In many countries, national anti-discrimination laws still do not provide adequate protection in terms of sexual orientation and gender identity at work.
Unfortunately, LGTBIQ+ people often face hostilities rooted in the place where many of us spend most of our time, the workplace. Businesses and institutions play a vital role in creating a culture of diversity where people are treated fairly and sensitively, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In many countries, national anti-discrimination laws still do not provide adequate protection in terms of sexual orientation and gender identity at work. Even in companies and institutions where LGTBIQA+ colleagues are accepted in the workplace, there are discriminatory corporate policies that often result in differential treatment. This discrimination is caused by active rejection of the LGTBIQA+ collective, as well as by discriminatory actions resulting from a lack of knowledge of their reality.
LGTBIQA+ work experience in STEM
In recent studies, sexual and gender minority scientists describe their status in their institution, lab, classroom or office as 'invisible' 1,2,3. Sexual orientation and sexual and gender identity are not common topics of conversation in many science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workplaces. Other studies have shown that covering up or hiding a significant part of one's identity at work can have dangerous consequences for mental health and scientific productivity 4,5. Beliefs that being cisgender and heterosexual are the default or "normal" modes often silence conversations about the full spectrum of sexual and gender identities. In turn, 1,427 surveys of professionals working in STEM fields who identify as LGTBIQA+ revealed that LGTBIQA+ scientists may feel unsupported by their colleagues, superiors or institutions in addressing issues related to their sexual orientation or gender identity 6. Participants reported a significantly higher degree of openness in personal contexts (friends, family...) than with colleagues or students (work environment). In personal contexts, about 54% of participants said they were completely open about their identities. However, in the case of the work environment, 29% of participants stated that they were not open at all.
What does it mean to be openly LGTBIQA+ in science?
Several studies have shown that LGTBIQA+ people feel discriminated against in the workplace 3,6, including in Science Technology and Innovation (STI) centers. More than a third of participants (36%) in a 2016 US study of physicists reported that they had considered leaving their jobs because of the hostile climate or discrimination they experienced due to their affectively-sexual orientation or gender identity 2. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation with an uncomfortable work climate or the observation of exclusionary behaviour. In other words, the climate is unwelcoming enough in some workplaces and institutions to lead LGTBIQA+ people to leave their jobs, which is aggravated in the case of trans people. The latter is especially alarming if we take into account a spanish study on the socio-labour insertion of trans people in 2016 7. This study showed that the unemployment rates of trans people reach 46.5% (41.5% in the case of women and 48.7% in the case of men, although the percentage reaches 69.2% in the case of non-binary people), much higher than the average for the Spanish population 7.
Furthermore, this problem does not only affect adult workers. LGTBIQA+ university students are 7% less likely to be retained in STEM fields than their non-LGTBIQA+ peers. Similarly, another research studied the relationships between a student's identity denial and the likelihood of dropping out, lack of self-esteem or depression8. However, it is not all bad, as the study indicated possible benefits and consequences of LGTBIQA+ identity disclosure (outness) among LGTBIQA+ youth in school settings such as increased concentration in studies and higher grade averages.
The importance of LGTBIAQA+ visibility in science
It is important to make the collective visible because what is not visible does not exist. Science is still a very masculinised environment, usually governed by white heterosexual cis-males. We must move away from the serious and grey vision that science has historically had and give an image of people with a multitude of concerns, lifestyles, and in short, a diverse collective. The new generations need new, diverse points of reference that will be the seed of new scientific vocations, thus avoiding the scientific abandonment of non-normative people at an early age. Finally, a more inclusive science would provide a better quality of work and life for all, serving as an example for other sectors where there is even more discrimination.
And now what?
We have talked about and mentioned multiple American and British physics studies that have gathered information from thousands of scientists to understand the reality of the LGTBIQA+ collective, but this does not mean that in Spain we have been left behind. Although it is true that no studies have been carried out on the LGTBIQA+ scientific community, Spain is a pioneer in Europe in terms of the application of inclusion measures in scientific environments and STI centers thanks to the work of the PRISMA association. This is a state non-profit organization for affective-sexual and gender diversity in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), which fights for a more diverse and inclusive STI with the realities of the LGTBIQA+ collective.
In this sense, PRISMA has drafted a decalogue of measures for LGBTIQA+ equality in research centers and STI environments in order to create a safe and egalitarian space. This includes training of staff, especially those in positions of power, to prevent conflict and discrimination. It also proposes to establish safe channels for reporting aggression and discrimination, to guarantee equal employment opportunities for trans and gender non-normative people, and to reject pseudo-scientific discourses that discriminate against LGTBIQA+ people.
However, PRISMA is not the only example of good practice in Spain, where the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) is not far behind either, and on 26 May, as part of the weekly seminar series #FridayTalks, Simón Perera (Secretary General of PRISMA) was invited as a speaker. Thanks to his successful talk, efforts are already being made by the renewed BWI Equality and Diversity working group for the implementation of the 10 PRISMA measures for LGTBIQA+ equality.
Let's continue to make the ICM-CSIC a reference center to be proud of.