Role Models and Inspirations of LGBT+ Scientists

Abstract

We surveyed 196 individuals who study or work in STEM regarding the role models and inspirations that had an influence on them pursuing STEM education and careers. The data showed that role models influenced around 30% of the sample. These role models can then be divided into three overarching types, teachers, family, and well-known scientists, each having influenced approximately the same proportion of the respondents. We found that a majority of individuals are inspired by STEM between the ages of 12 and 18 and are inspired through school work, especially in the earlier ages of development of LGBT+ identity. However, the presence of known LGBT+ educators at school age remains low across the age ranges of respondents. We intend our survey to help inform educators’ discussions about role models and support of role models in educational settings and make some suggestions in the context of the literature and the findings of our work.

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