Dean and Professor, School of Business SUNY Empire State
Abstract: The purpose of this manuscript is to offer a critical examination of the career development issues related to people who are in recovery from alcohol and/or substance abuse; in particular, those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) recovered addicts and/or alcoholics. There is a dearth of scholarship on the career development issues that face this population, which include stigma, marginalization and discrimination. Topics that inform this interrogation include identity, recovery, and disclosure. Drawing from critical HRD, counseling, sociology, public health and related fields, the manuscript articulates the challenges and opportunities for HRD to help to close this gap in career development research. The overarching intention of the manuscript is that career development that examines under-examined populations – in this case, those who have dual identities as LGBTQ and as those in programs of recovery from addiction and/or alcoholism – presents an opportunity for the type of research that examines layered, nuanced and fraught issues. LGBTQ issues remain complex, emerging, and contested in society and in workplaces. This manuscript extends career development research through a critical HRD orientation.
