Being LGBTQ+ in STEM

Last year, the hospital I work in added LGBTQ+ flags to the pedestrian crossings, to promote more inclusivity in the NHS. It may only be something small, but small actions build up into lasting change.

Often, people in the LGBTQ+ community can feel like the NHS is not as accessible, and this is something that needs changing, and is being pushed for across the NHS! There also needs to be more funding for LGBTQ+ health, especially gender clinics, as 80% of transgender respondents who accessed or tried to access gender identity clinics said it was not easy, with long waiting times the most common barrier. You can find more info on the NHS findings and commitments to the LGBTQ+ community here.

🏳️‍🌈 With many LGBTQ+ people working in the NHS (myself included in this) it is so important to feel safe to be visible

🏳️‍🌈 With some health outcomes being worse for those in the LGBTQ+ community, it is incredibly important to make the NHS approachable, and information accessible

🏳️‍🌈 It's also really important for staff to be approachable, and trusted, and make small changes to promote inclusivity

Having LGBTQ+ role models in the NHS, and wider STEM community is so important, and making sure we have diversity in the institutions around us is a huge part of this.

I also wanted to share some important LGBTQ+ people in STEM, to show that there is huge diversity in STEM. 🏳️‍🌈 Sara Josephine Baker - Made notable contributions to public health in NYC, especially in immigrant communities. She also twice tracked down Typhoid Mary 🏳️‍🌈 Ben Barres - Ben was a neurobiologist at Stanford University researching the interaction between neurons and glial cells in the nervous system. He was also the first openly transgender scientist in the National Academy of Sciences 🏳️‍🌈 Arti Agrawal - Known for her work on computational photonics, researching numerical modelling and simulation of photonic devices. She is currently an Associate Professor and the Director of Women in Engineering and IT at the University of Technology Sydney 🏳️‍🌈 Alan Turing - Highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science. He played a crucial role in cracking the Enigma code which allowed the allies to interpret coded messages, saving countless lives 🏳️‍🌈 Lynn Conway - Lynn is a computer scientist, electrical engineer and transgender activist. She was integral in the involvement of the electronic design automation industry, and microchip design 🏳️‍🌈 Gabriela Fleury - One of the many stories you can find over at 500queerscientists, Gabriela is a conservation biologist working who has looked at carnivore conservation. They have also researched landscape ecology on 3 different continents

Conversations about being LGBTQ+ in STEM is so important to show future generations that there are people like them, and to address inclusivity and diversity issues in institutions! STEM in itself is diverse, so the people doing it, sitting on boards, researching, being in positions of power also need to be diverse!