Low wages, strange hours, the pressure to publish or perish… There are many barriers that prevent people from pursuing careers in science, and one can hardly blame them. However, there are some types of barriers that should never prevent a person from being a scientist. This article will discuss legal and design-based strategies that help make traditional laboratory environments accessible for everyone.
In Germany, many people will be familiar with the term “Barrierefrei”, which refers to the design of spaces to accommodate individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities. This policy is enshrined in German federal law for all workspaces, with other special laws concerning areas such as air travel or public transit [1]. The most obvious examples are the availability of wheelchair ramps or elevators for those with mobility issues, but the law actually extends to a lot more subtle adjustments. For example, there is a special emphasis on communications design, for example, labels that contain large print or Braille for the visually impaired [1].
Open and Inclusive Design
Much of the philosophy of building in this way comes from the Universal Design movement, first described by the architect Ronald R. Mace in the 1960s. This movement, and the closely related Design for All, promotes the creation of spaces that are useable for as many individuals as possible, irrespective of their age or ability [2]. Despite this one-size-fits-all principle, special thought is also put into creating designs for adaptive/assistive technology that is also aesthetically pleasing, flexible in use, and that has a high error tolerance.
BARRIER-FREE MEANS MORE THAN
ELEVATORS AND RAMPS
How can we imagine a lab environment that embraces universal design? For Bradley Duerstock, director of the Institute of Accessible Science, biomedical engineer and wheelchair user, it’s all about flexibility and communication. For “hands-on” experience in a lab, it’s critical to have a PI who is willing to engage with their student or employee with a disability and understand their needs [3]. Some fixes may be relatively simple, for example, using different high-contrast dye and special lighting to help an individual with a vision impairment perform and analyze Western Blots. Duerstock himself invented one of the first microscopes that allows the user to operate all controls through a computer interface rather than manipulating small knobs.
However, some aspects of the lab environment are more difficult to change. While legislation mandates that workspaces need to comply with all employees’ needs, it can still be difficult to find funding to cover these costs [3,4,6]. Can a lab be retrofitted with new lab benches or lowered sinks? What about more basic safety concerns, such as accessibility of fire extinguishers or eye wash stations? How about a fire alarm that incorporates visual, as well as auditory cues? Unfortunately, the Universally Designed lab still seems to be far away.
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| Image source: Tony Webster, Wikimedia Commons |
Challenges and Progress
A quick look at my own workspace, the brand new and tremendously expensive [5] Charité Cross Over building reveals a number of shortcomings limiting the labs’ use for individuals with disabilities. Between electrical and gas outlets at ceiling level, heavy doors with impractical handles and a literal barrier that one has to climb over to enter the animal facility, it is clear that accessibility was not the architects’ first priority.
It is well documented that individuals with disabilities are less likely to be employed than their non-disabled counterparts, but it seems that some progress in STEM professions is being made. For example, a 2014 report from King’s College London found that the number of undergraduates in STEM with a self-reported disability has increased by 70% since 2010 [6]. The report credits this increase to programs that provide government funding to help students gain access to support such as assistive technology and sign language interpreters. Money works, but gains for graduate students and full-time STEM professionals in the report were far more modest. How much can be credited to a time lag, and how much to the sometimes inflexible nature of hands-on lab research?
Thinking Barrierefrei
We cannot renovate and retrofit the entire Charité overnight, but the first step to building a barrierefrei scientific community is simple awareness of the space around us. Next time you go about your daily work in the lab, think about how the design of your tools and space influences the way that you do science. What sorts of barriers, both tangible and intangible could conceivably exist, and what can you do about them? Use your scientific imagination and do some problem-solving. Design matters, especially for purposes of inclusion and diversity.
BE AWARE OF THE SPACE AROUND YOU
Want to find out more about specific policies in place at Charité, or how you can get involved in re-thinking scientific spaces? Be sure to check out the Office for Individuals with Disabilities (Gesamtschwerverhindertenvertretung) [7]!
by Constance Holman, PhD Student AG Schmitz
[1] http://bit.ly/2kgKSR1
[2] http://bit.ly/1PCAyL8
[3] http://bit.ly/2jHPmfY
[4] Brown, Nature, 2016
[5] http://bit.ly/2kEsyxR
[6] http://bit.ly/2kgAUPO
[7] http://bit.ly/2kBWxHm
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