Fixing blind spots in U.S. STEM diversity efforts
Growing evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ people are facing alarming disparities in U.S. STEM fields, which not only raise issues of equity and opportunity but represent a waste of STEM talent that hinders scientific progress. Those multiply marginalized by race, disability, or economic background may face the most challenges. A major barrier to resolving these disparities is the widespread lack of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) demographic data on the STEM workforce that prevents policymakers and researchers from even understanding and addressing the problems at play. Most notably, SOGI data are still not collected on the U.S. government’s national STEM workforce surveys, which are used for policymaking, to officially document underrepresented groups in STEM, and direct federal funding toward fixing disparities. A key example is the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), an annual census of all newly minted PhDs that is required before receiving a U.S. PhD. STEM institutions including universities, funding agencies, scientific societies, and private STEM employers also are in need of SOGI data collection, as they may aim to prevent LGBTQ+ discrimination, resolve educational and career challenges, and retain talent.
Freeman's advocacy work is focused on resolving such blind spots in U.S. STEM diversity efforts. Since 2018, he has been working to have SOGI demographics incorporated into the U.S. government’s national data collection and reporting systems for the STEM workforce that are used to ensure the equity and inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM, all while maintaining appropriate privacy and confidentiality standards. In collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), he has recently begun extending this work to institutions of higher education as well. By catalyzing SOGI data infrastructures at the national level with federal data collection and at U.S. academic institutions, this work seeks to create transformative change through data-driven policies and solutions that can enable the success of all people in STEM.
Publications
Freeman JB (2024). Scientific discrepancies in NCSES’ testing of sexual orientation and gender identity questions for national workforce surveys. OSF .
Freeman JB (2024). US agency obstructs LGBTQ+ equity in science. Science, 384, 169.
Freeman JB (2023). NSF’s Progress With LGBTQ+ Data Opens Doors for More Inclusive STEM Fields. Columbia News.
Freeman JB (2022). To fix LGBTQ+ disparities in science, we need the data. Nature, 612, 191.
Freeman JB (2021). STEM disparities we must measure. Science, 374, 1333-1334.
Freeman JB (2020). Measuring and resolving LGBTQ disparities in STEM. Policy Insights from the Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 7, 141-148.
Freeman JB (2019). How to fight STEM’s unconscious bias against LGBTQ people. Scientific American.
Freeman JB (2018). LGBTQ scientists are still left out. Nature, 559, 27-28.
News
Report Offers Guidance for Educational Institutions on Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data. AAAS, April 12, 2024.
Counted at last: US federal agency to pilot PhD survey with questions on LGBT+ scientists. Nature. May 12, 2023.
‘Great news.’ Survey will test counting LGBTQ Ph.D. recipients. Science. March 24, 2023.
18 U.S. Senators Call on NSF to Collect LGBTQI+ Data in its National Workforce Surveys. U.S. Senate. February 1, 2023. [Read Letter]
Researchers blast US agency’s decision not to collect LGBT+ data. Nature. January 13, 2023.
NSF still won’t track sexual orientation among scientific workforce, prompting frustration. Science. January 13, 2023.
AAAS Awarded Nearly $20M to Establish Three Distinct Initiatives Supporting Representation in STEM Fields. AAAS, November 16, 2022.
LGBTQ researchers say they want to be counted: Scientists call for NSF’s workforce surveys to tally sexual and gender minorities. Science, 370, 1391.
NSF moves to pilot LGBT questions on national workforce surveys. Science. November 7, 2018.
Public Letters
Freeman JB (December 20, 2023). Letter to OMB requesting a public comment period for the 2025 Survey of Earned Doctorates due to NSF’s anticipated revisions related to sexual orientation and gender identity questions.
Freeman JB (December 6, 2023). Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the release of NSF’s quality assessment data on questions of sexual orientation, gender identity, and other comparable demographic items from its pilot testing in 2021-2022.
Freeman JB & York TT (August 29, 2023). Letter to NSF requesting public release of key information related to NSF’s efforts to add sexual orientation and gender identity questions to its national surveys of the scientific workforce.
Freeman JB (July 10, 2023). Methodological comments submitted to OMB and NSF on the proposed 2023 Survey of Doctorate Recipients’ experiment plan for sexual orientation and gender identity questions: Part II.
Freeman JB (June 26, 2023). Methodological comments submitted to OMB and NSF on the proposed 2023 Survey of Doctorate Recipients’ experiment plan for sexual orientation and gender identity questions: Part I.
Freeman JB (March 23, 2023). Methodological comments submitted to OMB and NSF on the proposed 2024 Survey of Earned Doctorates’ experiment plan for sexual orientation and gender identity questions.
Freeman JB (March 3, 2023). Letter to NSF leadership, the White House Scientific Integrity Task Force, and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Dianne Feinstein on improving the transparency, efficiency, and scientific rigor of NSF’s efforts to collect LGBTQ+ data.
Freeman JB (January 13, 2023). Letter to NSF leadership on behalf of 1,700 scientists calling for the collection of LGBTQ+ data in NSF’s national workforce surveys to ensure the equity of LGBTQ+ scientists. Co-signed by 1,700 scientists.
Freeman JB, Levine FJ, Parikh SS, Schroeder, PB, Baron, J, & Naus, WA (October 3, 2022). Letter to the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy requesting NSF to measure, track, and report sexual orientation and gender identity data by 2023 and develop an infrastructure for addressing LGBTQI+ disparities in STEM starting 2024. Co-signed by AAAS, AERA, COPAFS, FABBS, and COSSA.
Freeman JB (June 13, 2022). Letter on behalf of 90 scientific organizations to Chairwoman Maloney of the House Oversight Committee and Congressman Grijalva in support of the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act. Co-signed by 90 scientific organizations.
Freeman JB, Levine FJ, & Parikh SS (March 4, 2021). Public letter #5 to OMB and NSF requesting the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on NSF’s national surveys of the scientific workforce. Co-signed by AAAS and AERA.
Freeman JB, Levine FJ, Parikh SS, & Durso L (October 25, 2020). Public letter #4 to OMB and NSF requesting the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on NSF’s national surveys of the scientific workforce. Co-signed by AAAS and AERA.
Freeman JB, Levine FJ, Parikh SS, & Durso L (June 29, 2020). Public letter #3 to NSF requesting the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on NSF’s national surveys of the scientific workforce. Co-signed by AAAS and AERA.
Freeman JB, Romero AP, & Durso L (October 8, 2018). Public letter #2 to NSF requesting the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on NSF’s national surveys of the scientific workforce. Co-signed by 17 scientific organizations.
Freeman JB, Romero AP, & Durso L (August 13, 2018). Public letter #1 to NSF requesting the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on NSF’s national surveys of the scientific workforce. Co-signed by 17 scientific organizations.
Talks/Panels
Measuring and Resolving LGBTQ+ Disparities in STEM (May 30, 2023). Symposium on Inclusion & Advancement of LGBTQ+ People in STEM, AAAS, Washington DC.
The Need for LGBTQ+ Data in the Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science & Engineering (WMPD) Report to Congress (May 12, 2021). FABBS Symposium on WMPD Report to Congress.