Student & Staff Networks towards Accessible STEMM Education & Careers

Learning and working environments should be accessible to all students and staff. Disabled people are part of large and diverse communities.

In academia, there is widespread underrepresentation of disabled staff; less than 4% of faculty staff disclose a chronic condition or disability (HESA, 2020) compared with 33% of the general population (Office for National Statistics, 2021). Studies of STEM Laboratory Learning Environments have reported a lack of accessibility for disabled students (Royal Society, 2021), and lower levels of personal belonging (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2022). In order to encourage greater diversity in chemistry, it is vital that students and staff feel that they have a place in the discipline and that they belong.

During this talk, we will reflect on barriers faced by disabled scientists, and consider pathways to disability inclusion in our places of work and learning. We will explore the role of student and staff networks and partnerships to drive change and share intersectional reflections and recommendations from STEMM disabled students and staff in UK Higher Education.