Fixing blind spots in U.S. STEM diversity efforts


Growing evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ people are facing alarming disparities in U.S. STEM fields, which not only raise issues of equity and opportunity but represent a waste of STEM talent that hinders scientific progress. Those multiply marginalized by race, disability, or economic background may face the most challenges. A major barrier to resolving these disparities is the widespread lack of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) demographic data on the STEM workforce that prevents policymakers and researchers from even understanding and addressing the problems at play. Most notably, SOGI data are still not collected on the U.S. government’s national STEM workforce surveys, which are used for policymaking, to officially document underrepresented groups in STEM, and direct federal funding toward fixing disparities. A key example is the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), an annual census of all newly minted PhDs that is required before receiving a U.S. PhD. STEM institutions including universities, funding agencies, scientific societies, and private STEM employers also are in need of SOGI data collection, as they may aim to prevent LGBTQ+ discrimination, resolve educational and career challenges, and retain talent.

Freeman's advocacy work is focused on resolving such blind spots in U.S. STEM diversity efforts. Since 2018, he has been working to have SOGI demographics incorporated into the U.S. government’s national data collection and reporting systems for the STEM workforce that are used to ensure the equity and inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM, all while maintaining appropriate privacy and confidentiality standards. In collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), he has recently begun extending this work to institutions of higher education as well. By catalyzing SOGI data infrastructures at the national level with federal data collection and at U.S. academic institutions, this work seeks to create transformative change through data-driven policies and solutions that can enable the success of all people in STEM.

Publications

Freeman JB (2024). Scientific discrepancies in NCSES’ testing of sexual orientation and gender identity questions for national workforce surveys. OSF .
Freeman JB (2024). US agency obstructs LGBTQ+ equity in science. Science, 384, 169.
Freeman JB (2023). NSF’s Progress With LGBTQ+ Data Opens Doors for More Inclusive STEM Fields. Columbia News.
Freeman JB (2022). To fix LGBTQ+ disparities in science, we need the data. Nature, 612, 191.
Freeman JB (2021). STEM disparities we must measure. Science, 374, 1333-1334.
Freeman JB (2020). Measuring and resolving LGBTQ disparities in STEM. Policy Insights from the Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 7, 141-148.
Freeman JB (2019). How to fight STEM’s unconscious bias against LGBTQ people. Scientific American.
Freeman JB (2018). LGBTQ scientists are still left out. Nature, 559, 27-28.

News

Report Offers Guidance for Educational Institutions on Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data. AAAS, April 12, 2024.
Counted at last: US federal agency to pilot PhD survey with questions on LGBT+ scientists. Nature. May 12, 2023.
‘Great news.’ Survey will test counting LGBTQ Ph.D. recipients. Science. March 24, 2023.
18 U.S. Senators Call on NSF to Collect LGBTQI+ Data in its National Workforce Surveys. U.S. Senate. February 1, 2023. [Read Letter]
Researchers blast US agency’s decision not to collect LGBT+ data. Nature. January 13, 2023.
NSF still won’t track sexual orientation among scientific workforce, prompting frustration. Science. January 13, 2023.
AAAS Awarded Nearly $20M to Establish Three Distinct Initiatives Supporting Representation in STEM Fields. AAAS, November 16, 2022.
LGBTQ researchers say they want to be counted: Scientists call for NSF’s workforce surveys to tally sexual and gender minorities. Science, 370, 1391.
NSF moves to pilot LGBT questions on national workforce surveys. Science. November 7, 2018.

Public Letters

Talks/Panels

Measuring and Resolving LGBTQ+ Disparities in STEM (May 30, 2023). Symposium on Inclusion & Advancement of LGBTQ+ People in STEM, AAAS, Washington DC.