Zhou, Jian, Riggs, Damien W., Wang, Ying, Chapman, Andrew, and Mate, Susan (2024) Beyond generic support: Contextual influences on careers of gender and sexuality diverse groups in higher education. Applied Psychology. (In Press)

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Abstract

Despite the emerging attention to career development for gender and/or sexuality diverse (GSD) students, the literature is largely limited to generic support, missing a specific focus on either careers or being GSD. Such a generic view about contextual influences makes it difficult to guide the design and implementation of concrete, feasible practices for supporting GSD students' careers. Extending the existing body of work, this study employed qualitative methods to explore more specific, nuanced contextual factors within the university setting that influence GSD students' career development. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 Australian university students who self-identified as GSD. Our findings report seven major themes that could explain the influence of university contexts on the career development and experiences of GSD students. These themes include generic mentoring not always being useful, the negative effects of framing diversity as a “risk,” small things that can foster a sense of safety, the importance of designated areas and resources, the importance of advice on safe workplaces and being authentic at work, the importance of the visibility of key people, and the need for intersectional support. In addition to unpacking the influence of unique contextual features, these findings contribute to the extension of existing career frameworks such as the career self-management model into GSD contexts. Our results also shed light on detailed, implementable practical solutions for universities, career counselors, and psychologists to support the career development of GSD students.

Item ID:	83408
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1464-0597
Keywords:	career development. diversity, gender, LGBTQIA+. sexuality, students
Related URLs:	Publisher
Copyright Information:	© 2024 The Author(s). Applied Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Projects and Grants:	Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success
Research Data:	https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apps.12564?af=R
Date Deposited:	13 Aug 2024 03:46
FoR Codes:	52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5201 Applied and developmental psychology > 520199 Applied and developmental psychology not elsewhere classified @ 80% 39 EDUCATION > 3902 Education policy, sociology and philosophy > 390203 Sociology of education @ 20%
SEO Codes:	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1399 Other culture and society > 139999 Other culture and society not elsewhere classified @ 50% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1699 Other education and training > 169999 Other education and training not elsewhere classified @ 50%
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