All around the world,
there's a huge disability employment gap.
In most countries,
the unemployment rate
for people with disabilities
is twice that of people
without disabilities.
Often it's as high as 80 percent.
There are over a billion people
in the world living with a disability.
To have 80 percent of us unemployed,
that's so much untapped potential.
[The Way We Work]
As someone with a paralyzed arm
and living with a mental health disability
who's worked in the financial sector
and entertainment and tech,
I know that having a disability
doesn't bar you from doing good work.
So it's shocking to me
that this disability employment gap
is so persistent.
In the US, the Americans
with Disabilities Act
prohibits discrimination in hiring
and requires employers
to provide reasonable accommodations.
And studies show that companies
who prioritize disability inclusion
are more profitable overall.
So what exactly is the problem?
Recruiters, human resources
staff, managers,
they tend to think of hiring
people with disabilities as a social good
or as something they have
to do to meet a quota.
But they should be hiring disabled people
because of our strengths
and all of the value
and innovation we can bring.
Here are three things
every workplace can do
to truly welcome people with disabilities.
It's not comprehensive, but it's a start.
First, stop making assumptions.
Our culture tends to treat disability
as a medical diagnosis,
a tragedy or a charity case.
And all of these things
are rooted in pity.
They prevent us from being
seen as peers and equals.
These assumptions
lead to a lot of avoidance.
People tend to not ask us about our lives
and hobbies outside of work
or don't invite us
to company social outings.
There's so much fear
about saying the wrong thing,
that instead people say nothing at all.
They treat disabled people
like we're invisible
when all we want is to be seen
and heard and accepted
like anyone else.
These assumptions also make
people jump to conclusions
about what we can and can't do
without even asking.
For me, assuming I can't type
because I can't use one of my arms
or assuming a blind person
can't be an engineer.
When to succeed at work, you need
to have people who see your full potential
because without that, nobody wins.
So please, take the time to get
to know us, invite us to things,
ask us the same kind of questions
you would of any colleague.
What drew you to this work?
What are your goals?
What do you hope to do from here?
And listen to our answers
but also respect our boundaries.
If there's something
we're not comfortable discussing,
we'll let you know.
And any time you feel unsure,
just ask us privately
so we can make those decisions.
You can even start by saying,
"I'm still learning how to get better
at talking about disability."
Second, rethink accessibility
and accommodations starting now.
Disability takes so many different forms.
It can be about someone's sight,
hearing or mobility.
It can be ADHD, dyslexia or chronic pain.
About 62 percent
of employees with disabilities
have ones that are not apparent.
So even if you don't think
there are people with disabilities
in your organization, there probably are.
And that's why I strongly recommend
that workplaces create spaces
with disability and accessibility in mind.
That way you're paving the way
for future employees,
clients and customers
who might benefit
from accommodations, too.
At one of my first jobs
at an investment bank,
the company did something cool.
Within a month of starting,
I and all other new hires
got an ergonomic assessment
of our workstations.
They actually had a person thinking
about my access needs in multiple ways,
like getting a foot rest
and keyboard wrist pad,
which a lot of colleagues got,
to asking if I might benefit
from speech to text technology
because I type with one hand.
I've always tried to find
these little hacks
to make my work environment
more comfortable,
but the fact that this person
offered so many options proactively,
it made me feel so welcome
without making me feel
like my needs were "special."
It would be amazing if every employer
could do some version of this.
I mean, why not?
But there are also more simple things
that can make an impact.
Like, what about listing
accessibility information
if you're hosting an event?
Or automatically turning on captions
for video meetings?
Another way to think about this is:
What do my employees need
in order to thrive?
It starts with equipping people
with a variety of tools.
Third, embrace flexibility,
like disabled people
have had to do our whole lives.
People with disabilities have been
advocating for remote work environments
and flexible hours for decades now,
and it took a pandemic for the world
to realize it could happen.
All of a sudden, this thing
that seemed so wild
has become commonplace.
And this isn't the first time
I can think of
when an accommodation
for people with disabilities
ended up improving life
for society at large.
Audiobooks, curb cuts, closed captioning,
even electric toothbrushes.
Disability is so often
the root of innovation.
So as we get back to the office,
let's remember that all of us
can thrive with flexibility.
For people with disabilities,
let's provide the option to work remotely
at the hours when we can be
the most productive
from wherever works best.
I mean, some of us do great
working from our bed.
And really, let's hold on to the openness
that we can work around everyone's needs.
Let's keep finding ways
to embrace flexibility
as part of our company's culture.
We know that companies need to work
harder on hiring us, retaining us,
promoting us, paying us fairly
and amplifying our efforts.
To do that, we need to stop
making assumptions,
rethink accessibility
and embrace flexibility.
That is what will help close
the disability employment gap.