Sub-Group Name
IAU Sub-Working Group for LGBTQI+ Communities in Astronomy
Coordinator: Jake Noel-Storr
Sub-Group Description
The purpose of this sub-working-group is to ensure the representation of the members of those communities, including those who feel free and able to share their status and those who do not.
There is a great deal of intersectionality between these communities, and the ways that they support each other, so grouping into one sub-working-group appears appropriate.
Members of these communities can experience intolerance and harassment both within the astronomical community, and within the academic and national communities in which they live.
It is of note that some member nations of the International Astronomical Union have various degrees of legislation in place which fail to protect or actively incriminates, members of these communities.
This sub-working-group will work to
i) make recommendations where IAU policy could or should be improved for the inclusiveness of these communities;
ii) ensure the positive contributions of members of these communities (who are willing and safe to be identified as such) to astronomy are highlighted;
iii) ensure that membership of the International Astronomical Union, and participation in astronomy as a profession or hobby, is considered a safe space by members of these communities;
iv) where possible, find ways to raise awareness to the above issues in astronomy.