Accessibility on The Carpentries

Building a More Inclusive Glosario: Celebrating Our 2025 Milestones

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Over the past year, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Carpentries has made incredible progress in improving Glosario, our open, multilingual glossary for computing and data science terms.

In 2025, we focused on making Glosario more accessible, inclusive, and community-driven. Guided by feedback from our community, we enhanced the ways our community members can contribute, learn, and be recognised for their work.

Join Our Final 2025 Co-Working Session

You are invited to the next and final Glosario Community Co-Working Session for 2025.
🗓 Wednesday, 5 November 2025
🕒 15:00 UTC

Recognising Our Global Contributors: Glosario’s Next Chapter

Wed, 21 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

At The Carpentries, every contribution matters. Our community includes individuals from many countries, languages, and backgrounds. Together, we are building Glosario, a free and open glossary of computing and data science terms in many languages. By the end of 2024, Glosario included translations in more than 26 languages. This would not be possible without the hard work and time shared by our global contributors. As Glosario grows, we want to make it easier for more people to join in, and ensure everyone’s work is recognised and appreciated.

The Carpentries' Reinforced Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Community,

As a U.S.-based, global non-profit organisation serving hundreds of thousands of practitioners and advocates who emphasise the critical role of software and data in advancing research, we would be remiss not to speak up about the impact of the U.S. government’s Executive Order on DEI Programs and Preferencing. The impact has been felt globally. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a global trend of attacks on science and initiatives that champion inclusion, equity, diversity, and accessibility. We rarely make public statements, preferring to focus on daily operations that help us achieve our mission. However, the growing impact of the Executive Order has prompted us to reaffirm our position.

Help us Improve Glosario: Share Your Feedback!

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

At The Carpentries, we are committed to building a more inclusive and accessible world for learners and researchers working with data and computing. One of our initiatives in this effort is Glosario, a multilingual glossary developed to help individuals understand key computing and data science terms in their preferred language.

To ensure Glosario meets the accessibility needs of our global community, we are surveying to gather feedback from current and potential users. Your insights will help us understand how to improve accessibility and enhance usability.

Building an Inclusive Future in Data Science: The Carpentries' 2025 Glosario Expansion

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Glosario, The Carpentries’ open source multilingual glossary for computing and data science terms, has already made remarkable strides. By late 2024, Glosario included translations in over 26 languages, with significant contributions from our global community. However, as Glosario has grown, we have identified challenges that limit its accessibility and scalability. Contributions to the glossary, currently managed in a YAML format, can be intimidating for newcomers and time-intensive for reviewers. Additionally, we have recognised the need to provide meaningful recognition to contributors, a cornerstone of The Carpentries’ commitment to valuing diverse contributions.

Breaking Language Barriers in Data Science: Glosario Codefest Event

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In data science and programming, breaking down language barriers is pivotal for creating an inclusive learning environment. We are excited to announce an event that aligns with this vision – the Glosario Codefest! This event, made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, marks a step forward in advancing data science knowledge and accessibility for our diverse global community.

Developed in 2020, Glosario has become a resource for learners worldwide. Glosario’s commitment to accessibility is exemplified by its open availability online. Released under a Creative Commons Attribution license, Glosario’s content is stored in a structured plain-text format (YAML), ensuring machine-readability.

Enhancements to the Toolkit of IDEAS

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Toolkit of IDEAS emerged from recommendations provided by ReadySet, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting firm that conducted an organisational assessment of The Carpentries in 2020. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Kari L. Jordan, Executive Director of The Carpentries, and the generous support of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, this project became a reality. Tara Robertson Consulting Inc. was enlisted in March 2022 to lead this initiative, working closely with the Carpentries Core Team’ Team Leads and the broader community.

The Carpentries Accessibility Statement and Accommodation Form

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce that we have developed an Accessibility Statement for The Carpentries. Our team is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all users, and this statement is an important step towards achieving that goal.

Our Accessibility Statement outlines our commitment to meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, as well as our ongoing efforts to ensure our lessons, events, and website, are inclusive and user-friendly. We have implemented a number of accessibility features to help achieve this goal, such as:

The Future of CarpentryCon and Community Programming

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

CarpentryCon, The Carpentries’ conference, was initiated as a biannual event to offer professional development and networking opportunities for our community members. The first in-person event occurred in Dublin, Ireland in 2018 and the next one, planned for Madison, Wisconsin in 2020, was transitioned to a virtual space in response to the pandemic. The most recent CarpentryCon was also held online and occurred from 1-12 August 2022. Over the years, we have learned a lot about the ways in which virtual and hybrid events significantly increase accessibility and how we can best support the community through our event offerings.

