California State University, Northridge professor Jeremy Yoder has been honored by his peers in three national scholarly societies on evolutionary biology for his work advancing equity and justice in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Society of Systemic Biologists have presented Yoder with the Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, Access (IDEA) Award.

“Dr. Yoder was selected for his foundational work recognizing, celebrating and promoting the inclusion of LGBTQ+ professionals in STEM fields,” the organizations’ officials said when making the announcement.

Yoder said he was honored to receive the award.

“It’s important to understand that science only advances if the widest possible diversity of people are able to contribute,” he said. “Science is fundamentally a creative exercise. Bringing in diverse perspectives make science better. But, also, it’s a simple question of justice. Everybody who wants to be able to do science should be able to do science.”

Those bestowing the award on Yoder cited a large-scale study he spearheaded in 2013 with co-author Allison Mattheis, a professor of applied and advanced studies in education at California State University, Los Angeles, and support from the nonprofit Out to Innovate. Yoder and Mattheis surveyed more than 1,400 LGBTQA scientific professionals, mostly in the United States, about their experiences in STEM fields. This work and subsequent surveys produced three papers which together have been cited over 450 times, inspired new projects and research and were used as educational resources.

Yoder has presented seminars on LGBTQ+ inclusion and experiences in STEM and served on panels to review policies for the advancement of LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM careers. He is also well-respected for his work studying Joshua trees and the impact climate change has on the iconic trees that populate the Mojave Desert.

One of the key findings came out of the research from the later studies, Yoder said, was that scientists who do not feel they can express their queer identities at work have lower research productivity, which then can lead to trouble getting grants and advancing their careers.

“We found that those researchers who identified LGBTQIA+ and were comfortable talking about their identities at work — something as simple as sharing about one’s partner during a casual conversation — had a higher publication rate than those researchers who didn’t feel safe revealing their queer identities.”

Yoder’s study was the first to establish scientifically what others has suspected anecdotally for years. He said the project results have implications for members of other “othered” communities, not just the queer community.

“If you don’t feel comfortable in your workplace, you’re not going to be able to perform to your fullest, you may even leave it or not even bother to pursue a career in that particular field,” Yoder said. “When it comes to fields in STEM, we are talking about people whose work, whose research, could make a dramatic difference in all our lives. We don’t know what discoveries we’ve missed because folks were not fully welcomed and fully able to participate in science.”