January 29, 2023 · 2 min · 402 words · Robert Sebastian
‘Disability’ is not a bad word. Don’t use fabricated labels such as ‘differently abled,’ ‘special abilities,’ etc. Just use ‘disability.’ In fact, there is an army of folks who consider themselves disabled and proud.2) 1 in 4 Americans, that is 61 million Americans and 1.7 billion people globally, are disabled. 70-80% of disabled people have invisible or nonobvious disabilities. Don’t make assumptions.3). Because this world was not built for disabled people, people with disabilities have had to hack their lives to make life work, so many of us are used to coming up with creative non traditional solutions. Invite disabled people to the table. They will add to the diversity of thought.Whoever is reading this: Disabled or not, your BODY belongs on this planet ❤️🦋."
Change your job description that may be clearly ableist.- Create or improve a universal paid family and medical leave program.- Expand healthcare support.- Raise wages because, historically, people with disabilities have been severely underpaid. - Make it clear that any employee can utilize workplace accommodations, especially those with a disability.- Make considerable advancements to your disability employment programs.NDEAM isn’t only a time to celebrate people with disabilities and their contributions but to prioritize equity and inclusion, so their integral voices are at every level of employment."
-Expecting someone to read between the lines-Communicating in an unclear way-Not sharing plans and agendas ahead of meetings-Considering someone to be ‘rude’ when they communicate in an upfront way-Getting annoyed at people asking ‘unnecessary questions’-Not giving people time to process what you have asked of them before saying ‘yes’Then you are not doing enough.Accomodation requires ACTION 👏🏼."
“- Are you committed to disabled employees or committed to looking like you’re committed to disabled employees? Hint: If you’re not currently reporting on disability AND have a plan to increase hiring and retention, you’re probably the latter.
Is your NDEAM programming highlighting disabled employees? Is it empowering disabled people to break down harmful myths? Or is it inspiration porn that further others disabled people?- Do you have programming that specifically addresses the needs of your disabled employees? Sessions around accommodations, accessibility, disability community support, talks from disability advocates, etc? Disabled people and allies have very different needs. Whose are you centering and prioritizing?- Who is leading disability efforts at your company? Do they have lived experience of being disabled? If you can’t find someone willing to speak up, your company probably isn’t disability-friendly.”
