Question: How do you feel about mental health and LGBTQ+ inclusion in science, and how far does it need improving, is it good but needs improvement, or terrible and needs a lot of work?

Oleg Kozhura answered on 10 Jul 2025: last edited 10 Jul 2025 15:39

That’s a great question. There are many ways in which LGBTQ+ inclusion in STEM should be improved, as LGBTQ+ people are less represented in STEM than expected. By promoting an inclusive environment, celebrating LGBTQ+ scientists, giving LGBTQ+ people voices, standing up for them and not being a passive bystander, among with many-many other ways you can help, we can ensure that the community is inclusive, diverse, safe and welcoming – all of these factors are necessary not only for our wellbeing, but also for productive work – it’s always a pleasure to work when you feel safe and can be yourself! As an LGBTQ+ person myself, I can attest to that! From personal experience, I found the STEM field to be generally accepting and welcoming, but, of course, there are always challenges, and some people might be unkind regardless of how many degrees they hold. The good news is that Universities usually take bullying, harassment and discrimination seriously and there are solid reporting mechanisms. Again, experience may vary, but that’s my opinion & experience!
Regarding mental health, STEM has a long way to go and many improvements must be made. More than a third of PhD students seek help from anxiety and depression caused by their studies. Among common issues are high workloads, poor work-life balance, high stress levels, imposter syndrome, anxiety around career prospects and academic burnout. There are many initiatives aimed at improving it. My colleague and I organised some workshops to help improve the situation, but still it is a long way from perfect.
But the good news is that if you go on an academic path, there are ways that you can prevent some of these issues. In short: try establishing a good work-life balance, rest, eat healthy and exercise regularly. Try finding friends among other students/researchers and talk to them about challenges – not only successes (by talking only about successes, it’s very easy to fall into a toxic positivity trap). Remember your successes – this helps with impostor syndrome. Ignore people who say or post stuff saying “I worked so much on weekends” etc – it promotes poor work-life balance and they might even do it because they suffer from impostor syndrome themselves.