LGBTQ+ in ECE: Culture and (Non)Visibility

Contribution: This article confirms the continued marginalization of undergraduate LGBTQ+ electrical and computer engineering (ECE) students and describes how they navigate their (non)visibility in engineering. Best practices to increase diversity and inclusion are discussed. Background: LGBTQ+ ECE undergraduate students experience a chilly, sometimes hostile climate in engineering. As a result, they experience lower sense of belonging, worse academic outcomes, and greater mental and emotional stress in their daily lives. Research Questions: How are LGBTQ+ ECE undergraduate students' perceptions of ECE culture, sense of belonging, perceptions of discrimination, and (non)visibility affected by their identities? How do they navigate their (non)visibility in engineering contexts? How do LGBTQ+ ECE undergraduate students perceive and navigate engineering culture and their (non)visibility in engineering spaces, potentially integrating LGBTQ+, race, ethnicity, gender, and other identities into their perceptions? Methodology: A mixed-methods study with a survey and focus groups was conducted at a large southern public university in the United States. Survey participants included 854 undergraduate ECE students, of which 9% were strongly LGBTQ+. Focus group participants included 9 self-selected LGBTQ+ ECE students from the survey sample. Findings: LGBTQ+ ECE undergraduate students face noninclusive environments, marginalizing experiences, and cis-heteronormativity in engineering as a result of their multiple marginalized identities that intersect with their LGBTQ+ identity.