Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 19, 2025

Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
Systemic inequalities for LGBTQ professionals in STEM
1Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. ecech@umich.edu.
Abstract:
Researchers have documented race and gender inequality in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for decades. Do lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) professionals face parallel experiences of disadvantage in STEM? Using representative survey data from 21 STEM professional societies (N sample = 25,324; N LGBTQ = 1006), this paper presents multidimensional and methodologically robust documentation of 5 dimensions of LGBTQ inequality in STEM. Controlling for variation by demographic, discipline, and job factors, LGBTQ STEM professionals were more likely to experience career limitations, harassment, and professional devaluation than their non-LGBTQ peers. They also reported more frequent health difficulties and were more likely to intend to leave STEM. These trends were similar across STEM disciplines and employment sectors. We found no differences by LGBTQ status in education level, work effort, or job commitment. These findings reveal LGBTQ status as a clear axis of inequality in STEM and motivate further research into the mechanisms producing such outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Stereotype Content Model
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Diversity in Cell Signaling Responses
Graded and Abrupt Responses
Some signaling systems generate...
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture

