Labor, Work, and Action: The unmaking of an LGBTIQ+ migrant network of interpreters compounding a cross-border minority tax

Esther Monzó-Nebot^*

• Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain

International organizations have long championed principles of human rights, dignity, and equality. However, the lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ interpreters working under temporary contracts reveal structural inequalities that international organizations fail to address, particularly as remote interpreting and neoliberal labor policies reshape the profession. These interpreters face a minority tax—additional burdens imposed on marginalized groups—that encompasses professional obstacles, emotional labor, administrative precarity, and political invisibility. This study employs Hannah Arendt’s distinctions between labor, work, and action to examine the experiences of LGBTIQ+ migrant interpreters on temporary contracts in international organizations. Semi-structured interviews reveal that the intersection of gender identity, migrant status, and contractual instability imposes additional burdens on these professionals, specifically curtailing their opportunities for political participation and collective action. Framing their experiences within Arendt’s framework helps conceptualize how seemingly individual challenges—such as misgendering or isolation—are structured within institutional arrangements where interpreters find themselves confined to the private (labor), while the creation of stable professional structures (work) is hindered and opportunities for public engagement and collective voice (action) are restricted. The article exposes a systematic pattern of exclusion, limiting the professional recognition of LGBTIQ+ interpreters and depoliticizing their struggles.