First peer-reviewed paper reporting Queer in STEM survey results
A survey of individuals working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, or asexual (LGTBQA) was administered online in 2013. Participants completed a 58-item questionnaire to report their professional areas of expertise, levels of education, geographic location, and gender and sexual identities, and rated their work and social communities as welcoming or hostile to queer identities. An analysis of 1,427 responses to this survey provided the first broad portrait of this population, and revealed trends related to workplace practices that can inform efforts to improve queer inclusivity in STEM workplaces.
However, the paper has the benefit of review and comments by experts with knowledge of the broader research context for the results, and includes one big points we haven’t made in other print venues. In particular, following an analysis prompted by the reviewers, we found that survey participants who worked in STEM fields with better representation of women were more likely to be out to their colleagues.