Queer(y)ing Agent-Based Modeling for Use in LGBTQ Studies: An Example from Workplace Inequalities

Abstract

This article explores the contribution agent-based modeling (ABM) can make to the study of LGBTQ workplace inequalities and, conversely, how ABM can adapt to theoretical traditions integral to LGBTQ studies. It introduces an example LGBTQ workplace model, developed as part of the CILIA-LGBTQI+ project, to illustrate how ABM complements existing methods, can address methodological binarism and bridge macro and micro accounts within LGBTQ studies of the workplace. The model is intended as an important starting point in developing the role of ABM in LGBTQ research and for bridging qualitative- and quantitative-derived insights. Likewise, the article discusses some approaches for negotiating theoretical and methodological tensions identified when integrating queer and intersectional insight with ABM.