https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/virtual-conferences-arent-as-accessible-as-you-might-think/

Last spring, national scientific organizations began holding conferences online in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the trend has continued into 2021. For example, the American Physical Society annual meeting was the first major physics conference to be virtual last year, and will still be held in cyberspace this coming April. In hindsight, such changes were inevitable. The uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. made attending large public gatherings far too risky. And who knows when the pandemic will end? When the alternative is postponement, the decision to go remote seems like a far better alternative.

While they certainly make sense against the backdrop of a global pandemic, scientists wonder how virtual meetings will alter the future of conferences. Some are worried; it’s difficult to recreate the spontaneous yet pivotal face-to-face interactions that can spur future collaborations or even job offers. But the fact of the matter is, in-person conferences only benefit those who are already privileged enough to attend. Virtual conferences have been shown to be far more inclusive. That's why disabled researchers have spent years advocating for a virtual attendance option.