Following discussions from the 2017 Linguistic Institute and the 92nd Annual Meeting of the LSA in Salt Lake City, the Executive Committee has approved the establishment of a new Special interest Group dedicated to LGBTQ+ issues in Linguistics.The new SIG advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Linguistics and seeks to provide mentorship and resources to junior LGBTQ+ researchers and students. Much in the same way that the Committee on Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics (CEDL) and the Committee on the Status of Women in Linguistics (COSWL) do for ethnic/racial minorities and women, respectively, this new SIG promotes and represents LGBTQ+ individuals, their voices and their work within the Society. Along with CEDL and COSWL, the LGBTQ+ Issues in Linguistics SIG plans to work toward a true interesectionality of voices and identities within the LSA.

The co-conveners of the SIG are Tyler Kibbey and Rusty Barrett, and membership in the SIG is open to all members of the LSA. More information on the SIG can be found here, and data compiled from a late 2017 survey on LGBTQ+ identities in Linguistics can be found in the 2017 Annual Report on the Status of Linguistics in Higher Education.