Scale of discrimination against LGBT+ researchers revealed

Three major learned societies have launched a call to action after it emerged that almost a third of LGBT+ physical scientists have considered leaving their jobs because of discrimination.

A survey of 1,025 LGBT+ physical scientists and allies conducted by the Institute of Physics, the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry found 28 per cent had considered leaving their posts at some point due to discrimination. The situation was even worse among trans staff, with nearly half saying they had considered leaving and 20 per cent saying they considered it often.

“While the survey showed people were generally comfortable, there are clearly still some issues with the culture in the workplace with one in four still feeling unable to be themselves at work,” said Helen Pain, deputy chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry.