Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM: Promoting the Success of People with Disabilities in the STEM Workforce

People with disabilities are the largest minority group in the United States. While nothing about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, jobs, or workplaces would seem to inherently exclude people with disabilities, in practice, stigma and discrimination continue to limit opportunities for disabled people to fully contribute to and be successful in the STEM ecosystem. The planning committee for Beyond Compliance: Promoting the Success of People with Disabilities in the STEM Workforce of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, organized a hybrid national leadership summit and virtual workshop series to address and explore issues of accessibility and inclusivity in STEM workplaces. Across the 5 days of workshops, dozens of panelists spoke about their personal and professional experiences of ableism and barriers to full participation in the STEM workforce, as well as identified positive examples of mentorship and efforts to create fully inclusive STEM spaces in education, labs, the private sector, and professional development settings.