Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study

Up until recently, little research has been conducted about the experiences of the

lesbian community.   We know so little about the struggles they face, the discrimination,

and the factors that mold their career paths. Despite the gains that have been made in

recent years of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) movement, it still

remains legal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of sexual

orientation and on the basis of gender identity and/or gender expression (Out and Equal

Workplace Advocates, 2006)

Given the challenges the lesbian community face as they grow and as they start

out their vocation, the vocational behavior of LGBT individuals may be different from

that of their heterosexual counterparts (Chung, 2003; Datti, 2009). A survey research

done on the lesbian youth shows that the greater sexual identity conflict and low social

support they face equals to lower career maturity and higher vocational indecision

(Schmidt & Nilsson, 2006)

Hetherington (1991) found that the personal and environmental factors that

influence the career decisions of the lesbian community are significantly different from

their heterosexual counterparts. For example, LGBT individuals have to consider

workplace discrimination and coping strategies in their career choice (Chung, 2001;

Chung, Williams, & Dispenza, 2009). Lesbians that experience high levels of anti-LGBT

discrimination reported less satisfaction with their career choices and they also
perceived fewer work options (Schneider & Dimito, 2010). Discrimination can be related

to access to jobs (such as hiring, denial of offer, and lower starting salaries) and

treatment in the workplace (such as harassment, denial of promotion, and salary

increases) (Brown & Ford, 1977). Clair, Beatty, and Maclean (2005) wrote about

“passing” and “revealing” as strategies for managing their stigmatized identities.

Passers feel more isolated and are less effective at work, whereas revealers risk

prejudice and discrimination. It is plain to see that discrimination and coping strategies

among others, have important implications for the vocational behavior, career

achievement, and psychological well-being of lesbian individuals (Ragins, 2004). Gedro

(2009) emphasized that the career choice for lesbian people is influenced by the extent

to which they internalize their gender roles and heterosexuality.

Nowadays, different types of people are getting more visible and more

expressive on what career choice they want. Though many students, lesbians included,

don’t have much time to spend in career planning during their degree course. According

to Zocco (2009), course selection decisions are among the most defining in the success

of learning. In his study, he pointed out the Risk Theory, which studies the impact of

outcomes on processes of decisions. Although, the course selection risk differs among

students in terms of class standing (Zocco, 2009), and also the types of students

themselves.

The researchers were motivated to conduct this study in pursuit of knowledge on

the various experiences lesbian students have been facing in the duration of their

courses and the reason of their career choice.