There is a piece of advice for navigating academia from a trans scientist

Transphobia, Sexism, and ableism in the context of research, practice, and research: Towards a better understanding of gender, equity and social justice

I first came out as transgender in applications to graduate programmes back in 2007, when I began my medical transition. But I went back to being closeted about my identity during my PhD in neuroscience. Eight years after coming out publicly during my post-doc training, I felt like I had a good chance of coming out again.

Many others experience similar struggles. Transphobia, sexism, racism, and ableism are usually pre-baked into academic communities. I need to better support myself and others.

I resent that in speaking out about issues of equity and social justice, I have occasionally been characterized as an ‘angry minority’ stereotype — something that often happens to advocates for racial justice, people with disabilities and other people from marginalized communities. This is particularly true for Black women1.

At times I have been angry. During years of hiding, fear, stress, frustration and despair, it is certain that anger will arise because academic spaces are not prepared for people like me to thrive.

Service work towards DEI in academic spaces is mainly led by under-represented or marginalized people. It can pull the focus away from research work if there is a time tax involved in DEI work.

I have spent so much time on this that I’ve fallen behind on publishing my research and applying for grants. As a postdoc, I spent my evenings serving on the board of directors for a transgender advocacy non-profit organization and my weekends volunteering at the local science centre delivering informal science education. I did not tell anyone what I was doing, but I kept my work secret. If it was discovered that I was so active outside the lab, it would affect my commitment to research projects. At that time, I was Developing skills that would shape myacademic career, even though I didn’t realize it. I wasn’t successful enough at securing grants to be a competitive application for tenure-track faculty positions. I was fortunate enough to find a faculty position that valued my volunteer work more than my research history.

In your journey, I encourage you to focus on developing the skills you want to build your career on. It is important to have explicit career-development conversations with your supervisor, and advocate for the career you want to build. If you want to teach, advocate for yourself to get teaching experience. If you want to be a community leader and organizer, take steps to do it — on or off campus. Build your CV to fit your goals, and take credit for everything you do. It can be easy to lose your personal development in the service of others, and it’s important to remember to take care of your own needs first.

Reporting Harassment in an Academia Environment: What Can You Expect to Learn from your Experience in Adolescents

In my opinion, many organizations implement DEI initiatives to boost their reputations and to protect themselves from litigation. In my experience in academia, when I was subject to and reported harassment, I was referred back and forth between different campus offices. I was forced to tell the same traumatic story over and over again. It was triggering and exhausting. Each office responded that they were sorry to hear about my experience, but that there wasn’t anything they could do to help me. It wasn’t until I reached out to my physician to submit paperwork attesting to the impact that the incidents had on my mental health and well-being that action was taken to protect me from further mistreatment.

The amount of work that has been put in to make an inclusive environment happen is more than the rewards for it. Someone once said that no one would pay for your pronouns. Despite this, I still think it is worth advocating for equity and inclusion. If you want to work on DEI efforts, make sure that your job description includes DEI specific responsibilities and expectations. Faculty positions can be built on research, teaching and service work. The last one is often undervalued compared with research and teaching. Many academic environments don’t usually recognize DEI efforts as valuable, or include this type of service work during promotion consideration.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00923-3

Leaving a Paper Trail to Address Discrimination, Harassment, and Abuse in an Academia Environment (Extended Abstract)

When issues of bias, harassment, and abuse occur, you should leave a paper trail. This can take the form of sending an e-mail to a supportive and trusted colleague when an incident occurs, or using campus bias reporting tools and services if available. You do not have to follow through with official reports. There is a risk that the wrong people will see your documentation if they retaliate for reporting incidents. I have seen responses to incidents of harassment that prioritized the reputation of an institution over that of a person who was harmed. Documentation is needed to show the history of events if there is a formal complaint. Protect yourself.

Be proud of your allyship and advocacy. It feels scary to speak up against injustice and harassment, but it is worth the risk. It can be difficult to help a senior faculty member improve their behavior when you know they have the power to affect your career. It can be difficult to address a problematic comment or action immediately if you are feeling emotionally activated by what was said. If you’re uncomfortable addressing the issue in the moment, wait until after the meeting — or when you feel grounded enough to discuss it. If you don’t want to have the difficult conversation verbally, addressing the issue through e-mail is completely acceptable. It can be easier to feel safe. Referencing the vision and values statements, the policies and DEI statements can support your case on how a comment violated the organizations stance on various issues. If your institution insists it wants to make an inclusive environment for all, you can quote this statement in your message to show how their comments do not jive with institutional policy.

1. Challenge your beliefs and the universality of your personal experience. Do you think that sacrificing your physical and mental well-being is the only way to ‘make it’ in academia? Do you think that kids are asking too much? Do you think it’s too difficult to change the system? The person that survived in the system has survivorship bias. Look at your peers and ask yourself, what have you been selected for? Which are hazardous to your health and well-being? Which could affect the success andsustainability of your institution? Reflect on how you might be a proponent for changing the toxic patterns that prevent a more harmonious and sustainable environment from developing.

2. If someone feels comfortable sharing their experience with you, embrace it as a gift. Don’t dismiss it outright. Don’t compare or diminish their experience by telling them about how much harder you or others have it. I informally mentor a lot of people who are very different from me. It is important to remember that the experience of another transgender person is probably very different than mine, even though we share the same trans identity. For example, I do not know what it is like to be a person of colour, especially a trans person of colour. It is important that I listen and affirm their experience before I start thinking about a solution. I do my best to ask a lot of questions to clarify, then I share my advice from a place of humility.

3. It’s OK to be vulnerable and to admit when you’re wrong. My understanding of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion changes a lot when I get experience and learn new things. To curate better workplace environments, we must be open to having a learning and personal growth mindset that allows others to learn and grow as well. You must be open to data and information that force you to reject your working hypothesis and revise your working theories. This is crucial to being a good scientist and an advocate.

To be sure, worthwhile questions about how best to address gender diversity, adolescent mental health and teens’ expectations about gender remain. But answers to them will not be found in legislation that will harm — not protect — children, families and their health care providers. We must ask ourselves why politicians and legislators make medical decisions when a doctor would do it.