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Volume 170, Issue 6

‘Queer in Microbiology’: a Microbiology Society members’ endeavour for creating a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ microbiologists Open Access

This article is part of the Diversity in Microbiology collection

Abstract

The past decade has seen growing awareness of the challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ scientists, including discrimination in the workplace and the lack of representation. Initiatives such as 500 Queer Scientists, Pride in STEM and the Microbiology Society’s LGBTQIA+ events have been instrumental in promoting inclusivity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). The Microbiology Society and its members have played a pivotal role in these efforts and summarized here are their initiatives towards safer and more inclusive scientific and research environments. Starting with a series of interviews and blog posts about the experiences of LGBTQIA+ microbiologists in research, the Society has promoted the organization of networking and social events and developed guidelines for creating more inclusive scientific conferences. These initiatives have not only improved the representation and visibility of LGBTQIA+ individuals in microbiology, but have also served as a blueprint for similar efforts in other scientific areas. Nevertheless, despite improvements in some areas, full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ scientists is still hindered by societal and institutional policies around the world. Here, we propose novel measures to support and empower LGBTQIA+ microbiological communities within learned societies.

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Keyword(s): diversity , inclusion , LGBTQIA and Microbiology Society
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Imperial College London
    • Principle Award Recipient: Goncalves-CarneiroDaniel
  • Office of Naval Research
    • Principle Award Recipient: BrunoFrancesco Rodrigues de Oliveira
© 2024 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2024-06-11
2025-05-16
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/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001468
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‘Queer in Microbiology’: a Microbiology Society members’ endeavour for creating a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ microbiologists
Microbiology 170, 001468 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001468
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001468
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001468
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