Pride in science

Studies have shown that sadly not every queer scientist feels safe at work. Among LGBT+ respondents to the 2019 report Exploring the Workplace for LGBT+ Physical Scientists, 28% shared that they had considered leaving their workplace at some point due to discrimination or the working environment and 20% of trans respondents revealed that they had often considered leaving.

It wasn’t until I started to visit schools regularly that I realised the impact of my visits as an ‘out’ queer scientist. In my first few forays into assembly halls and science classrooms I brought chemical stories and experiments that aimed to spark interest in electrons, atoms and elements in even the most unengaged teenagers. My intent was for all young people to know that Stem was open to them, and to help form positive memories of science, whatever their chosen career.

As I grew more confident, I started to insert more of myself into the stories. One day while celebrating the periodic table’s 150th birthday in a talk for senior school students, I mentioned my partner’s name while pointing to my wedding ring and sharing the cosmic origins of the gold in the band she chose. At the end of the session a student approached me, at first speaking so quietly that I didn’t notice them as I packed up my things. They had joined the first wave of curious students who had asked questions about chemistry and university study options, but now returned to whisper a thank you. As a young queer person considering their next steps in science, the student thanked me not for the chemistry I had shared, but rather for the content that revealed me as the first openly gay adult to enter their classroom during their entire time in school.