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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Disclosure Among the Global Fortune 250 Companies – an Exploration

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Dissertation(976.42 KB)

Date

2019

Authors

Supervisor

Chong, Sabrina
Momin, Mahmood

Item type

Thesis/Dissertation

Degree name

Master of Business

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

This research investigates the extent of and common themes in LGBT disclosure among Global Fortune 250 companies. A qualitative content analysis is employed. LGBT disclosure in the 2017 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and/or corporate webpage of 79 global companies are examined. An LGBT disclosure categorisation scheme and a disclosure index are developed and employed. The findings suggest that the extent of LGBT information is at a low level. The common themes featured in the LGBT disclosure are mainly focused on LGBT organisational competency, equal employment opportunity and public commitment, and the content of such disclosure is largely confined to general, descriptive statements that cannot be verified. It is also observed that LGBT-related information disclosed by the sample companies is mainly positive while negative information is completely ignored. Visual representations such as photographs are used in LGBT disclosure as rhetorical devices for legitimacy purpose. This study contributes to a better understanding of LGBT disclosure by developing a structured and systematic approach for categorising and analysing such disclosure.

Description

Keywords

LGBT, Disclosure, Fortune 250 companies, Global companies

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DOI

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Permanent link

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/12531

Collections

Masters Dissertations