From authenticity to fight against violence: an intersectional feminist approach to inclusion based on gender and sexual orientation

Abstract

The approach to inclusion as something that allows the expression of individual authenticity has been the subject of much criticism. This article proposes instead to examine the criterion of worker safety and the fight against violence as the primary criterion for inclusion. Certain groups, particularly women and homosexuals, are particularly vulnerable to violence at work. In this article, we take an empirical interest in the different forms of violence experienced by individuals depending on their gender and sexual orientation. We use a feminist and intersectional framework on violence to interpret the results of an analysis of a representative European database on working conditions. We show that the combination of gender and sexual orientation has an impact on the type of violence experienced, rendering the categories of ‘women’ and ‘homosexuals’ partially blind to the realities experienced by individuals as a function of their singularities. Finally, thinking about inclusion in terms of the fight against violence makes it possible, on a theoretical level, to overcome the depoliticisation of this notion and, on a practical level, to create more inclusive organisations. However, this research has its limitations, particularly in terms of the data used and the lack of variables related to sexual orientation in public official surveys. This raises questions about the absence of such variables and their implications.