Bold, brilliant, and deeply resilient: 2SLGBTQIA+ people shaping the landscape of STEM in Canada
Back to Posts
Bold, brilliant, and deeply resilient: 2SLGBTQIA+ people shaping the landscape of STEM in Canada
Pride Month is here, and at SCWIST, we’re coming out to honour the bold, brilliant, and deeply resilient 2SLGBTQIA+ people shaping the landscape of STEM in Canada.
We’re talking about folks whose work in labs, classrooms, communities, and on the land isn’t just innovative, it’s transformative. People who are shifting not just what we know, but how we know. Who belongs. What we value. And what pathways lie before us.
Take Dr. Constance Crompton, whose digital humanities work ensures queer and trans histories don’t get erased, but amplified and archived with the respect they deserve. Or Dr. James Makokis, a Two-Spirit Cree physician whose work bridges Indigenous medicine and Western healthcare, while fiercely advocating for transgender health and Indigenous sovereignty in medicine.
Dr. Constance Crompton, Dr. James Makokis, and Dr. Margaret Robinson
And we’re proud to highlight Dr. Margaret Robinson, a Two-Spirit Mi’kmaq scholar whose research weaves together Indigenous identity, mental health, and sexuality. Her work holds complexity with care and reminds us that justice in STEM isn’t about adding people into broken systems, but about transforming those systems altogether.
Of course, none of this brilliance exists in a vacuum. Queer and trans people in STEM still face exclusion, underrepresentation, and systemic barriers – especially those who are also Indigenous, Black, racialized, disabled or newcomers. And yet, the creativity, resistance, and joy 2SLGBTQIA+ folks bring into these spaces? It’s undeniable.
Throughout June, we’ll be sharing stories and voices from across the 2SLGBTQIA+ STEM community – people pushing boundaries, breaking silences, and making room for all of us to imagine something more just, more liberatory, more alive.
Who inspires you in queer STEM? Let us know!