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Abstract

Due to limited data, we know little about the prevalence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) educators. Using the American Community Survey and Census Pulse, we examine the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals in PK–12 teaching. We find that 3.3% to 3.5% of LGBTQ+ individuals are teachers; in contrast, 4.4% to 4.9% of non-LGBTQ+ individuals are teachers. This new evidence highlights the need for data collection and research to explore why LGBTQ+ individuals are underrepresented in teaching and approaches to remedy this disparity, which likely has implications for LGBTQ+ students.

Keywords

demography descriptive analysis disparities gay/lesbian studies gender studies LGBTQ+populations teachers teacher characteristics

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