This Pride Month, we are celebrating the tremendous contribution of LGBTQ+ mathematicians towards the advancement of mathematics.
Diversity and inclusion underpin all activities at the London Mathematical Society. We want to be a learned society and membership body where all mathematicians feel welcome and represented. You can read our full Equity, Diversity and Inclusion statement here.
Much of our work in this area is led by the Committee for Women and Diversity in Mathematics (CWDM). We also have a specific Member-at-Large (Women and Diversity) position on the LMS Council to promote diversity and inclusion in our decision-making processes. The Committee provides funding for a range of events including Diversity in Mathematics Days as well as the annual LGBTQ+STEMinar.
For Pride Month 2024, we are asking some prominent living LGBTQ+ mathematicians what Pride means to them, as well as their LGBTQ+ maths hero.
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Bethany Rose Marsh
Professor of Pure Mathematics, University of Leeds
What does Pride month mean to you?
I can remember the first Pride march I went to in Leeds, vividly. It was early on in my transition and I was quite nervous. I watched from the sidelines and I felt a surge of emotion as I watched the parade and the crowds around cheered. I was overwhelmed by the strong support and acceptance the large crowds were demonstrating and the tears ran down my face. That was a key moment for me, and helped give me the confidence to become my authentic self. In subsequent years I was able to march in Leeds Pride and I love being part of such a community-focused celebration. As a trans woman, I also feel strongly the campaigning part of the event, how it is so difficult for many trans and non-binary people and those who identify as LGBTQ+ in general, and how important it is to be accepted for who we are.
Who is your LGBTQ+ maths icon/hero?
I am inspired by Autumn Kent, a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who gave the Spectra Lavender lecture at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in the US in 2022. Autumn has published over 25 papers in geometry and topology, and was awarded an NSF Career Award in 2014 and a Simons Fellowship in 2019. She actively supports underrepresented groups in mathematics, including organising an NSF-sponsored conference in 2019 to foster collaborations between LGBTQ+ mathematicians.
Bethany has co-authored several papers in LMS journals, including the following:
- Coloured quivers for rigid objects and partial triangulations: the unpunctured case (Proceedings of the LMS, 2013)
- Dimer models and cluster categories of Grassmannians (Proceedings of the LMS, 2016)
- From triangulated categories to module categories via localization II: calculus of fractions (Journal of the LMS, 2012)
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Rowland Seymour
Professor in Statistics, University of Birmingham
What does Pride month mean to you?
Pride month is a reminder of the work that we still need to do. Mathematicians and statisticians before me have removed many of the barriers they faced, and I want to make sure that I am doing the same for the next generation. From advocating for an equal and respectful workplace, to mentoring and coaching early career LGBTQ+ mathematicians, there are many ways to improve the research culture for LGBTQ+ mathematicians. Mathematics and statistics happen do not just happen in academia, but in industry too. Pride month is a great opportunity to bring together mathematicians and statisticians from all environments to improve the culture for everyone working in mathematics.
Who is your LGBTQ+ maths icon/hero?
Suzanne Thornton is a Professor of Statistics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, USA. I don’t know how she manages to be a leader in so many different areas simultaneously. Theoretically, her work focuses on likelihood free inference and bridging Bayesian, frequentist and fiducial inference methods. She is an expert in the ethical considerations of collecting data, not only developing ways of teaching these considerations to students, but also being part of the US Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations. She also leads the American Statistical Association’s LGBTQ Inclusion and Diversity Working Group, which helps LGBTQ+ statisticians become leaders in their own field.
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Tyler Kelly
Professor of Pure Mathematics, University of Birmingham
What does Pride month mean to you?
Pride is a reminder for queer and trans people to live one’s LGBTQ+ life authentically throughout the year and that people have the right to live their lives while feeling fully liberated in their queer and/or trans identities. It’s been almost 20 years since I went to my first one, going to Atlanta Pride in 2005. I got in a fair bit of trouble for it, as I was in conversion therapy at the time! I have been out for a long time, so Pride’s purpose has transitioned from not only a time for liberation to also a time to take stock in what has changed and what needs to change for queer and trans inclusion, equity, and social justice. It is a reminder to allies to make space for the entire LGBTQ+ community and to support, platform, and advocate for equity for all LGBTQ+ people, regardless of how uncomfortable that may make them feel. I say that it is a reminder as these actions should be constant throughout the year and come with tangible progress.
Who is your LGBTQ+ maths icon/hero?
I don’t think I like this question. There’s a certain desire to have “icons” or “heros” in mathematics. I wouldn’t like to support an archetype of an ideal LGBTQ+ Maths icon, as it paints such high expectations. It also potentially makes those that could be pinpointed as icons have targets to come out when they may not want to. Indeed, the first person that came to mind when I read this question never fully came out. I was privileged to meet them and see their authenticity that they shared to me when I was younger. It was a gift amongst queer spirits that they wanted to share in that moment, and they have the agency to choose when to do so. I also recognise not all want to suffer the consequences the mathematical community can create for those that speak out. I have met queer and trans mathematicians that have spanned all corners of the LGBTQ+ community (including those in the closet), and they paint a rich tapestry where I can take aspects from many to inspire me.
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Luciano Rila
Associate Professor (Teaching), Department of Mathematics, UCL
What does Pride month mean to you
Pride month is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, how much progress has been made with regards to LGBTQ+ rights but it is also a reminder we need to continue to make progress. According to a report by the Institute of Physics, Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry (Exploring the workplace for LGBT+ physical scientists, 2019), 28% of LGBT+ respondents stated they had considered leaving their workplace because of climate or discrimination towards LGBT+ people. Pride month is an opportunity for LGBTQ+ mathematicians to come together and build a visible community that will create an environment where everyone feels welcome.
Who is your LGBTQ+ maths icon/hero
Carolyn Bertozzo is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University and a Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry (2022). I learned about her when she won the Nobel Prize. In her official Nobel Prize interview she talked about being a queer scientist, the importance of having a diverse workforce in science, and how people in minority groups have a chance to pay it forward and remove barriers so that the next generation will be larger, more robust and more energised. Paying it forward has become my guiding principle ever since.