Gay men 'less likely' to have degree in science, tech, engineering or maths

[andy]

Sexual orientation gap for men larger than gap between white and black men, study shows.


Gay men are 12% less likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree in Stem than men in heterosexual relationships, data shows.

From The Guardian...

Men in same-sex relationships are significantly less likely to have a degree in a Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subject than their heterosexual male peers, according to research.

Until now, studies have focused largely on the gender gap in Stem, where women are still hugely underrepresented in higher education and make up less than a quarter of the Stem workforce in the UK.

A study by researchers at the University of Exeter and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, has identified a new Stem gap based on sexual orientation, having discovered that gay men are 12% less likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree in Stem than men in heterosexual relationships.

The study found that the Stem sexual orientation gap for men was larger than the gap between white and black men (4%), but smaller than the gender gap, which is 21%. There was no parallel gap between women in same-sex couples and those in heterosexual relationships.

The study also found that gay male representation in Stem was “systematically and positively associated with female representation” in the same fields.

The study’s authors say they hope their research will help to “start to address the dire need for statistics on sexual and gender minorities in Stem”.

The study says that despite legislative and institutional progress for LGBTQ people, the workplace for LGBTQ scientists is “still far from welcoming”, but it is not just about achieving equity.

“Addressing these gaps could increase efficiency by improving group decision-making, company performance and the quality of scientific work.” said Dr Dario Sansone, a co-author and lecturer in economics at the University of Exeter’s Business School.

The peer-reviewed study, entitled Turing’s Children: representation of sexual minorities in Stem, is published in the Plos One journal. Its findings are based on American Community Surveys for 2009-18, involving more than 140,000 men and women in same-sex relationships and almost 11 million men and women in different-sex couples.

Sansone said: “These patterns are highly suggestive that the mechanisms underlying the very large gender gap in Stem fields such as heteropatriarchy, implicit and explicit bias, sexual harassment, unequal access to funding and fewer speaking invitations are related to the factors driving the gap in Stem fields between gay men and heterosexual men.”

[LONDONER]

A quick search on the Internet brings up quite a few gay mathematicians:

Austria

• Georg Joachim Rheticus
  
• Ludwig Wittgenstein
  

Canada

• James D. Stewart
  

France

• Simone de Beauvoir
  
• David Crombecque
  

Germany

• Eva Kreienkamp
  

Great Britain

• John Maynard Keynes
  
• Florence Nightingale
  
• Alan Turing
  

Greece

• Plato
  

India

• Shakuntala Devi
  
• Manil Suri
  

Italy

• Leonardo Da Vinci
  

Russia

• Pavel Alexandrov
  

United States

• Jack Andraka
  
• Andrew Bernoff
  
• Jabari Brisport
  
• Ron Buckmire
  
• John Burnside
  
• Christopher Goff
  
• Mike Hill
  
• Douglas Lind
  
• DeRay Mckesson
  
• Emily Riehl
  
• EJ Zita
  

[InbetweenDreams]

I guess that does make sense and likewise that doesn't mean you won't find gay guys who are in STEM fields... I mean there is that stereotype about being an interior decorator.

[Chase]

Engineering was the most soul sucking, existentially draining, hellish path I ever took and I give thanks to God everyday that I left that career path.

[Bhp91126]

I sucked at chemistry and physics in high school (because I was too lazy to study) and was only ok in math, so nothing in stem appealed to me. I liked spending other people’s money a lot better (used to be in procurement)

[andy]

Guess we break the mould both working in tech!

[Insertnamehere]

Well this is funny, about half of us in my previous lab were LGBTQ+ (mostly, but not only, gay men), back in sudaca lands. Of course, we were around 16 people, so...small sample size .

The Science Faculty and all its institutes (Chem, Bio, Physics) in my uni, however, were always notorious for having many many LGBTQ+ students (especially biochem and physics), not quite sure if this is a widespread thing in the country. Engineering, definitely not.    

I have seen, as is usual (everywhere, I guess?) a straight male dominated environment in place, although this is a tendency of engineering and tech more than natural or social science (at least now, obviously science was also very straight male dominated).

I was probably lucky. At least there were many of us studying for a science degree in my uni and the rest were very friendly (I wasn't out to them, but they were friendly to those who were open about it and/or did not give a f*uck). Also, in my last work place, like I said, it was 50/50 and the other 50 was also very friendly with us (I was out then) and/or at the very least didn't seemed bothered by it. 

I do have to wonder how is it like everywhere else, it might change quite a bit and probably there is still that perception (justified in many cases) that STEM fields are straight male dominated and hostile to LGBTQ+ people and that is why I am part of what is, apparently, a minority of us with STEM degrees.

[BlueStar]

I used to study Science and Technology back in both high school and college, promptly being among the most successful students. Maths have always been my strongest asset too. Had life been made differently, I would have earned both degrees by now. Nonetheless, today I enjoy using mathematic methods for DJing and analyzing music composition.