New research from the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center suggests that Ph.D. graduates in science, technology, engineering and medicine in the U.S. who were born with disabilities or became disabled before age 25 earn $14,360 less per year in academia than those without disabilities. They are also underrepresented at higher faculty levels — such as deans and presidents — and in tenured positions, according to the study.

“We’re identifying the barriers to inclusion so we can dismantle them. Combating the disparities will take structural transformation,” says Bonnielin Swenor, founder and director of the center and an author of the study, which appeared in Nature Human Behaviour. “The Disability Health Research Center aims to shift the paradigm from ‘living with a disability’ to ‘thriving with a disability’ and uses data-driven approaches to drive change in many sectors, including in STEM,” Swenor says. 

Read how a student-led advocacy group is providing a new voice for STEM graduate students with disabilities.