More on outness and feeling safe

Responding to this morning’s new results post—which shows that survey participants who rate their workplaces as safe for LGBTQ folks are more likely to be out to colleagues, David K. Smith (@professor_dave) makes some great points:

'Out' gay scientists view their workplace as 'safer' than those 'in'. Cause & effect would be interesting. http://t.co/2hQbxva6cA @JBYoder

— David K Smith (@professor_dave) September 25, 2013

.@professor_dave Agreed: Feeling it’s okay to be out may be very nearly the same thing as feeling it’s safe. http://t.co/KcEq6oME6C

— Jeremy Yoder (@JBYoder) September 25, 2013

@JBYoder Also coming out can make workplaces safer. While safe workplaces encourage coming out. Virtuous circle.

— David K Smith (@professor_dave) September 25, 2013

@JBYoder At my institution I have several out colleagues, and (maybe as a result?) students seem to feel better able to be out too.

— David K Smith (@professor_dave) September 25, 2013

Published by Jeremy Yoder

Jeremy B. Yoder is a founding collaborator on the Queer in STEM Project. He is an Assistant Professor of Biology at California State University Northridge, studying the evolution and coevolution of interacting species, especially mutualists, and a collaborator with the Joshua Tree Genome Project. He edits the Molecular Ecologist, a blog about the uses of genetic data in ecology and evolutionary biology, and has written for the website of Scientific American, the LA Review of Books, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Awl, and Slate.

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