Accessible interview practices for disabled scientists and engineers

Samuel M Greene¹, Sandra R Schachat², Naomi Arita-Merino³, Xiangkun Elvis Cao⁴, Harsha Gurnani⁵, Michael Heyns⁶, Maria L Cagigas⁷, Caitlin L Maikawa⁸, Elise J Needham^{9

10}, Ethan A Perets¹¹, Elizabeth Phillips¹², Anthony W Waddle¹³, Christine E Wilkinson^{14

15}, Kevin C Zhou¹⁶, Hannah M Zlotnick¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
² Entomology Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA.
³ Sustainable Food Processing Laboratory, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁵ Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁶ Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁷ Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹⁰ Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹¹ Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
¹² Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹³ Applied Biosciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
¹⁴ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁵ California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁷ BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.

PMID: 39036039
PMCID: PMC11259942
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110220

Accessible interview practices for disabled scientists and engineers

Samuel M Greene et al. iScience. 2024.

. 2024 Jun 26;27(7):110220.

doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110220. eCollection 2024 Jul 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
² Entomology Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA.
³ Sustainable Food Processing Laboratory, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁵ Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁶ Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁷ Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹⁰ Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹¹ Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
¹² Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹³ Applied Biosciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
¹⁴ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁵ California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁷ BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.

PMID: 39036039
PMCID: PMC11259942
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110220

Abstract

Increasing representation of people with disabilities in science and engineering will require systemic changes to the culture around support and accommodations. Equitable interview practices can help foster such changes. We, an interdisciplinary group of disabled and nondisabled early-career scientists who care deeply about making science more accessible to all, present a framework of suggestions based on Universal Design principles for improving the accessibility and equitability of interviews for people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups. We discuss potential challenges that may arise when implementing these suggestions and provide questions to guide discussions about addressing them.

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References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Disability and health data system (DHDS) 2023. http://dhds.cdc.gov/
1. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics National Survey of College Graduates. 2021. https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/national-survey-college-graduates/2021
1. Castro F., Stuart E., Deal J., Varadaraj V., Swenor B.K. STEM doctorate recipients with disabilities experienced early in life earn lower salaries and are underrepresented among higher academic positions. Nat. Hum. Behav. 2024;8:72–81. doi: 10.1038/s41562-023-01745-z. - DOI - PubMed
1. Campaign for Science and Engineering Improving diversity in STEM. 2014. https://www.sciencecampaign.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/03/Improving-Diversi...
1. Brown E. Disability awareness: The fight for accessibility. Nature. 2016;532:137–139. doi: 10.1038/nj7597-137a. - DOI - PubMed

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Accessible interview practices for disabled scientists and engineers

Affiliations

Accessible interview practices for disabled scientists and engineers

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

References

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

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