November 18th is PRIDE in STEM day! This exciting STEM holiday started in 2016 as a celebration of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities in STEM fields and we’re excited to support their mission!
PRIDE in STEM is a UK-Based charity that has expanded their reach around the globe to provide much-needed representation and professional development resources for STEM professionals who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Their goal has been to “raise the profile of LGBT+ people in science, technology, engineering and maths/medicine (STEM) as well as to highlight the struggles LGBTSTEM people often face.”
This year, PRIDE in STEM day will be celebrated on the 60th anniversary of Frank Kameny’s US Supreme Court fight against workplace discrimination. Kameny was an American astronomer, who was dismissed from his position in the US Army in 1957 because of his sexuality -- which spurred him to a life of activism and fighting for equal employment protections for LGBTQIA+ people.
In honor of Kameny’s activism and contributions to the STEM field, we’ve put together a list of global community-building resources for professional development and for further learning about the LGBTQIA+ community in STEM! Take a look:
• American Astronomical Society Committee for Sexual-Orientation & Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA) (US)
• American Institute of Physics Diversity Initiative (US)
• 500 Queer Scientists (Global visibility campaign)
• House of STEM (Ireland)
• InterEngineering (UK)
• LGBTQ+STEM (Global visibility campaign)
• National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (US)
• Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (US)
• Pride in STEM (UK & US, primarily, with global reach)
• Prisma Ciencia (Spain)
• QAtCanSTEM (Canada)
• Queers in Science (Australia)
• The STEM Village (Scotland)
• Turing Circle (Australia)
