Thomas Sasso

Thomas Sasso (pronouns he/they) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. He teaches organizational behaviour, human resource management, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as leadership courses to undergraduate business students as well as leadership studies through the University of Guelph’s Master of Leadership program.

Thomas’ research is dedicated to understanding and improving the experiences of diverse and marginalized populations across industries and sectors, with particular focus on 2SLGBTQ+ communities. He co-founded the Sexual and Gender Diversity Research Lab in 2014. Thomas’ research interests broadly include experiences and perceptions of diversity and inclusion, the work-life interface, leadership development, workplace victimization and wellbeing, consensual allyship, and continuing education and training. Thomas’ research has been funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and he has presented widely to academic and non-academic audiences.

Thomas is also the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator for the Lang School of Business and Economics. In this role Thomas is a resource for faculty, staff, and students to facilitate embedding equity and inclusion within research, teaching, and operational practices.

Beyond academia, Thomas has worked as an independent organizational consultant for over a decade with a focus on applying evidence-based practices in assessing and addressing organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges. He is an Expert Panelist for the development of the 2021 Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Benchmark, and served as a subject matter expert in the design of the Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional designation. Additionally, he is actively involved in his communities through ongoing volunteerism. He has served on the boards of directors and advisory committees of a number of organizations and finds opportunities for engaging with his local, regional, and international communities to improve life and make businesses forces of social good.

Ph.D. (ABD), Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of Guelph
Dissertation: Understanding the Experiences and Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Employees in Canada

Master of Arts, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of Guelph
Thesis: The Development and Validation of the Perceived Victimization Measure

Bachelor of Arts, Honours Psychology with Thesis, University of Windsor

Thomas’ research utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, community-based practices, and a focus on practical application and knowledge mobilization. His research interests include:

- diversity, equity, and inclusion
- the work-life interface
- leadership development
- precarious and marginalized work and workers
- workplace victimization and conflict
- occupational health and wellbeing
- consensual allyship
- continuing education, development, and training
- scholarship of teaching and learning

I frequently teach the following courses at the University of Guelph:

HROB2010 Foundations of Leadership
HROB2090 Individuals and Groups in Organizations
HROB2200 Labour Relations
HROB3010 Compensation Systems
HROB3070 Recruitment and Selection
HROB3100 Developing Management and Leadership Competencies
LEAD6100 Theories of Leadership (MA Leadership)
LEAD6740 Developing Others (MA Leadership)
MGMT4040 Advanced Topics in Management

The following are a representative selection of recent academic presentations. For a full list, please contact Thomas directly.

Sasso, T. (2021). “Creating and defining value through equity, diversity, and inclusion.” Invited Session. Fourth Global Conference on Creating Value, Virtual Format.

Singh, J. & Sasso, T. (2021). “Experiences of work and identity of queer South Asian women.” Important but unexamined: Lessons from niche and intersectional employees. Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 36th Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Salter, N. & Sasso, T. (2021). “The positive experiences associated with coming out at work.” Digging deeper into disclosure: Coming out as LGBTQ at work. Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 36th Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Caneira, K., Chu, H., Sasso, T., & González-Morales, M. G. (2021). “Drag IS Employment: An analysis of the occupational experiences of drag queens.” Poster. Canadian Psychological Association 82nd Annual Convention, Virtual. [Received the CSIOP Best Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Poster Award]

Sasso, T., & González-Morales, M. G. (2020). "Do we belong here? Practicing consensual allyship for community and inclusion." Professional Development Workshop, 80th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC.

Sasso, T., González-Morales, M. G. & Gmitrowicz, M. M. (2020). "Who decides who’s family? Exploring work needs of queer families." LGBTQ+ at the work/life interface: A multidisciplinary multimethod examination. Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 35th Annual Conference, Austen, TX.

Sasso, T., Caneira, K., Pompilii, B., Karamally, T., Gmitrowicz, M. M., & Copoc, P. (2020). "You better werq! Exploring drag as employment." Doing gender and undoing stereotypes: Persistent issues in gender expression at work. Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 35th Annual Conference, Austen, TX.

Ferdman, B., Gilrane, V., Sasso, T., Sawyer, K., & Shore, L. (2020) "What’s inclusion? Its Past, Present, and Future." Invited SIOP Theme Track Session Panel. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 35th Annual Conference, Austen, TX.

Sasso, T. (2019). “With our consent: Consensual allyship with LGBTQ+ Canadians in the workplace”. Building better workplace allies: Where are we lacking and how can we get there? Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 34th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

Sasso, T., & Ewles, G. B. (2019). "The professional is personal: A critical look at compassionate research in Industrial-Organizational Psychology." Discussion Forum. Canadian Psychological Association 80th Annual Convention, Halifax, NS.

Sasso, T., & Gonzalez-Morales, M. G. (2019). "With us and for us: Consensual queer allyship in the workplace." Poster. Canadian Psychological Association 80th Annual Convention, Halifax, NS.

Zhou, C., Hays-Thomas, R., Dore, K., Ferdman, B. M., Sasso, T., Schneider, L., Terregino, C. A., & Thomas, K. M. (2019). "Challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities of applying diversity & inclusion research to the workplace." Panel. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 34th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

Sasso, T., Sookpaibook, S., Vincent-Haven, R., & Yates, T. C. (2019). "Work and Families." Panel. Families in Canada Satellite Regional Conference 2019, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON.

Sasso, T. (2018). “Working towards workplace inclusion: LGBTQ+ employment experiences in Canada.” Oral presentation. 2018 International Congress of Applied Psychology and Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, QC.

Sasso, T. (2018). “The struggles and challenges of queer professionalism in psychology and management classrooms.” Oral presentation. 2018 International Congress of Applied Psychology and Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, QC.

Skinner, A. D., Labonte, L., Sasso, T., & Salter, N. (2018). “What I love about being queer at work: Positive characteristics for LGBTQ+ employees at work.” Oral presentation. 2018 International Congress of Applied Psychology and Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, QC.

Sasso, T., & Stienstra, D. (2018). “Queering the family: Problematizing the constraints of “work-family” conceptualizations.” Queering Ecologies: Problematizing the family and work from the sexual margins. Panel. Sexuality Studies Association at the 2018 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Regina, SK.

Sasso, T. (2017). “Opening the office closet: LGBTQ+ Diversity in the Canadian Workforce.” Invited workshop. Diversity@Work Conference, Skills for Change, Toronto, ON.

Sasso, T., Neustifter, R., & Schenk, R. (2017). “Inclusion or pink-washing? The queering of universities’ public images in Canada” Oral presentation. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Sasso, T., Lee, R., & Gallagher-Louisy, C. (2016). “Trans-Canada: Canadian experiences of minority gender identities.” What about the T? Transgender workplace research Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 31st Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA.

Sasso, T., Augusto, K., González-Morales, M. G., Lachapelle, S., & Donald, J. (2016). “Improving job readiness competences and attitudes toward soft skill development through a first-year classroom exercise” Workshop. Teaching and Learning Innovation Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON.

Sasso, T., Salter, N. P., Halloran, K. K., & Lucca, C. T. (2015). “Positive Experiences of LGBTQ Employees” New Methods in Examining Workplace Outcomes of LGB Identity Management Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 30th Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Sasso, T., & Salter, N. P. (2014).“A modern family: The work-family interface among LGBT employees” Roundtable Discussion/ Conversation Hour. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 29th Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI.

Sawyer, K., Sasso, T., Gandara, D., Weaver, J., & Jackson, M. (2014). “LGBT workplace research: Making the business case for inclusion” Presentation. Out & Equal 2014 Workplace Summit, San Francisco, CA.

Sasso, T., & González-Morales, M. G. (2014).“Development of the Perceived Victimization Measure” Novel approaches to the study of workplace incivility and victimization Symposium Session. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 29th Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI.