Queer individuals’ experiences in STEM learning and working environments

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research has shown how several groups of people such as women and certain racial groups have been consistently underrepresented and discriminated in STEM. However, little is known about the LGBTQIA+ community (queer from now on) in STEM. Hence, our aim in this study was to synthesise the existing knowledge base of the experiences of queer individuals in STEM learning and working environments through a systematic literature review. Twenty-four empirical studies were identified using different searching methods and analysed using deductive and inductive approaches. The review was guided by the following questions: (a) how do queer individuals perceive the culture of STEM learning and working environments? (b) what is the nature of the experiences of queer individuals in STEM? and (c) what coping mechanism do queer individuals in STEM enact? The findings showcase an unwelcoming, hostile STEM culture, embedded in social norms that reinforced cisheteronormativity. Queer individuals experienced different types of exclusionary behaviours such as harassment, social, and professional exclusion. This study contributes to the research field of equity in STEM by offering insights on how queer individuals are subjected to oppression and marginalisation in STEM fields and provides a set of recommendations for theory, research, and practice.