Queer Pioneers of Gender Equity in STEM
- Ciara Lee
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Over the summer, numerous pride events took place across the world, making it the perfect time to highlight some achievements of the queer scientists who have fought for equity in science.
A report published by the Institute of Physics, Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry in 2019 revealed some disheartening statistics about discrimination physical scientists face in the workplace. Nearly half of participants who identified as trans said they had considered leaving their workplace, compared to 28% of those with other queer labels. Queer respondents experienced more exclusionary behaviour (18%) than non-LGBTQ+ respondents (10%). Transgender and non-binary participants reported experiencing the highest levels of exclusionary behaviour. It is also important to recognise that STEM subjects form a global scientific community. The inclusion of queer individuals varies greatly between countries and cultures. In addition, queer people of colour and disabled queer people experience even more barriers than their white or non-disabled colleagues.
In this article, we will explore the work of three key scientific figures and their dedication to advocating for gender equity in biomedical sciences and medicine from the 19th century to today.
Sophia Jex-Blake, MD (1840-1912)
Sophia Jex-Blake was the first female practicing doctor in Scotland. She was the leader of the Edinburgh Seven, the first group of women to be officially enrolled as undergraduates at a British university. They began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. However, the Court of Session ruled that the group should never have been admitted and, therefore, did not graduate or qualify as doctors. The Edinburgh Seven campaigned arduously for years to gain national attention, which resulted in the Medical Act 1876 being passed, despite Queen Victoria’s personal objection to women training in medicine. This significant act allowed British medical authorities to license all qualified applicants, regardless of their gender.
Jex-Blake was believed to be in a romantic relationship with Dr. Margaret Todd, fellow medical doctor and writer. Todd was listed as a co-occupier of their home in East Sussex in the 1911 census, completed the year before Jex-Blake died. Jex-Blake’s will also contained details which implied their relationship. Todd was one of two executors of Jex-Blake’s will as well as one of two administrators of her scholarship fund. Jex-Blake also stipulated that if Todd did not survive her, she wanted all books and papers to “be burnt without examination in the presence of my executor or witness” (The National Archives, 2024).
After Jex-Blake’s death, Todd wrote The Life of Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake, before burning all their papers. This contained many details of Jex-Blake’s previous relationships, most notably an intense affair with Octavia Hill, yet Todd wrote nothing about herself, despite being such an important figure in Jex-Blake’s life (Howarth, 2025).
Ben Barres, PhD (1954-2017)
Ben Barres was a transgender neurobiologist, whose research focused on glial cells and neurodegeneration. He initially trained as a doctor, but resigned during his neurology residency at Weill Cornell Medicine to begin a PhD in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. He joined the faculty of Neurobiology at the Stanford School of Medicine in 1993, where he would spend the rest of his career.
In 1997, seven years after completing his PhD, Ben transitioned to male. He used his unique perspective as someone who had been both a male and female scientist to advocate for equal opportunities in science. In 2006, he published Does Gender Matter? in Nature (Barres, 2006). In this article, Barres debunks the myth that women are innately unable to advance in science, even citing his own personal experience.
"By far, the main difference that I have noticed is that people who don’t know I am transgendered* treat me with much more respect: I can even complete a whole sentence without being interrupted by a man"
*Whilst more widely used at the time, the term ‘transgendered’ is no longer preferred by the transgender community.
Later, in 2018, his autobiography titled The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist was published posthumously. He completed it shortly before passing away from pancreatic cancer in 2017. The book touches on a wide variety of topics, including his early interests in science, his experiences of sexism as a female scientist, and his scientific discoveries.
Barres was credited with identifying crucial roles of glial cells, specifically in brain development and disease (Goldman, 2017). He shifted the narrative surrounding the roles of glial cells from just providing stability and nutrients to playing crucial roles in sustaining synapses (Eroglu and Barres, 2010).
Izzy Jayasinghe, PhD
Izzy Jayasinghe is currently the Department Head of Molecular Medicine at the University of New South Wales. Her recent research focuses on increasing the availability of super-resolution techniques (Williams, 2021).
Born in Sri Lanka, Jayasinghe moved to New Zealand with her family before her transition. Here, she discovered her passion for science during her formative years. Jayasinghe received both a BSc in Biomedical Sciences (2006) and a PhD in Biophysics (2011) from the University of Auckland. She later moved to the UK where she became a lecturer at the University of Leeds. Jayasinghe has been no stranger to experiencing transphobia and homophobia, forcing her to remain ‘in the closet’ for much of her career. However, she found the University of Leeds a much more inclusive space to be who she really was. She discussed this in an interview with LGBTQ+ STEM.
"Going through a gender transition in a large workplace, apparently as the first employee in my faculty to embark on such a process, brought about a wave of reactions. By a long way, the reaction was positive and supportive"
As part of her continuous commitment to advocating for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in and outside of STEM, Jayasinghe has advised a variety of funding agencies on EDI and Governance, as well as the UK parliamentary select committee on Science and Technology. Jayasinghe collaborated with colleagues to write Dismantling barriers faced by women in STEM, which was published in Nature in 2022 (Jebsen et al., 2022). This article called for the restructuring of funding processes to eliminate biases against women, particularly women of colour.
