Inclusion of LGBTQ+ People in University Bioscience

Higher education in the United States has declared the importance of representation of diverse communities of students and practitioners on campuses. This laudable goal is, however, hindered by lack of knowledge in the status of underrepresented and/or minority populations. This study addresses a persistent shortcoming vis-à-vis the knowledge of an “invisible minority” on campus: LGBTQ+ people, or those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or with additional with minority sexual orientations and/or gender identities. Specifically, the study considers LGBTQ+ people in the biosciences, for which there exists an extended history of persecution and pathology; an established social connection thanks, in part, to “born this way” rhetoric; and a lack of any data regarding population and persistence. A mixed-methods approach of interviews with current bioscience degree program students and alumni and several high-n nationwide surveys provide data for the study. The findings demonstrate that LGBTQ+ people are represented well in bioscience higher education compared to other STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, and that LGBTQ+ students and scientists judge biosciences as the most accepting of the STEM disciplines in higher education. Further findings suggest that LGBTQ+ bioscientists and students are most likely to disclose their LGBTQ+ identities to trusted mentor or advisors in their fields, or to small, close communities like those found in laboratory groups; but that, conversely, the more experienced an LGBTQ+ person becomes in their field (that is, as they progress through multiple degrees), the less likely they are to identify as an out LGBTQ+ person professionally. Nevertheless, the key finding that LGBTQ+ people are generally most comfortable and accepted in the biosciences provides a key finding for the literature and a practicable result for potential LGBTQ+ students and scientists