Identifying Structural Barriers to the Inclusion of Transgender and Nonbinary Physicists

Transgender and gender-nonbinary (T/GNB) people are often excluded from research studies investigating how gender shapes educational experiences in STEM. Nearly all of these studies focus exclusively on cisgender populations. T/GNB students encounter significant discrimination within physics courses and departments, often resulting in their departure from physics and, in some cases, from STEM fields altogether. To combat the negative climate towards T/GNB populations and assist efforts toward inclusion, this poster presents the preliminary findings of the first systematic documentation of T/GNB physicist experiences. This analysis identifies harmful department structures and cultural norms that affect both belonging and retention of T/GNB students. These findings will inform the next national LGBT+ Climate in Physics Report, scheduled to begin this fall.

This work is funded in part by the CAS Graduate Research Assistantship at Western Michigan University.