Three science communicators share their experience on what accessibility means in STEM

By Ashlyn Stewart   •   April 25, 2026

SWCC News

Accessibility is an important consideration in all aspects of society, as it allows everyone to be included, regardless of our differences. But the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – as well as science communication – are not always accessible, and this can have a significant impact on those with invisible disabilities. 

Samantha Fowler is an English PhD student at the University of Waterloo studying the rhetoric of community building and role models for disabled scientists and engineers. She is also the University of Waterloo’s Disability Inclusion Coordinator and the co-executive director of The Disabled CoLab, a non-profit organization that supports disabled scientists, engineers and students.

Fowler identifies as disabled and neurodivergent. She became involved in disability justice after noticing a lack of accessibility and representation in STEM.

“While there is definitely explicit ableism and discrimination in workplaces, it’s often subtle,” she said. 

Samantha Fowler

Fowler shared that this discreet inaccessibility can look like inflexible work arrangements or the deprioritization of digital accessibility elements, like alternative text, colour contrast and font choice. She also spoke about the impact of the many biases in science on those with disabilities.

"Who gets to ask the questions, what questions we ask [and] who benefits from results," shared Fowler. “We need diverse voices in science to lead equitable research that challenges [the] status quo and helps us build the world we want to live in.”

Discussing her transition into the disability justice field, Fowler shared the importance of role models. “My shift into disability justice work came from not seeing disabled STEM role models… [I] wanted to change the narrative of who gets to be a scientist and what science can look like.”

When asked what motivates her, Fowler explained that accessibility is necessary in order for us to have a literate society that will vote meaningfully on science issues.

"Science needs to be accessible to make this happen," she says. “Accessibility is a story of progress,” 

"We need diverse voices in science to lead equitable research that challenges the status quo and helps us build the world we want to live in.”

-Samantha Fowler

Like Fowler, Carrie Boyce, understands how a lack of accessibility can impact those with disabilities. 

Boyce is the Executive Director at the Royal Canadian Institute for Science and is the Vice Chair for Science is a Drag, a not-for-profit organization that empowers 2SLGBTQIA+ scientists. An accomplished science communicator, Boyce has worked in the field for many years, including in outreach for the Royal Society of Chemistry and as a Research Engagement Manager for Cancer Research U.K.. 

Carrie Boyce

Boyce discussed how certain work environments can present challenges for those in the disabled community. For example, she highlighted how early morning meetings and late night lab work can make it difficult for people living with disabilities to continuously participate in STEM. 

Boyce shared that, in her own work, she has learned to recognize her boundaries and advocate for her needs.

“I’m like many people learning [my] boundary base and my limits and when to push myself and when not,” she explained. “As I get older, I get more confident in knowing where those limitations are and seeing my needs.” 

Ainsley Latour sees how inaccessibility influences learning environments. Latour is a science teacher at a school for the Deaf in Belleville, Ontario during the school year. In the summer, she works as a medical laboratory technologist specializing in genetics. She is also a Co-Founder of the organization IDEA-STEM, which focuses on helping other organizations, educators and research teams become more accessible and enhance equity in STEM, healthcare and education. 

Latour, who is also deaf, shared how many in the Deaf community have difficulty learning about STEM due to longstanding barriers.

“We know that all Canadians don’t have access to learning about science, don’t have access to participating in it, and don’t have access to benefiting from it equitably," she said. “We have very few developed resources in ASL. It is very challenging to teach STEM to students who do not use a spoken language." 

Ainsley Latour

Like Fowler, Latour emphasized that role models play an important part in making STEM and science communication inclusive for those with disabilities.

“We form ideas [of] who can be a scientist and who can do science really early on. Those types of images that we see in the news and stories we hear about… really impacts kids in that they see themselves doing science or they don’t.”

When asked how those without disabilities can work to make STEM and science communication more accessible, Fowler, Boyce and Latour each emphasized the need for everyone – including those without disabilities – to be informed and aware of the importance of accessibility and the impact of inaccessible environments. 

“Keeping people with disabilities in the [science and science communication] space is kind of a team effort,” Latour said. “There are things that people with disabilities can do, but really it’s other people who need to keep those doors open and keep the environment welcoming and give them access to science in the first place.”

As advice to those within the disabled community who want to work in STEM and science communication, or who already are working in those fields, Fowler recommends embracing identity and finding community.

“Sharing your authentic self creates a safer space for others to do the same,” she shared. “Community is everything.” 

Boyce had similar advice. “It’s empowering to find people who’ve had similar experiences to you, and you can achieve more when you work together, and you can leverage those networks in that community to bring about real change in your own kind of context.”

In short, when STEM and science communication is accessible, everyone benefits. As Latour put it, “we’ll do better science in Canada if everyone participates.”