In Spring of 2025, just as I was preparing to release the Queer Climate Justice StoryMap I had been building for two years, I received a difficult email from my lead community collaborator, an LGBTQ+ foundation, describing the devastating legal and financial situation the newly inaugurated Trump administration had put them in. We decided to set the project to private to protect the queer and trans ...[Read More]
The journey to a Ph.D. is never smooth sailing, plenty who have dared to tackle it will agree. But what if this strenuous, maybe even torturous, endeavor is the easiest part of your life? Welcome to my journey, which I am calling “Transitioning during your PhD”. Let’s start with a quick backstory. My doctoral journey started in 2024 and I was early in my transition. I came out to my friends and fa ...[Read More]
I thought a lot about how to write this piece because it is not easy to think of myself as an ally to my queer friends. This is only because it is, to me, completely unfathomable that we, in this century, in 2026, still need to be allies. Honestly, there is convenience in moving on with our lives, turning a blind eye to injustice, and even questioning the mere existence of campaigns like the pride ...[Read More]
Pride month arrives this year against a backdrop of institutional irony. In the United States, federal research funding has been thoroughly weaponised and forced a massive scientific brain drain across the Atlantic. In Europe, a multi-million-euro effort to capture that exiled talent is underway, even as Europe’s own domestic politics fracture along the exact same ideological fault lines. Fo ...[Read More]
During November, several important dates are recognised, including the International LGBTQIA+ in STEM Day on November 18. This month is also designated as Transgender Awareness Month, culminating in the recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance yesterday, November 20. In celebration of our LGBTQIA+ community, this blog highlights some of the activities we undertook throughout the last year. Be ...[Read More]
Saturday, October 11, 2025, marked World Coming Out Day. In this blog post, my colleague, Simon Clark, and I want to take a moment to share our experiences with you. We believe in the power of relatability and how it can help others feel less alienated in their own experiences. So keep reading, because today, we’re letting you in. Asmae speaking here: Coming out has always been a complicated ...[Read More]
Imagine this: you are at work, casually discussing your weekend plans with colleagues. One is planning a hike with her husband. Another jokes about meeting his girlfriend’s parents for dinner, nerves barely concealed. Then you mention a date night with your partner. The conversation halts. The atmosphere becomes taut. One of your colleagues makes a swift exit. Later that day, your boss calls you i ...[Read More]
The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) is dedicated to promoting a vision of equality, diversity, and inclusion through an integrated, coordinated, and constructive approach. Their mission includes raising awareness of EDI values within the scientific community, organizing sessions and meetings focused on EDI issues, representing EGU in relev ...[Read More]
It is hardly a surprise that members of the geoscience community who identify as LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and others who fall under the umbrella but do not identify with these categories) are likely to face more obstacles in their career compared to their cisgender and heterosexual colleagues. This is true for people at all career levels, ...[Read More]
Working from home during the pandemic has allowed many of us to look back on past experiences and to long for the days when our work in marine science took us to amazing places all around the world. Pride month is another great opportunity for reflection and to consider how things have changed for us as LGBTQI+ individuals and the community within STEM, including, on the International Day of the S ...[Read More]