Gender equality in astronomy doesn’t end with the male/female gender binary.
In a study led by nonbinary astrophysicist Kaitlin Rasmussen, researchers took a look at gender equity in astronomy and what practices could address outstanding issues that leave out or have a negative impact on researchers who do not fit into binary male or female gender identities.
This study, released in 2019, was inspired by surveys that were done by astronomers who looked at gender equity in astronomy. They and others in the field, as they point out in this study, noticed that a lot of the papers that have been published about gender equity in astronomy are led by astronomers instead of gender studies experts, Rasmussen told Space.com in a recent interview. “It was all men versus women, and sometimes nonbinary people were not even addressed or would be addressed as a footnote.”