Here’s the thing. Love is love. Diversity is essential. Science should be free of bullshit.
I don’t want to spend 600 words on this post introducing the basic concept that having a diverse group of people in science is good. Not just ethically, or due to a notion of equality, but also – if you’re the sort of person who prefers to think in these terms- from the point of view of research quality, citations or dollars. We know it now. Diversity is not just good, it’s essential.
I also don’t think the notions of advantage (for non minorities), or systematic bias (against minorities of all kind) are particularly new. If they are, to you, that’s ok. Set aside a day or two, and lock down a bit of googling time. Better, yet, use google scholar or NCBI. The info is out there, it’s scientific, and it’s convincing.
Today, July 5th, is specifically about LGBT+ people in STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics).
The date can be written as 705 if you’re from the US, which is the approximate number in nanometres for the wavelength of red. Meaning life. For the rest of the world, it comes out as 507, which represents green and nature.
In any case, today is a day to celebrate identity, and, if you’re a member or ally of the community, to take action.
If you’re wondering how, we strongly recommend that you check out the LGBTSTEM website. Most importantly, we recommend their info package, which links to some articles about diversity issues, but also gives some planned actions. Please do go and check it out.
We also found a blog about LGBTSTEM here, noticed that Plantae has an LGBTQ community, and found some recent discussions about diversity, including LGBTQ+ diversity on Nature. If you have some more resources feel free to throw them at us and we’ll put them in the article.
Together, we can make science more inclusive, diverse and therefore better. If you have never thought about supporting LGBTQ people in STEM, today is great day to start doing so. And then keep up the good fight.