimination
8. Reading: Gender and Sex Discrimination
9. Discussion Prompt: Rewards & Sanctions
10. Video: LGBTQIA Issues in the Workplace
11. Reading: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
12. Discussion Prompt: Workplace Discimination
13. Reading: Self-assessment
14. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Cyster Systems Case Study 1
Graded: LGBTQIA Inclusive Practices

WEEK 3


The History of Sexuality and Sexuality in Theory



This week, we provide a brief overview of the historical and emerging understanding of sexuality and sexual identity. We then explore the history of sexuality and sexual identity discrimination in the workplace (early days of allowed discrimination against LGB people; larger issue of job insecurity for LGB folks; advent of ENDA, controversies around ENDA –how that has played out to pit LGB people and trans* people against one another).


5 videos, 7 readings expand

1. Reading: Key Terms
2. Video: Sexuality in Theory
3. Reading: Thinking Sex
4. Video: LQBTQIA Identities and Rights
5. Discussion Prompt: Lecture Reflection
6. Video: LGB at Work
7. Reading: LGBT Employment Discimination
8. Discussion Prompt: Workplace Disclosure
9. Video: Challenges Faced by LGB Individuals in the Workplace
10. Reading: Understanding 21st Century LGBT Workers
11. Discussion Prompt: Workplace Silencing
12. Video: Strategies for Making Workplaces LGB Inclusive
13. Reading: The Business Impact of LGBT Workplace Policies
14. Reading: Self-assessment
15. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Cyster Systems Case Study 2

WEEK 4


Trans Topics Today and Trans in Theory



This week, you will learn about the evolution of understanding about transgender people’s lives and identities, exploring the long history of gender transgression across different cultural contexts, and talk about the ways we understand gender transgression to function. We then discuss how those who identify outside the gender binary present important challenges to fixed ways of being/thinking about gender. Finally, we examine the ways that transgender individuals have faced and surmounted oppression in the workplace (also known as genderism, a term coined by Riki Wilchins), and the kinds of laws that are designed to protect their rights.


6 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Reading: Key Terms
2. Video: Theories of Transgender Identity
3. Reading: Trans Issues
4. Discussion Prompt: Gender
5. Video: Global Transgender Identities
6. Video: Genderism
7. Reading: Trans People Speak
8. Discussion Prompt: Transgender Life Experiences
9. Video: Transgender Issues in the Workplace
10. Reading: Transgender Issues in the Workplace
11. Discussion Prompt: Legal Protections for LGBT People
12. Video: Being a Meaningful Ally to Transgender Individuals at Work
13. Discussion Prompt: Adapting Workplaces
14. Reading: Self-assessment
15. Reading: Additional Resources
16. Video: Farewell

Graded: LGBTQIA Inclusive Workplace Memo