LGBT+ Scientists #LGBT #Scientist #Discrimination #Inclusiveness #CauseAChatter

Many campuses across the globe, specifically in the United States and Europe, are fully supporting LGBT+ community by becoming inclusive institutions. The faculty cards issued show that the wearer is a member or ally of the LGBT+ community. For instance, Susan Rosser, a synthetic biologist at the University of Edinburgh, is a lesbian. She is also the director of the Edinburgh Mammalian Synthetic Biology Research Centre. This is a clear example of No Discrimination. Susan Rosser develops tools in synthetic biology and has an expertise in using techniques like genome editing and synthetic transcription factors. She is happy for the changed environment for betterment and inclusiveness. Like her, there are a number of other LGBT+ academics who are living their lives there and progressing well in their careers. This indicates clearly that society there has changed. Policies are well in place for any kind of abuse, bullying, or harassment.

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Institutions have started taking such incidents more seriously. Nathan Shaner, who is a gay, finds cities like San Diego having improved a lot to become safe havens. Nathan is a flourophore developer in the Department of Neurosciences, University of California. But still one needs to be cautious and careful, he opines. He joined Oberlin College for undergraduation after confirming it was going to be a safe place for him. He ensured there's no discrimination. While many universities highlight inclusivity and no discrimination but yet they're having no clarity towards LGBT+ community. Any potential student, fellow, or faculty applicant would always try to get a realistic sense of a university’s inclusion practices to ensure no discrimination towards LGBT+ community. For that purpose, usually, the best way of to look into the LGBT+ community networks and check for inclusive human policies in that regard. And that's very important too.

Stephen Wallace, a gay, is a senior lecturer at University of Edinburgh holds a UK Research & Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship. This Fellowship is awarded to a select few early-stage researchers for high-risk projects. All this success would not have been possible without getting an inclusive and no-discrimination environment around them. For more insights read this article by Vivien Marx.

This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter