Disability and developmental biology

Abstract

Disabled scientists face tremendous barriers to entry into, and progression within, a scientific career, remaining immensely underrepresented at every career stage. Disability inclusivity drives in science are increasingly prevalent, but few data are available from the developmental biology community specifically. The Young Embryologist Network sought to draw attention to this by platforming disability inclusivity as a key theme at the 2022 conference. Here, I review literature exploring disabled scientists' experiences in academia, report findings from the conference attendee survey and spotlight a new disability support grant from the British Society for Developmental Biology. I also highlight specific unmet needs and suggest educational resources and actionable measures in the hope of improving the experiences of disabled scientists in our community.