Abstract

This workshop explores the role of LGBTQ+ networks as spaces of hope, resistance, and collective care within increasingly challenging social, political, and professional contexts. Drawing on minority stress theory, emerging research on queer educators, and the presenters' research and professional experience, it reframes minority stress as a structural rather than individual phenomenon and considers how networks can act as protective factors that foster belonging, identity affirmation, psychological safety, and professional resilience.

Using examples from research with queer early-career teachers alongside broader literature on employee networks and voice, the workshop examines how formal and informal LGBTQ+ networks support individuals across personal, professional, and institutional contexts. Participants are invited to reflect on their own experiences of community, consider how networks can mitigate the effects of minority stress, and explore the relationship between networks, voice, silence, and institutional change.

The session argues that LGBTQ+ networks are more than sources of support; they are sites of resistance that enable more sustainable, visible, and authentic professional identities while creating opportunities for collective action and organisational transformation.