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Queering science: the importance of LGBTQ+diversity

Issues, challenges and advice on how to make the workplace more inclusive for queer members of staff.

Pride In Stem
Matthew Young with the Roslin host Cal Donnelly.

On 4 September 2019, we hosted a seminar by queer neuroscientist Matthew Young from Pride in STEM.

In this insightful seminar, Matthew explained us the challenges faced by members of the LGBT+ community in science and the importance of making the workplace both inclusive and equal to all.

After the seminar, there were unicorn cakes organised by Roslin PhD student, College representative of the University of Edinburgh’s network for LGBT+ staff, and seminar host Cal Donnelly.

Would you like to support inclusiveness and equality? There are several ways in which you can do it: listen to your LGBT+ colleagues, educate yourself about the issue, be a visible ally (e.g. it can be as simple as using a rainbow lanyard), challenge the issues you see around you, take diversity, people management and unconscious bias training, don’t assume every is straight and/or identifies with their birth sex, use gender neutral language and pronouns, and encourage your institution’s management to create professional networks and provide gender neutral facilities.

Related links

Pride in STEM

University of Edinburgh’s Staff Pride (LGBT+) Network

Equality & Diversity at the Roslin Institute