Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus (LGBTQ+) students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors are more likely to drop out than their cisgender, heterosexual peers despite having equivalent grades and research exposure. It has been demonstrated that a sense of belonging, a very strong predictor of student retention, is low in LGBTQ+-identified STEM undergraduates. It has further been posited that faculty openness and authenticity can enhance a sense of belonging for LGBTQ+ students through the creation of an inclusive classroom culture. The authors of this article, three LGBTQ+-identified faculty in the health sciences department at Boston University, surveyed students enrolled in their courses to elicit student thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding the effect of faculty 1) sharing their identity openly in the classroom, and 2) actively working to create open, inclusive dialogue and space in their classrooms. Of 86 student participants across multiple classes, the large majority of students, both LGBTQ+-identified and non-LGBTQ+-identified, described feeling safe, included, and welcomed in the classroom. They described engaging more in peer-to-peer education and felt that instructor authenticity created a safe and inclusive classroom. A minority of LGBTQ+-identified students and non-LGBTQ+-identified students reported feeling unsure of voicing their opinions, for the former related to insecurity about being LGBTQ+ and the latter feeling a liberal bias existed in the classroom. Altogether, these results suggest a positive effect on student sense of belonging when faculty authenticity and intentionality create inclusive classroom environments in the health sciences.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Openness and authenticity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus (LGBTQ+)-identified faculty in the health sciences positively affect students by helping them feel seen, welcomed, and included for both students who identify as LGBTQ+ and those who do not. Moreover, faculty openness fostered student action by encouraging them to have peer-to-peer discussions about inclusive language and engage more openly in classroom discussions. Creating academic job security for LGBTQ+-identified faculty to be open can enhance classroom culture, student engagement, and learning.
Keywords: LGBTQ+; STEM; belonging; health sciences; inclusion.