Disabled scientists lead the way for British Science Week 2025

The British Science Association’s (BSA) popular Smashing Stereotypes campaign is returning for this year’s British Science Week highlighting diverse people and careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths to inspire the next generation.

Now in its sixth year, Smashing Stereotypes runs throughout British Science Week (7 – 16 March 2025). It celebrates trailblazers in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) sectors, who share stories about their career journeys and day-to-day working lives.

The 2025 campaign features stories from some remarkable people who challenge long-standing stereotypes about what it means to work in science.

These include Dr Sophie Meekings, a deaf scientist who researches how the human voice works at the University of York; and Dr Nic Bonne, a visually impaired astronomer at the University of Portsmouth.

Also featured in this year’s campaign is Pearl Ayem, who works in climate science data modelling and has shared her journey of challenging gender stereotypes; and Tendai Taruvinga, who switched careers from civil engineering to nourishing people and planet

with an African plant-based food business.  

From astronomy to climate science and motorsport to artificial intelligence, STEM careers are truly diverse. The BSA wants to champion science for everyone: whatever your interests, background, or career path.

As well as showcasing inspiring role models, another aim of the campaign is to highlight the issue of demographic inequity in the STEM workforce.

• 27% of the STEM workforce are women, compared to 52% of the wider workforce
  
• 11% of STEM workers have a disability compared to 14% of the wider workforce
• This ‘double underrepresentation’ means that just 4% of the STEM workforce are disabled women, compared to 8% of the wider workforce
  
• While the percentage of the STEM workforce that are from ethnic minorities is similar to the wider UK workforce (12%), amalgamating minoritised groups skews the data, so that it appears more ethnically diverse than it is.
  
• Greater representation of workers of Indian ethnicity in the STEM workforce masks the underrepresentation of Black workers, specifically Black women and Black-African men. The relative diversity of the health sector also contributes to this when compared to less diverse sectors, such as engineering.