At the end of last year, the PRBB’s LGTBIQA + group was launched, with the aim of making the PRBB a more inclusive center and to network, debate and organize activities relevant to its members. The group is aimed at LGTBIQ + people (lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, intersex, queer, asexual, and other people with diverse emotional, sexual, and / or gender backgrounds, such as pansexual, non-binary, and people of fluid gender) and allies. This group is in close contact with the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Commission of the PRBB. It also collaborates with PRISMA, the Spanish Association for Affective, Sexual and Gender Diversity in Science, Technology and Innovation on topics of common interest.
The group consists of about 20 people from all centers, and aims to network, discuss and organize activities relevant to its members.
The group is currently made up of about twenty people from all PRBB centers (CRG, UPF, EMBL, ISGlobal, IMIM and IBE), Hospital del Mar and the Institute of Marine Sciences. Among other things, it plans to organize activities in the framework of the International Day of LGTBIQA + Pride, which is celebrated on June 28, and the Day of LGBTIQA + People in Science (also known as LGBTQ + STEM DAY) , which takes place on November 18. One of these activities will be the organization of a Wikimarathon of profiles of LGTBIQA + people in science – similar to the one that has been organised for the last five years by the PRBB to make women scientists more visible. LGTBIQA + and / or scientific film forums (from both points of view), networking and scientific dissemination events, as well as collaboration with other relevant groups or entities, have also been proposed.
“We launched this group to make the PRBB a reference space in more inclusive science. Previous studies have shown that those spaces that are most inclusive with minorities, such as the LGTBIQA + community, in addition to having a much better environment, do science better”, explains Simon Perera, predoctoral researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE): CSIC-UPF) and member of this group.
“The PRBB is implementing the 10 PRISMA measures for more inclusive research centers, such as the creation of the LGTBIQA+@PRBB group”
Raül Toran (ISGLobal), group coordinator
“The PRBB is implementing the 10 PRISMA measures to have more inclusive research centers and the creation of the PRTB’s LGTBIQA+group is in line with this,” said Raül Toran, head of science dissemination at the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) and the group coordinator.
“The existence of this group is necessary to make the LGTBIQA + community visible, not only within the PRBB, but also in science in general. It is important to break certain stereotypes, generate diversity and create spaces for collective work and support for this community”, comments Marta Román, assistant of the Epidemiology Service at Hospital del Mar and researcher at IMIM.
If you are interested in joining, please contact Raül Toran of ISGlobal (raul.toran@isglobal.org).
Article written by Simon Perera (he/him), a PhD student at the IBE and Secretary General of PRISMA and Raül Toran (he/him), head of science dissemination at ISGlobal, coordinator of the LGTBIQA+@PRBB group and member of the PRISMA board of directors.
