This year’s theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month is Advancing Access and Equity. This year also marks the 50th Anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first civil rights legislation that prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability in federally funded programs, created Independent Living Services, Independent Living Centers, and the National Institute on Disability. This landmark legislation laid the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which extended these and additional civil rights protections to people with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. These two important pieces of legislation make it clear that we have the laws and protections in place to advance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities yet employment rates for people with disabilities still lag so far behind employment for people without disabilities. Despite the fact that research shows several benefits – reduced turnover rates, higher productivity, and lower absenteeism just to name a few – to employers that hire people with disabilities there is still a pervasive attitude that hiring people with disabilities is a kind or charitable thing to do rather than a wise business decision.
This year’s theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month is Advancing Access and Equity. This year also marks the 50th Anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first civil rights legislation that prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability in federally funded programs, created Independent Living Services, Independent Living Centers, and the National Institute on Disability. This landmark legislation laid the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which extended these and additional civil rights protections to people with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. These two important pieces of legislation make it clear that we have the laws and protections in place to advance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities yet employment rates for people with disabilities still lag so far behind employment for people without disabilities. Despite the fact that research shows several benefits – reduced turnover rates, higher productivity, and lower absenteeism just to name a few – to employers that hire people with disabilities there is still a pervasive attitude that hiring people with disabilities is a kind or charitable thing to do rather than a wise business decision.
This year’s theme identifies two critical components to increasing employment of people with disabilities, the first being access to employment. True access to employment requires flexibility in supports that can be very difficult to obtain. For example, if someone wants to work nights and weekends but they need job coach support it may be difficult to find a supported employment provider who can meet that need. Transportation for evening and weekend work can also be a barrier to employment. Further, the funding mechanism for long-term or on-gong support can be complex since there are multiple funding sources depending on the stage of employment (i.e. Where does Department of Rehabilitation begin and end? Where and/or when does Regional Center come in and for how long? Who pays if intermittent supports are needed?). Admittedly some of the challenges are easy to identify but very difficult to address.
What does Equity in employment of people with disabilities look like? Based on recent research by Return On Disability Group it doesn’t look good. According to a recent report 90% of companies claim to prioritize diversity but only 4% consider disability in their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The Disability is Diversity Campaign was launched by two writers – Richie Siegal and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska – to push for inclusion of disability in the DEI conversation because it was for the most part left out. The two were particularly disturbed by the representation gap in the entertainment industry where only 1% of the workforce are people with disabilities. Since the launch of that campaign the message has traveled far and wide and companies, businesses, employers are beginning to recognize that disability needs to be included in their DEI initiatives, which is a good start. BUT the bigger question is how do we get to equity in employment of people with disabilities? I am certainly not an expert in DEI, nor do I believe I have the answer to the question, but I read something that really stuck with me in an article about workplace equity which stated that “Respect is the foundation of inclusion. If people do not feel respected, they don’t feel like they belong. Equity — fairness — is innately tied to respect.” (Ryan Pendell). Equity begins with respect and is measured by parity (i.e. equal pay for the same work, opportunities for promotions and leadership positions, professional development, etc.).
It is true that we have come a long way since the Rehab Act of 1973 was enacted, it is also true that we have a long way to go before equity in employment of people with disabilities is the norm and we no longer need billboards telling us that Disability is Diversity. Employees with disabilities don’t need charity…they need parity. I am hopeful that we can move the needle on employment of people with disabilities by creating parity in the workforce such that there is true equity.
Teresa Anderson