The Future of Gender Equity in Neuroscience
In 2021, the International Consortium for Equity in Neuroscience was created at a Schizophrenia International Research Society conference (Hamada et al., 2025). The organisation aims to advance equity in neuroscience across the globe by tackling barriers and bridging across cultures. Their research into female representation revealed that women are overrepresented in early career stages, yet underrepresented at senior career stages (Kenny et al., 2022).
Equity in neuroscience extends beyond gender. A 2025 article calling for transparency in academic neuroscience recognised the importance of examining intersectionality as well as other aspects of diversity, including but “not just biological sex but also gender identities, sexual orientation, ethnic background, socio-economic circumstances, and migration status” (Hamada et al., 2025). While this is most likely not an exhaustive list, I do feel that it is important to examine equity in terms of disability and neurodivergence in neuroscience as part of the ongoing advancement of equity in neuroscience.
Further Reading and Support
Pride in STEM - a UK-based charity championing queer people in STEM through community-based projects and national policy
Out in STEM - an international non-profit organisation based in the US, empowering queer people to succeed in STEM
Queers in Science - an initiative creating community and support for queer people in STEMM in Australia
500 Queer Scientists - a global visibility campaign providing queer role models for the next generation of people in STEM
LGBT Foundation - a UK-based charity empowering queer people
MindOut - mental health support for queer people in Sussex and the UK
Mosaic Trust - a UK-based charity offering support to young queer people
Stonewall - a UK-based organisation fighting for the equality and inclusion of queer people
References
Barres, B.A. (2006). Does gender matter? Nature, [online] 442(7099), pp.133–136. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/442133a.
Bond, A. (2018). An interview with Izzy Jayasinghe. [online] LGBTQ+ STEM. Available at: https://lgbtqstem.com/2018/06/15/an-interview-with-izzy-jayasinghe/ [Accessed 15 Jun. 2025].
Dyer, J., Townsend, A., Kanani, S., Matthews, P. and Palermo, A. (2019). Exploring the workplace for LGBT+ physical scientists. [online] Royal Society of Chemistry, pp.5–6. Available at: https://www.rsc.org/globalassets/04-campaigning-outreach/campaigning/lgbt-report/lgbt-report_web.pdf [Accessed 16 Jun. 2025].
Eroglu, C. and Barres, B.A. (2010). Regulation of synaptic connectivity by glia. Nature, [online] 468(7321), pp.223–231. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09612.
Goldman, B. (2017). Neuroscientist Ben Barres, who identified crucial role of glial cells, dies at 63. [online] Stanford Medicine News Center. Available at: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/12/neuroscientist-ben-barres-dies-at-63.html [Accessed 19 Jul. 2025].
Hamada, K., Kenney, J.P.M., Luckhoff, H.K., Seif, P., Alnor, M.A., Ben-Azu, B., Diaz-Cutraro, L., Elliott, M.A., Folarin, R., Hutch, A., Prokopez, C.R., Surajudeen, B., Di Lanzo, S., Walsh, L., Watts, T., Sun, N.Y., Levin, P., Sood, S., Ochoa, S. and Keshavan, M. (2025). A call for transparency in academic neuroscience. Schizophrenia Research, [online] 280, pp.117–121. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2025.04.015.
Howarth, R. (2025). Untold LGBTQ+ Histories in Medicine and Dr Sophia Jex-Blake. [online] Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Available at: https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/heritage-blog/untold-lgbtq-histories-medicine-and-dr-sophia-jex-blake [Accessed 21 Jul. 2025].
Jebsen, J.M., Nicoll Baines, K., Oliver, R.A. and Jayasinghe, I. (2022). Dismantling barriers faced by women in STEM. Nature Chemistry, [online] 14, pp.1203–1206. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-022-01072-2.
Kenney, J., Ochoa, S., Alnor, M.A., Ben-Azu, B., Diaz-Cutraro, L., Folarin, R., Hutch, A., Luckhoff, H.K., Prokopez, C.R., Rychagov, N., Surajudeen, B., Walsh, L., Watts, T. and del Re, E.C. (2022). A Snapshot of Female Representation in Twelve Academic Psychiatry Institutions Around the World. Psychiatry Research, [online] 308, p.114358. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114358.
The National Archives (2024). Sophia Jex-Blake, pioneer of women’s medicine. [online] The National Archives. Available at: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/stories/sophia-jex-blake/#return-to-sussex-and-life-with-margaret [Accessed 19 Jul. 2025].
Williams, S. (2021). Izzy Jayasinghe Harnesses Cutting-Edge Microscopy to Image Cells. [online] The Scientist. Available at: https://www.the-scientist.com/izzy-jayasinghe-harnesses-cutting-edge-microscopy-to-image-cells-68854 [Accessed 21 Jul. 2025].
This article was written by Ciara Lee and edited by Lauren Wallis, with graphics produced by Suzana Sultan. If you enjoyed this article, be the first to be notified about new posts by signing up to become a WiNUK member (top right of this page)! Interested in writing for WiNUK yourself? Contact us through the blog page and the editors will be in touch.