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need not be acknowledged (Simoni & Walters, 2001). Heterosexism is de­
fined as "an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any
non-heterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community"
(Herek, 1993, p. 89). RAGINS AND WIETHOFF
Armed with an understanding of the terms and constructs central to
understanding prejudice against lesbians and gay men, we now examine
the qualities of sexual orientation that make lesbians, gay men, and bi­
sexual and transgendered men and women unique from other minority
groups.

UNDERSTANDING THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES
OF GAY EMPLOYEES

Invisible Group Membership
The invisibility of sexual orientation sets gay men and lesbians apart from
most other marginalized groups (Ragins, 2004). For the most part, the sex­
ual orientation of gay and lesbian employees becomes visible only when
they communicate it, a process known as "coming out." Coming out is an
ongoing process, and the decision to disclose sexual orientation must be
made with every new person a gay man or lesbian meets (Appleby, 2001).
Consequently, gay and lesbian employees face an ongoing and often chal­
lenging process of negotiating their invisible identity in the workplace
(cf., Creed & Scully, 2000; Johnson, 1997; Ragins, 2004).
Gay and lesbian employees use various strategies to manage disclosure
of their sexual identity. Woods (1993) identified three tactics used in the
workplace. Individuals can: (a) "counterfeit" or construct a heterosexual
identity; (b) use an avoidance strategy in which they evade the issue, main­
tain a social distance, and appear to be asexual; and (c) use an integration
strategy and openly disclose their sexual identity to others at work. Woods
(1993) found that nearly all of the 70 gay male professional workers under
study sought to avoid discrimination by posing as a heterosexual at some
point in their careers (see also Badgett, 1996). Existing research indicates
that gay and lesbian employees' attitudes towards identifying with gay
groups, as well as the organizational context, predict the use of various
identity management strategies (Button, 2001; Chrobot-Mason, Button,&
DiClementi, 2001; Ragins & Cornwell, 2001b).
Most gay and lesbian employees report that they limit the disclosure
of their sexual identity to a select group of trustworthy coworkers (c.f.,
reviews by Croteau, 1996; Ragins, 2004). For example, a recent national
study of 534 gay men and lesbians revealed that 12% of the sample were