Pride month may be coming to a close, but barriers to participation and retention in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEM) persist for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
While presenting Science is a Drag—an award-winning, community-driven, science-themed drag show that heralds inclusive science engagement—at the international Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin, RCIScience challenged the notion that STEM needs to remain so traditionally rigid and challenged the audience to pay attention to, and start dismantling, the numerous barriers facing LGBTQ+ participation and retention in STEMM. The Aspen Institute Science & Society Program, whose award-winning leadership had history working on this topic by co-founding the organization People at Rockefeller University Identifying as Sexual/Gender Minorities (PRISM), now called RockOut, and leading the first scientist contingent in New York City Pride, heard the call. Together, we embarked on a report to capture some of the many barriers facing LGBTQ+ inclusion in STEM around the world and steps we can take to build more inclusive spaces that ultimately benefit us all.
Learn more about these global, cross-sector challenges and what we can do about it in this report published in partnership with The Aspen Institute's Science & Society Program.