LGBTQ+ realities in the biological sciences

Graphical abstract

Introduction

In these turbulent times, there is an urgent need to stick together as a biological community. Part of this means spending more time understanding the makeup of the community and how we can ensure a sense of belonging among all its members. Historically, people who identify as LGBTQ+ have been poorly represented, and felt isolated and unsupported within science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) environments, as shown in numerous published studies. And among these, trans and non-binary individuals have reported to feel more isolated than their cisgender LGBQ+ peers (see preprint for some excellent references).

Whilst there have been studies looking at LGBTQIA+ belonging in some STEM academic settings (e.g. in physics), this preprint provides the first comprehensive analysis of the LGBTQ+ climate in biological sciences specifically. Performing this study in the context of the biological sciences is of particular interest – especially in today’s political climate – as biologists are directly involved in teaching and researching topics like gender, reproduction, and sexuality; topics that are often shaped by traditional thinking and therefore hard to change.

The preprint authors show that although some advancements have been made in increasing inclusion among cisgender LGBQ biologists, this is not true for trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) biologists. As such, the study highlights the need to avoid pooling together LGBTQ+ experiences and rather tailor inclusion efforts to make sure everyone feels included and safe.

Main takeaways

• Trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) biologists feel less included and supported at work and in the broader biology community than their cisgender and straight colleagues.
• Cis LGBQ and non-LGBTQ+ biologists feel similarly positive about their work environments, suggesting that some progress has been made for LGBQ inclusion.
• More LGBTQ+ biologists are open about their identities than in the past — over half are out to all their colleagues, compared to just a third reported in a 2019 study. Importantly, this is also true for outness to (undergraduate) students. There is still room and need for improvement, with 24% not being out to any students, as LGBTQ+ visibility and representation is of particular importance in the classroom.
• Discrimination is still a major issue: about 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ biologists — and nearly 2 in 5 TGNC biologists — have faced harassment or hostility at work.
• LGBTQ+ biologists want clear signs of support from institutions and more workplace programmes that actively foster inclusion and belonging. The three most common suggestions were:

1. 1. Communicating support, e.g. speaking out for LGBTQIA+ individuals, using inclusive language, etc.
   2. Creating affinity groups
   3. Increasing LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation

Why we highlight this study

RH: Given the ever-shifting political climate we see globally which seems to be repressing LGBTQIA+ voices, studies like this are crucial for highlighting the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people in academia. Sadly, I was unsurprised to see that trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) biologists report lower levels of belonging, morale, and climate compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. With anti-trans rhetoric on the rise – which has been particularly evident in recent news – this preprint highlights the need for us to actively support TGNC people within our biological community.

RFP: I am worried about the effects that politics may have on the hard-won and still limited progress we’ve made in building a stronger (biological) community. This study has both a positive message (yes, we are making some progress) as well as a negative one (inclusion strategies need to be more tailored to work), but most importantly show us the way forward by sharing insights as well as crucial resources to keep working towards a stronger, more diverse community.

SW: LGBTQIA+ voices have become increasingly more present in the public, on the streets and in media (e.g., advertisements, films, series, streaming portals, TV, social media) over the last 15-20 years. In this context, it is important to have a proper, comprehensive scientific work, like this preprint, which asks whether, in a time of growing visibility and rising political intolerance, the LGBTQIA+ community feels supported. Here, the authors show that there are still prejudices against LGBTQIA+ individuals, especially against TGNC individuals, working within the biological sciences. This is important to acknowledge, particularly when realising that in the future more biologists will hopefully be confident enough to come out. Moreover, scientific productivity as a whole depends on inclusion.

Future directions and challenges 

It would be interesting to see what LGBTQIA+ researchers would say now – especially in light of the rapidly shifting political climate in the United States and the recent rise anti-trans rhetoric in the UK – in terms of their belonging and morale being in an academic research environment. This preprint has highlighted the substantial increase in anti-LGBT – especially anti-trans – rhetoric in the past few months.

In addition to equal opportunity officers, LGBTQ+ supervision positions and teachings about LGBTQ+ topics, we think that journals should also provide explicit incentives to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.

A common grey area is cis bisexual men and women, who today may conceal their same-sex attraction as this can distort statistics. Despite global political trends to the contrary, a more welcoming attitude is needed, particularly in academic and scientific settings, to provide bisexuals with an environment where they have the courage to speak openly about their sexual orientations, if the context allows for it.

Questions for the authors

• Do you think the drastic change in political climate in the USA in 2025 will have major effects in how American LGBTQIA+ scientists feel in academia, especially with respect to their belonging, morale, and comfort with climate in their workplace? Do you think this could also be a global effect?
• How might the biology community lead broader STEM-wide cultural shifts, given the discipline’s specific challenges and opportunities?
• According to media reports, trans women are more discriminated against than trans men in the general public. Do the data obtained in this study provide any insights regarding this issue in context of the scientific community?

Glossary (Identity & Community terms)

LGBTQIA+ – This stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/aromantic. This abbreviation is an umbrella term to encapsulate the community as a whole.

TGNC – Trans and gender non-conforming individuals. An umbrella term that refers to individuals whose gender identity or expression differs from their assigned sex at birth.

Cisgender/cis – a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth; not transgender.

Gender Identity – A person’s internal sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with their assigned sex at birth.

Out / Coming Out – The act of disclosing one’s LGBTQ+ identity to others.

Orientation Identity – Refers to whom someone is romantically or sexually attracted to (e.g. gay, bisexual).

Another graphical abstract

Created by Shreya Pramanik as part of a recent SciArt workshop led by Sonhita Chakraborty

Tags: belonging, biology, community, experiences, inclusivity, lgbtq+, morale, survey

doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/prelights.40657

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