Community Helps Add Alt Texts to our Lesson Images

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In early September, Brynn Elliott, Accessibility Manager for The Carpentries hosted two Themed Discussions for the community focused on improving accessibility of our lessons through improving alt text on images. The group started off with an overview of what alt text is, why it is important, and how to add it to images in our lessons.## What is alt text? Alt text - also known as alternative text, alt tags, or alt descriptions - are a written description of the image that has several purposes. Alt text is important for accessibility, screen readers can only read text, individuals who are blind or have low vision are still able to understand the image purpose. Search engine crawlers use alt text to index data and improve search results. Images that are broken or missing can still be interpreted because text is shown in its place. Alt text may vary depending on the goal of the photo.

Access for All

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

We value accessibility as core, and create multiple avenues for participation where all people can learn and contribute.

One of The Carpentries strategic focus areas is to intentionally incorporate equity, inclusion, and accessibility to support a diverse community.

To do this, we teamed up with Understood, whose mission is to shape workplaces to be inclusive for people with disabilities, to better understand where The Carpentries could improve accessibility for the community and what we are already doing well. Understood evaluated organisational statements and policies, employee processes (hiring, onboarding, workflows), and observed a three-day Software Carpentry workshop.

We are Hiring an Accessibility Coordinator. Join Our Team.

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Carpentries is hiring!

The Carpentries is searching for a new full-time Accessibility Coordinator to join our global, mission-driven organisation for two years. The Accessibility Coordinator will be integrate accessibility standards and best practices across all areas of The Carpentries organisation. They will work with and serve our volunteer community - comprising 60,000 learners, 3,000 instructors, 97 Trainers, and 98 member organisations from research institutions around the world.

This position is supported with funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Learn more about CZI’s work to advance diversity and inclusion in open source.

Happy New Year from The Carpentries Executive Director, Dr. Kari L. Jordan

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I meditate quite often. Last week I participated in a practice whereby we meditated on various aspects of 2021, like resilience, acknowledging our needs, and caring for ourselves and others. During my time of meditation and reflection, I could not help but think about you – The Carpentries community. I will never truly know exactly what this community has endured over the past 24 months. What I do know is that you have shown up, and continue to show up, contributing to The Carpentries’ mission even when it is hard to do. For that, you have my sincere #CarpentriesGratitude.

From research to final product: the path to the design for the next lesson template

Tue, 25 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I was so excited to take on this lesson template redesign project with The Carpentries! As with any design project, it was paramount to define our objectives from the start to ensure success. This template redesign began with the below objectives that informed all of my process and choices:

The lesson template should conform to web accessibility standards.
The lesson template should be optimized for responsive screens and all devices.
The lesson template should be more navigable overall and support both learner and instructor needs.

Over the course of 10 weeks with these objectives in mind, I completed an end to end process to deliver the final redesign of The Carpentries’ lesson template early April!

Core Team 'Acc-athon' to Add Alt Text Across Carpentries Curricula

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

At the end of March, the Core Team had an “Acc-athon”, or accessibility hackathon, led by Erin Becker, where we worked together to add and improve alt text across Carpentries curricula.

What is alt text?

Alternative text or alt text is an HTML element that describes the appearance and function of an image on a page. Alt text serves several functions. It appears in place of an image if the image is broken. It enhances the discoverability of content, because search engines can index alt text. But, perhaps most crucially, alt text makes web content more accessible. If someone uses a screen reader, when the screen reader gets to an image, it will dictate the alt text in place instead.

Prioritising Accessibility in Organising Online Events

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post was also cross-posted on Code for Science and Society’s Event Fund blog and the CSCCE blog.

Accessibility is to equity as a foundation is to a house. A well-rounded and intentional approach to making your community spaces and resources accessible levels the playing field for all in your community, and benefits everyone in the long-run.

