STEM LESBIAN PROFESSIONAL

In addition, if they feel threatened, they are less confident to whistleblow without fear of retaliation.Ībout 20% of LGBTQ professionals also said they feel devalued about their STEM expertise, despite having the same experience and education levels as their non-LGBTQ counterparts.

LGBTQ professionals have fewer opportunities to develop their skills than non-LGBTQ peers and less access to resources they need to do their jobs well, the study indicated.

STEM LESBIAN PROFESSIONAL

Cech and Waidzunas examined potential inequalities by LGBTQ status along five dimensions: career opportunities, professional devaluation, social exclusion, health and wellness difficulties, and intentions to leave STEM.

“The question of whether LGBTQ professionals encounter systemic disadvantages in STEM … is important not only for fully mapping the landscape of demographic inequality in STEM but for identifying places where STEM fails to live up to its meritocratic ideals,” the researchers wrote.ĭata came from STEM-related professional societies with some 25,000 members, including 1,000 individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Previous studies documented the inequality based on race and gender, but U-M sociologist Erin Cech and colleague Tom Waidzunas of Temple University analyzed the experiences among LGBTQ professionals. In recent decades, greater efforts to diversify STEM fields have intensified to change the dynamics of white male-dominated professions. LGBTQ workers also report more health difficulties, as well as greater intentions to leave STEM disciplines and employment sectors-patterns not explained by differences in training, experience or work dedication. These STEM professionals are more likely to experience career limitations, social exclusion and harassment, and devaluation of their scientific and technical knowledge than their non-LGBTQ peers, according to new University of Michigan research.

Stem lesbian