Report cover
Report cover

This Pride Month, the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) at Northwestern University is releasing a landmark report on the current state of LGBTQ+ representation in STEM educations and professions.The extensively researched, first-of-its-kind report, “Inclusion and Advancement of LGBTQ+ People in STEM Fields,” gathers existing qualitative and quantitative evidence about experiences of LGBTQ+ people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). See 

“The evidence summarized in this report reveals the clear and urgent reality of the inclusion and representation issues facing LGBTQ+ people in STEM fields,” writes Brian Mustanski, PhD, director of ISGMH and tenured professor at Northwestern University. “The current landscape is one where LGBTQ+ people are either ignored or ambiguously included in the significant efforts underway to diversify and grow the STEM workforce. This must change if we are to realize a diverse scientific workforce that can contribute their unique perspectives to innovating for the future and solving society’s most pressing issues.”

Mustanski is a co-author of the report. Jagadīśa-devaśrī Dācus, PhD, associate director of ISGMH associate and research assistant professor at Northwestern University, is first author of the report. 

Windy City Times cofounder Tracy Baim was a contributing writer to the report.

The authors also make a series of recommendations for addressing the current underrepresentation of LGBTQ+ across STEM fields at all levels of educations and employment. These recommendations provide guidance for how educational institutions and workplaces can foster environments in which LGBTQ+ people can feel valued, respected, and empowered to be themselves authentically. Implementation of the recommendations is critical for greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in STEM.

Key recommendations include:

  • Include LGBTQ+ people as an underrepresented population in federal and other scientific educational and workforce diversity initiatives
  • Collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data as part of national tracking surveys, such as with the Survey of Earned Doctorates
  • Collect SOGI data on students, teachers, fellows, faculty, and staff at schools, colleges, and universities; ensure these data are properly stored, protected, and analyzed
  • Fund research that helps identify facilitators for advancement and success of LGBTQ+ people in STEM majors and careers
  • Include LGBTQ+ content in middle and high school STEM curricula

The recommendations put forward in the report have the potential to improve access to facilities, opportunities, and support structures so that LGBTQ+ people in STEM can succeed and contribute to their fullest potential.

The culmination of a collaborative effort by more than 20 experts who took part in ISGMH’s 2023 Inclusion and Advancement of LGBTQ+ People in STEM Fields Symposium and Think Tank, the report represents the most comprehensive collection of research on this topic to date.

Read the full report: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17W0Vsiq6H77SFNCn6D4usF6BHOgxJ710/view