'It’s through change that science progresses’: Disabled staff in science and medicine lead action for equity

In this guest blog for the British Science Association, Dr Frankie Doddato, a physicist at Lancaster University, writes on the vital role of the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN), including its STEMM Action Group. 

The network’s recent White Paper on what a truly inclusive environment should be for disabled people working in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM), and how this environment can be achieved, was published in March 2025. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work with the NADSN STEMM Action Group? Why was the group founded?   

I’m a physicist at Lancaster University. My background is in particle cosmology - the study of the fundamental forces and particles of nature in the universe. Since 2018, I’ve been involved nationally with the Institute of Physics, and founded its Inclusion and Diversity Advocates initiative. I was Co-Chair of Lancaster University’s Disabled Employees Network between 2022 and 2024.   

I’m also a member of the STEMM Action Group, a STEMM-focused steering group within NADSN. Established in 2020, our central aim has been to develop a set of recommendations for professional societies, funding bodies, and institutions for making STEMM disciplines more inclusive for disabled (including neurodivergent) people by tackling the barriers faced. 

What has the NADSN STEMM Action Group been working on recently?  

In March 2025 we published our White Paper, a project I’m incredibly proud of titled “Towards a fully inclusive environment for disabled people in STEMM”. It’s the cumulation of our work to date and builds upon our earlier Problem Statement.  

We highlight what some of the main barriers to STEMM careers are for disabled people, and how those barriers can be addressed through a set of short, medium, and long-term goals, all of which hypothetically could be met within five years.  

What are some of the White Paper’s recommendations?   

We set out a total of 15 recommendations, gathered into a few main areas: policy, physical and digital environment accessibility, and social inclusion, including accountability. All of the recommendations play a vital part in working towards making the sciences more inclusive for disabled researchers. That’s the goal we’re working towards and advocating for.   

What can STEMM employers do to create a more inclusive environment for disabled people?  

We need to be invested in, and believed in, rather than seen as burdens and stereotyped as incapable of achieving anything, simply by dint of being disabled. We should be seen as valuable contributors to scientific research and teaching in our own right. We can be scientists and bring a lot of expertise and insight to the table.  

All too often we get written off and dismissed too quickly, or accommodating our disabilities is regarded as being too difficult and expensive. But if we can be given a space that is accepting of us, we can grow and thrive as much as our non-disabled peers.   

Acceptance and accommodation can be found in numerous forms: policy, funding, environment (physical and digital), and social. Reasonable adjustments, including provision of any specific equipment needed, should be implemented quickly, with funding earmarked in grants, for example, specifically for this purpose.   

Policies should be in place that are inclusive, while institutions that continue to foster a toxic, hostile workplace culture should be held accountable. Funding and job applications should have longer application windows rather than a short turnaround, which is so often the case. Buildings and the environments around them should be fully accessible rather than designed for aesthetics over practicality.  

Alternative formats for work and how that work is presented should be available, including when it comes to digital access. Social spaces should be open to different communication styles, and people should not be subjected to hostile attitudes if they don’t look or act the same as everyone else. The list goes on. These are just a few things that can be done.  

The government can also help, through improvements in investment for initiatives such as Access to Work (and ensuring that provision of support can be implemented quickly), as well as understanding that the disability benefit PIP helps to mitigate the extra daily living costs of being disabled, which in turn can also enable disabled people to be able to be in the workplace.   

Disability inclusion which makes the workplace more accessible for disabled people also benefits non-disabled people as well.  

It’s likewise vital that when considering inclusion, that intersectionality is a part of that: the cumulative impact of belonging to multiple underrepresented groups must be considered.  

What are the network’s plans for the rest of 2025 and beyond?  

In September we hosted an event at Wellcome Trust, with MPs, funders, and Learned Societies to discuss the White Paper’s recommendations, following our successful launch event in March at the University of Strathclyde. We’ve also recently been featured in Physics World magazine, online, in print and in a podcast, regarding the White Paper.  

This is the culmination of what we’ve been working towards for five years but it is still only the beginning. Now the work must be done - for action by those we are engaging with, rather than just talk. It’s time for a paradigm shift. We are here to work alongside higher education institutions and professional bodies, to guide them through changes. There is still a long way to go. For the rest of 2025 and beyond, we will continue our consultancy and advocacy work, while continuing to draw attention to our White Paper.  

It’s through change that science progresses, and good science is diverse and inclusive, including for disabled people. We are here, within science as scientists, and we can have the potential to achieve just as much as our non-disabled peers if our needs are met. We aren’t just subjects to be studied. Just look at the late, great Stephen Hawking.  

Inclusion for disabled scientists shouldn’t be relegated to the realms of science fiction set in the distant future. It could be within our grasp within a matter of several years. But for that, society must be willing to embrace necessary transformation rather than being stuck in the past, stagnating, through clinging on to old and incorrect views about disability.   

Disabled people must have our voices heard, we must have a seat at the table. NADSN, including its STEMM Action Group, is here, calling for these changes, working alongside other disabled advocacy groups and professional bodies.