Queer capitals in universities : entering, existing and exiting LGBTQ+ staff networks

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Taylor, Yvette and Breeze, Maddie (2026) Queer capitals in universities : entering, existing and exiting LGBTQ+ staff networks. Educational Review. pp. 1-16. ISSN 0013-1911 (https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2026.2672503)

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Abstract

This paper examines how LGBTQ + staff navigate university networks as a form of campus-based social capital. Often mobilised as equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) successes, the reality of queer networking is complex: participants find themselves doing additional labour rather than securing tangible support or effecting institutional transformation. This presents a paradox: staff contribute time and energy, hoping for personal, political and professional returns but in doing so they may reinforce ideals of self-reliant, entrepreneurial workers – more aligned with neoliberal norms than queer collective capacity. “Queer capital” offers a critical conceptual lens to advance understanding of LGBTQ + networks beyond EDI work in HE, and inflects a sense of how sexuality is implicated in social capital formation. Queer capital is complex, uneven and not often legitimised, requiring additional labour to maintain and leverage. We make the case for attending to queer capital in LGBTQ + staff networking, showing that networks can support and resource, they can also fail. Some participants opt out of networking, and our analysis demonstrates politicised ambivalence in entering, existing and exiting LGBTQ + staff networks.

ORCID iDs

Taylor, Yvette ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9260-5597 and Breeze, Maddie;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)