KEY POINTS:
LGBT people face uncertainty about acceptance of their identities in the workplace
Choosing the right peers and bosses is important for LGBT scientists
Representation is important for everyone
Ithaca, N.Y.– What do you think of when you think of STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics)? Do you see pristine laboratories and a man in a lab coat? Maybe a woman with a pipette and set of test tubes? Are these people interacting, or are they isolated in solitary work? If you said isolated, you are also describing the way LGBT individuals in STEM fields also feel.
In a 2019 study by Dr. Allison Mattheis, A Model of Queer STEM Identity in the Workplace, found that the belief that being cisgender and hetero-sexual are the default or ‘normal’ modes can often silence conversations about the wide spectrum of sexual and gender identities.
These are just a few of the issues that the Ithaca College’s LGBTQIA+ in STEM Zoom panel sought to address through peer conversation.
Lauren Hodkinson, a speaker at the event who is an Ithaca College alumnus currently attending graduate school at Emery University, said that her academic community has been a moderately accepting place.
“For a long time, I did not tell people that I was gay,” Hodkinson said. “I was afraid of the way that they would see me versus my science, even if I didn’t feel like that [was true].”
Her feelings align with data found in a study done by the Institute of Physics, Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry, Exploring the workplace for LGBT+ Physical Scientists, most LGBT identifying people feel like their schools and companies do not have adequate policies and protections for them.
Hodkinson said that in her move from Ithaca to graduate school she felt like she lost the spaces that she could be her most authentic self. However, she noted that she has become much less afraid to share parts of her identity because of the connections she has made.
Other speakers also mentioned, in congruence with Hodkinson, that most professors are becoming more accepting and are educating themselves on students’ identities. Some of this, Hodkinson said, could be because newer, younger professors are taking over open positions.
“There are still a sprinkled in group of people who probably do judge based on [identity],” Hodkinson said. “I just don’t care about what they think about my science. I just don’t.”
According to research article, Systemic inequalities for LGBTQ professionals in STEM,
even with employment protections like anti-discriminatory laws, “LGBT workers are more likely than their non-LGBT colleagues to experience hiring and wage discrimination and negative treatment by co-workers and supervisors.”
JC Alexander, another alumnus turned PhD student at the University of Washington, said that cohorts and bosses are also important.
“Choose your boss wisely. My boss said, ‘My lab is usually full of loud women,’ and then I joined his lab,” Alexander said. “I feel very secure. I’ve never once felt anything weird about anything ever said.”
Alexander emphasized that its important for LGBT individuals, and people in general, to surround themselves with others that you can be authentic with.
“You just want to surround yourself with people who you know, are going to have your back or help you if you're in some sort of like weird situation with somebody who is being inappropriate in terms of judging your appearance and those kind of things.”
Another alumnus and current graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Dallas Fonseca, said that something he tries to do is keep gendered language to a minimum.
“I try to make it as ambiguous as possible,” Fonseca said, “I’d rather have the work speak for itself as opposed to the person. That being said, I can’t always separate the two, I am who I am.”
As with any field, representation and respect are important for anyone and everyone, but especially for people of color and LGBT individuals. While one study found that 75 percent of their STEM respondents feel comfortable in their work environment, 49 percent agreed that there was a “lack of awareness of LGBT issues.”
Additionally, in an article from nature, one interviewee said that “role modelling is not just about what you say, but also about what you are seen to do” and that listening to LGBT people is important for addressing problems. This was emphasized in the Ithaca panel discussion.
“The biggest thing for me it's just existence,” said Jake Brown, an Ithaca College senior studying math and physics. “If I can be, you know, a queer Professor just existing as a person like in that position of power, I think it’s a very powerful thing to have in any sort of place.”
Another participant in nature’s article, Sean Vidal Edgerton, co-founder of the 500 Queer Scientists Visibility campaign, echoes Brown’s statement about needing to see other LGBT individuals existing in STEM.
“It would benefit everyone in academia if we could dismantle heteronormativity, systemic racism and white supremacy. It would allow every single individual in STEM to bring their entire selves to their career and would set everyone up for success — not just a select few.”
Cover Image: "A UCSB engineering student graduates" by beltz6 is marked with CC BY 2.0.