December 3, 2020 was last year’s International Day for People with Disabilities. Under the theme, ‘Not all Disabilities are Visible,’ the day’s focus was on spreading awareness and understanding of disabilities that are not immediately apparent, such as mental illness, chronic pain or fatigue, sight or hearing impairments, diabetes, brain injuries, neurological disorders, learning differences and cognitive dysfunctions, among others.

Improving Accessibility in The Carpentries

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Because The Carpentries has a people-first and access-for-all mindset, one of the considerations that guides our choice of online platforms for community use in The Carpentries is the ease, clarity, and consistency with which people can interact and collaborate in real time (community calls, study groups, instructor training and workshop sessions, etc) and asynchronously (sharing opportunities, contributing to resources, asking questions etc).

In the past, for in-person workshops and activities across The Carpentries, we have offered guidelines on how to ask participants about their accessibility needs and worked to make our in-person gatherings accessible. Over the last year, as all our community activity shifted online, from our workshops, to our biennial community conference, it became apparent that we needed to do more to promote equitable access and make our online spaces more accessible. Carpentries Conversation 26 has valuable feedback that we are working on acting on and our Feedback Facilitators have been working to collate suggestions that community members have made over the years on the issue of accessibility in different Carpentries communications channels. They will share more about this in a future blog post.

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Partner to Support The Carpentries

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We are generating vast amounts of data, but it is not the data itself that is valuable—it is the information and knowledge that can come from this data. However, we are limited in translating this sea of data into discovery and solutions, because we have a limited set of diverse groups of people with the skills, perspective, and access to work effectively with data. We need to bring people to data—rather than just bringing data to compute or compute to data—and empower them to address their questions, reach their potential, and solve issues that are important in science, scholarship, and society.

The Carpentries Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Roadmap

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The Carpentries envision a world where all people have access to data and a true understanding of the software skills they need to address questions that are important to them, bringing diverse perspectives to challenges in science and society. We understand that comprehensive knowledge is not enough, however. Creating an environment where contributors have access to the tools they need, and feel included in the open science/open data community is imperative. This is where equity, inclusion, and accessibility come together.

Diversity is our Goal. Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility is how we get there.

Thu, 16 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Community Discussion: Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Roadmap

Whether you are new to The Carpentries community or have been part of the community for a long time, we want you to share your experiences, ideas, and perspective around equity, inclusion, and accessibility at the upcoming Community Discussion (21-22 May). Join the discussion at the following dates/times:

Tuesday, 21 May 1500 UTC
Wednesday, 22 May 0100 UTC

Sign up on the Community Discussions Etherpad to attend. Connection details for Zoom (video conferencing) and audio connection details are located on the Etherpad.

Dyslexia and Coding

Sun, 17 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Data Carpentry website

Hello,

I am dyslexic! :-)

Dyslexia is a polymorphic condition that affects more than just reading and writing. It is thought to be caused by poor short term memory, where short term memory is about equal to the length of time it takes to turn a key in a lock. A common analogy is that the CPU is good but the buffering on I/O is not good enough to keep up with the CPU. For example, it would be like having a keyboard or scanner with a buffering system that mixed up input or output and sometimes lost characters. This would also make it difficult to rapidly change from reading to writing and explains why doing things like reading, writing, listening, speaking and transcribing at the same time are more difficult for a dyslexic than for a non-dyslexic. I think this can make Software Carpentry a difficult way for a dyslexic to learn how to write programs, as it requires multi-tasking a variety of activities that are separately quite hard for a dyslexic. The rapid switching between them makes this worse.

Instructor Access to Workshops

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Data Carpentry website

Software and Data Carpentry share a mission to spread computational and data literacy to the broader research community at a wide range of institutional types across the world. We also share core community values of openness and inclusiveness.

Recently, we learned that some of our host sites have selective criteria that limit physical access to their sites on the basis of nationality. These policies have the effect of excluding some Carpentry instructors from teaching at these sites. We recognize that often these criteria are imposed by the broader security and bureaucratic apparatus at the organization that the host operates within and are beyond the control of our contacts at those sites. Nevertheless, these policies can cause conflict with our mission and core community values.

New Accessibility Guidelines

Fri, 05 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Software Carpentry values the participation of every member of the scientific community and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Thanks to Pauline Barmby, we now have an accessibility checklist for instructors and workshop hosts. Please have a look and send us fixes and suggestions for improvements.