When it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, many organizations focus on axes of race and gender. While it is crucial that we uplift and spotlight the efforts of women and people of color, DEI expands beyond these two categories, and one group of individuals that we should all be more intentionally inclusive of are people with disabilities. In this blog, I’ll offer advice in three key categories—Accessibility, Financial, and Community—on how we can be more supportive of people with disabilities in the workplace!
Before we move on, I find it important to establish that “disability” is itself a capacious term. Though many of us may hear “disability” and immediately conjure up visuals of people in wheelchairs or other signs of physical disability, it is important that our efforts toward inclusion also consider neurodiversity (ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, OCD, and more) as well as invisible disabilities (chronic fatigue syndrome, cystic fibrosis, chronic pain syndrome, lupus, and more).
Additionally, I want to emphasize that disability inclusion goes beyond the hiring process. Microsoft, for example, eliminated its interview process for candidates with autism after noticing that people with autism were not getting hired despite possessing the expected knowledge and intellect, instead creating a different assessment program that involved various exercises to test technical skills and teamwork. All the same, many people with disabilities that I personally know have confided in me that while they are often incredibly grateful to have been hired into their position, they feel there is a ceiling that prevents them from progressing upward. As such, I want to focus on inclusive measures that prioritize the experiences of people with disabilities after they have been hired.
With that knowledge in mind, let’s dive in!
1. Accessibility
“Accessibility” is a term often used when discussing disability inclusion, i.e. “How can we increase accessibility for our employees with disabilities?” Such a starting point is crucial, and so is the realization that follows: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to disability inclusion. As introduced, disability is expansive, and the accessibility needs of people who use wheelchairs will be different from people with dyslexia. Rather than seeing this situation as a daunting challenge, however, here’s my advice: dare to include everyone. Have individual conversations with employees with disabilities and receive their specific input on what practices would make the organization more accessible and inclusive for them! Such advice may seem obvious, but the importance of speaking directly to employees with disabilities and making accommodations based on their direct feedback cannot go understated.
Of course, there are a few best practices any organization can get behind when it comes to disability inclusion—let’s walk through a few!
Like Accenture, provide captions and sign language interpreters for deaf employees
Better yet, like Microsoft’s System-Wide Live Captions, take advantage of programs that automatically generate captions for all visual-auditory material (though have employees on hand who can proofread and correct these captions as needed)
For written content, provide screen readers and/or offer audio (and Braille) versions
Similarly, ensure there is high contrast between the text and background colors in written content
Use easy-to-read fonts across organizational documents (such as dyslexic-friendly typefaces!)
Offer noise-cancelling headphones, natural light, and quiet workspaces for neurodiverse individuals
If employees have emotional support animals or service animals, go beyond allowing them in the workplace—for example, offer accommodations that ensure employees can adjust their breaks accordingly to take care of their service animal
Have multiple wheelchair-accessible bathrooms
Lastly, a general accessibility rule to abide by is this: allow people with disabilities to work with their strengths, not against their disability. Gordon Food Service, for example, created an internship program for people with disabilities that provided training, accessibility, and a welcoming environment for entry-level positions. Nathan Mort, an individual with autism, was hired to track warranty claims, a job he excelled at because its reliance on routines resonated with his neurodiversity: “A reason why I like my job is because it’s kind of the same thing over and over again. I really like routines. That is part of my autism.”
Ensuring employees are not working against their disability can be as simple as providing a chair to a cashier who is unable to stand for long periods of time. Again, we must talk to our employees with disabilities and determine what accommodations are best for them—from there, accessibility is almost inherent!
2. Financial
Offering financial support to people with disabilities perhaps feels like it goes without saying, but in my experience, this category is often overlooked when it comes to disability inclusion. Fortunately, there are a multitude of ways we can be intentionally inclusive about offering financial support regarding disability, and I want to hone in on two: social support and benefits packages.
In terms of social support, it is crucial that companies invest in organizations dedicated to uplifting people with disabilities to demonstrate that “inclusion” goes beyond the boundaries of a single company. After all, inclusion encompasses both organizational growth and social growth! Bank of America, for example, has an ongoing three-year, $5 million grant to Special Olympics, the goal of which is to expand leadership programs into urban school districts to address disparities faced by people with intellectual disabilities, especially people of color. Similarly, T-Mobile is a sponsor of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, where they often physically attend youth tournaments in order to talk to them about T-Mobile and encourage them to apply.
In other words, financially investing in organizations that support communities with disabilities is both a crucial way to demonstrate intentional inclusion and a viable means of engaging the future generation of employees with disabilities to work at one’s company—a win-win!
Additionally, having comprehensive benefits packages are important for all employees at an organization, but perhaps especially so for individuals with disabilities, who often face disproportionately higher medical bills and economic crises. Two disability-inclusive factors to incorporate in one’s benefits packages, then, are health reimbursements arrangements (HRAs) and life insurance packages. Why?
HRAs are fairly self-explanatory, as their express purpose is to give employers the opportunity to reimburse their employees, tax-free, for health insurance premiums and medical expenses. This arrangement could be life-saving for people with disabilities, who may have an expensive chronic medical condition or encounter unexpected medical costs because of a health emergency. Offering this type of financial support to employees with disabilities is thus crucial to inclusion, as it demonstrates that the organization wants people with disabilities to remain financially stable and able to perform the best work they can without the looming threat of medical bills.
Life insurance policies are also often valuable to people with disabilities for the simple but frustrating reasons that life insurance companies often view individuals with disabilities as a greater “risk” and are thus more likely to offer incredibly expensive coverage, if they offer any at all. Fortunately, basic life insurance from one’s company is typically low-cost or free to the employee, providing people with disabilities the reassurance that their company not only supports them but also their families and loved ones.
3. Community
Last but certainly not least, intentional inclusion of people with disabilities extends to ensuring that they have a supportive community. What do I mean by this statement?
On the most literal level, it is important for organizations to allow employees with disabilities to connect with one another. At the feedback from employees with disabilities, for example, Bank of America had their disability Employee Resource Groups (ERG) “allow members to see who is near them (with each individuals’ permission) and who the other members of the ERG are nationally as well (similarly, with permission).” Choice is key, where no employees should feel pressured to be “out” with their disability unless they desire to do so, but giving individuals with disabilities the opportunity to connect with one another can help ensure no one feels like “the only,” i.e. the pressure to be the sole representative of people with disabilities in an organization.
Beyond the literal definition of community, organizations should also develop and emphasize flexible work options for people with disabilities. In doing so, they foreground their employees’ autonomy and decision-making about how they want to engage with the workplace. Allow individuals with disabilities to set their own hours! Allow various means of remote work, with clear guidelines outlined about who individuals should reach out with questions! Redefining “community” beyond the traditional 9-to-5, in-person office network ensures that individuals with chronic fatigue, for example, can more easily balance their work and their well-being by not having to unnecessarily travel to an office.
Let’s be intentional in showing people with disabilities they are valued, supported, and utterly necessary to the practical and creative functions of every organization!
Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company with a primary mission for advancing individuals in leadership. Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential. In addition, she provides guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within the organization.
Reach her at DimaGhawi.com and BreakingVases.com.
