It’s a great time to love both queer families and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Not one but two queer scientists (both parents) won Nobel Prizes this year—and there has also been a recent surge in LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books with STEM themes, which could help future Nobel laureates envision their dreams.
I’m still excited over this week’s two—TWO!—Nobel laureates (Carolyn Bertozzi and Svante Pääbo) who are also queer parents. Why does this matter?
That’s right. This year has seen not one, but two queer parents winning Nobel Prizes! Svante Pääbo is this year’s Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution. He’s also a bisexual dad.
Another entry for the “queer parents can do anything” files: Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, a professor at Stanford University, has won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the 59th woman to win the prize (versus more than 800 men). She’s also a lesbian mom.
Author Jaqueline Woodson yesterday was named one of the winners of this year’s MacArthur “genius grants”—one of at least three queer moms ever to win the accolade.
The U.S. Supreme Court surprised many today with a landmark 6-3 ruling, written by Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, stating that people cannot be fired from their jobs because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet last Friday, the Trump administration finalized a rule that says health care anti-discrimination protections don’t cover discrimination based on LGBTQ identities.
People and families come in many forms, as any LGBTQ person can attest. Now, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is using that concept to improve upon its already LGBTQ-inclusive employee benefits. The FORTUNE 100 company, which has approximately 7,500 employees around the country, is rolling out new benefits around leave, gender affirmation, family creation, and more that empower all employees and demonstrate a deep understanding of LGBTQ people’s lives.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) yesterday signed a bill expanding the state’s paid family leave law in a number of ways—notably, by expanding the definition of “family” under the law to include chosen families and by expanding the definition of “parent” to include foster parents and those who become parents via gestational surrogacy.
As a mom, Erin Uritus, the new CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, knows first-hand how important it is for companies to support their queer parent employees in starting families and finding work-life balance.
Leave policies for parents welcoming new children “still commonly exclude LGBTQ families,” according to a new report. And the harms of poor paid leave policies extend broadly to the LGBTQ community.
