‘Everything They Think They Know, They Should Forget’: How Trans School Workers Respond to Transphobic Discourses

Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education (2024) Authors: Lee Iskander, Harper Keenan, Mollie McQuillan, Mario Suarez, Bishop Owis, Christina Cook, and Daniel Gallardo Abstract: This article explores how trans school employees redeploy, trouble, …

School Leaders and Transphobia: Direct, Facilitative, Accommodative, and Resistant Forms of Gender-Based Bias and Bullying

Educational Administration Quarterly (2024) Authors: Mollie McQuillan and Cris Mayo Abstract: If PK12 administrators aspire to interrupt bias-based bullying, they need to understand their role in perpetuating structural and social inequality. The purpose of this …

The Disruptive Power of Policy Erasure: How State Legislators and School Boards Fail to Take up Trans-affirming Policies While Leaning into Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies

Educational Policy (2024) Authors: Mollie McQuillan, Benjamin Lebovitz, and LaShanda Harbin Abstract: Since 2017, hostile anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills rapidly expanded. Using traditional and critical policy analysis across three Midwestern states, we examine (1) whether state and local …

“It’s a Constant Wear and Tear”: Trans Visibility as Educational Labour in the Neoliberal School

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education (2025) Authors: Bishop Owis, Harper Keenan, Lee Iskander, Mario Suárez, Mollie McQuillan, Christina Cook, and Daniel Gallardo Abstract: Although transgender people are increasingly visible in mainstream North America, …

“Establishing Policy Is Just Step One of Twenty”: How Educational Policy Protections, District Practices, and Leadership Matter to Trans PK–12 School Workers

Teachers College Record (2024) Authors: Mollie McQuillan, Lee Iskander, Mario Suárez, and Harper Keenan Abstract: While trans adults in the U.S. and Canada report higher levels of discrimination and harassment than cisgender adults, but the existing …

“Sometimes It’s Hard to Do the Right Thing”: The Gender-Inclusivity Leadership Spectrum of How PK–12 Administrators Understand Gender Diversity Laws, Policies, and Implementation

American Educational Research Journal (2025) Authors: Mollie McQuillan, Janel Anderson, and Lydia Gandy-Fastovich Abstract: PK–12 district-level administrators have been asked to navigate an increasingly complex policy landscape concerning gender-diversity reforms. We apply sensemaking theory to examine …

Can Racial Diversity Attenuate Racial Discrimination in Service Interactions? Evidence from Cite-And-Release Decisions Within Police Departments

Organizational Science (2023) Author: Jirs Meuris Abstract: Despite the belief that racial diversity in organizations will attenuate racial discrimination in service interactions, the extant literature suggests that it may often exacerbate discrimination by generating intergroup …

Contextual Inequality in the Performance Costs of Financial Precarity

Journal of Management (2023) Authors: Jirs Meuris and Joe Gladstone Abstract: A substantial proportion of the workforce experiences financial precarity, which is defined as persistent concern about one’s personal financial welfare. Research suggests that financial precarity often harms …

Task Interdependence and the Gender Wage Gap: The Role of the Gender Composition of an Occupation

Journal of Organizational Behavior (2023) Authors: Jirs Meuris and Allison Elias Abstract: People increasingly need to collaborate with others in their workplace to perform their jobs. Studies have shown that task interdependence can have important consequences …

A Hidden Barrier to Diversification? Performance Recognition Penalties for Incumbent Workers in Male-Dominated Occupations

American Sociological Review  (2024) Authors: Jirs Meuris and Jennifer Merluzzi Abstract: Responding to persistent gender inequity, organizations have adopted diversity initiatives to promote women’s representation in traditionally male-dominated occupations. Although studies have identified challenges to these …