Building Inclusive and Accessible Workplaces for Disabled Chemists

Today marks the start of Disability History Month, and with this year’s theme being “Disability Livelihood and Employment”, I wanted to reflect on how we can achieve more accessible and inclusive workplaces and study environments, where disabled chemists are able to bring their valuable contributions, and achieve their full potential. Disabled chemists bring different perspectives and fresh ideas, as well as the individual potential any of us can bring to our environment. Finding ways to accommodate as many talented chemists as possible can only enrich our field.

At the Royal Society of Chemistry , we recently launched a set of webpages – Neurodiversity in the chemical sciences – aimed at understanding and celebrating different neurocognitive experiences. These are the latest addition to our Disability web hub, launched last year, designed to support both disabled chemists and their employers and institutions.

 An idea we explore on the new page is that neurodivergent people have unique strengths and ways of thinking which can be very advantageous in the context of studying and working in chemistry. One way to understand this is to consider the concept of “spiky profiles”. Whereas neurotypical people often have a fairly even spread of cognitive ability and skills across the board (a “flatter profile”), neurodivergent people more commonly experience peaks and troughs – higher performance in some areas and challenges in others. This means that neurodivergent people have the potential to excel in specialised areas and senior leadership roles.

Another point we touch on in our disability hub is the burden of self-advocacy. Disabled people often encounter situations where they need to advocate for themselves in order to receive workplace adjustments. This can be particularly challenging for those who may already be dealing with the physical, emotional, or cognitive impacts of their disabilities.

The principle of universal design can help tackle the burden of self-advocacy. This is where we design workplaces with accessibility in mind from the start. This can include infrastructures such as wheelchair access, hearing loops, and braille signage, but can also include workplace practice and etiquette such as normalising hybrid and home working, and keeping meetings short and focused. Neurodivergent friendly accommodations could also include adjustable lighting that can be dimmed when safe to do so, allowing the use of noise-cancelling headphones, and avoiding bright or overstimulating patterns in décor.

An important theory to understand when thinking about designing interventions and actions to remove barriers and promote equality, is the social model of disability. Under this model, disability comes not from the existence of an impairment but from barriers that society creates. For example, a wheelchair user may not be able to walk but what actually prevents them entering a building is the stairs which are only designed with certain people in mind. Creating an accessible environment can ensure that no one is unfairly barred from contributing their knowledge and expertise to the chemical sciences.

Don’t wait until you have a disabled employee before you start researching how to make your workplace more accessible and inclusive.  

Explore our Actions for employers and institutions to learn what you could be doing now to make your workplace more inclusive and welcoming: Disability in the chemical sciences - actions for employers and institutions

You can also explore our Resources and guidance on neurodiversity for advice on how to support your neurodivergent colleagues: Resources and guidance on neurodiversity for individuals, colleagues, managers and employers

We want to learn more about the experiences of disabled chemists, so let me know in the comments. Have you been able to get accommodations in your workplace? What would have made the process easier?