|
Since the inception
of our company in 1999, we have asserted that people with
disabilities, as a group, deserve an equal place at the
“diversity table”. As with all other groups of people who
fall under the umbrella of “target groups”, they are
striving to overcome workplace discrimination, to enjoy
equitable civil rights in the workplace, and to be able to
freely and productively participate in our economic
communities. Yet, over and over again, we see the concerns
of people with disabilities being excluded from diversity
initiatives or being represented in only a token way. At
best, people with disabilities are treated as the “poor
cousins” of all the other target groups in the world of
workforce diversity. How can that be? How can the issues
faced by people with disabilities be so pervasively avoided
by diversity practitioners whose professional careers are
centered on improving workforce diversity and inclusion?
Having grappled with
this question for years, my best guess is that, collectively
and as individuals, many diversity practitioners secretly
harbor the same discomfort with disability as any other
non-disabled person in our culture. Many diversity
practitioners, often because of their personal backgrounds,
are deeply committed to the work that they do. I suspect
that it must be very difficult for them to come to terms
with their own inability to understand and embrace another
group of people who are the target of similar workplace
discrimination. It must be discomforting for them to know
that they are not the true allies of people with
disabilities that they should be. How brave someone would
have to be to stand up and say “I have been a champion of
workforce diversity for years and yet I am still awkward
about disability issues, uncomfortable interacting with
people with disabilities, and unfamiliar with the
discrimination issues they face. Can someone help me to
overcome that and become a true ally?” Of course, it is much
easier to just carry on with the pretence of being an ally.
I think it is that
collective pretence that makes the world of workforce
diversity so ineffective in responding to the issues of
people with disabilities - let alone in embracing and
advancing their cause. Too often, people with disabilities
and their allies who attend diversity events and forums,
still have the unsettled experience of being present
(perhaps even invited), but not welcome.
There is a lot of
important work to be done amongst and with diversity
practitioners to help them realize how much they have in
common with people with disabilities, how wrong it is that
the disability community faces discrimination from the
diversity community, and how the lack of equality at the
diversity table sustains the discriminatory practices that
people with disabilities face every day in North America’s
workplaces.
A colleague in a
diversity group that I am part of recently posted a message
to our group that called for a more honest and proactive
embracing of disability issues. That call came from her own
recent and personal encounter with a disability - an
experience that opened her eyes to the ways in which
disability is not well-embraced by diversity practitioners.
As a “diversity insider”, she shared her newly-acquired
insights and concerns with our group. I approached her with
the idea of sharing those same thoughts in an article for
InclusionRX and I am happy to say that Nancy Arvold
enthusiastically agreed. I hope that her article will both
enlighten many readers and become fuel for many animated
discussions on this topic. Please share this one freely with
your colleagues and associates!
~ Rob McInnes
Some previous articles related to Disability and Diversity:
Comment? Do you have a comment on anything in this issue?
Please send us your thoughts by email. We enjoy hearing from
our readers.
Email your feedback
on this article...
inclusionrx@diversityworld.com
GUEST ARTICLE – Disability: The "Achilles
Heel" of Diversity Professionals
By Nancy Arvold
 I
am 66, a white lesbian, a therapist diversity researcher and
teacher and retired social worker. An organization I belong
to which is made up primarily of professionals who make
their living training and supporting diversity in
corporations and institutions has been having an intense
dialogue about disability sensitivity. Unfortunately it is
often the “experts” who speak up and call out the rest of us
about our unconsciousness around ability. This is true in
our group. It remains such a "lizard brain" area for us, as
one of my white allies says about herself around racism as
well. I was asked to expand the conversation to the
community who read this journal because of my “outsider”
status.
"Both Sides of
the 'temporarily abled' experience..."
I am addressing this
article particularly as a plea to diversity professionals
and others who claim to be competent in the field of
cultural and other aspects of diversity. I hope the voices
and challenges of people who have had long-term experience
with disabilities do not go unheeded. As someone who has
been on both sides of the “temporarily abled” experience,
and who works in the field of diversity training as well, I
include myself in my challenge of our insensitivity and
unconsciousness around disability issues. Last year I sent
my brother, who is profoundly hard of hearing, a singing
Valentine card. He still teases me about it.
I recall the support
two of my colleagues provided for me the year I had a hip
replacement and was struggling both with the physical
challenges as well as the challenges of accepting what
having the surgery meant in terms of probably increasing
physical limitations and what that meant to me. I was
grateful for the compassionate wisdom and information I
received from my colleagues who also had dealt with limited
mobility and joint replacement. I'm far more mobile than I
expected, and have a level of acceptance I'm grateful for.
My attitude was greatly enhanced by my friends who have
lived with long-term disabilities.
I personally continue
to struggle with a recently identified and treated mental
disorder. I hesitate to include the information in
conversations around these issues because it is a disability
I have much internalized stigma around, which is interesting
for a psychotherapist and social worker. An advocate with a
disability who has successfully battled the “system” for
many years was extraordinarily helpful when I needed to
address taking a medical leave from my job and tried to get
ADA accommodations upon my return to work. It was
eye-opening to experience the double binds and limitations
of ADA accommodations at work. I experienced just a tiny bit
of the discrimination others deal with so profoundly, and
eventually left the job because of the limited options I was
given. We Californians, and others as well, should not
forget the multiple costs of reduced services for people
with disabilities that our maddening state budget issues
will perpetrate. Most of us won't experience that directly -
at least not right now.
The diversity
practitioners organization I am a part of has struggled with
the issue of searching for a truly accessible meeting site
for our activities which also serves us in the other ways
that are so important to us. In part, this is what fueled
our dialogue. We are discovering that it is time that we
recognize that accessibility must be a priority for us. It
seems to be no accident that it is finally really "up" on
the table – maybe because more of us are reaching that age
where we cannot ignore it. We have been told that we are all
only temporarily abled, and we know that intellectually.
Some of us who have experienced periods of disability and
then recovered our mobility or whatever may forget, or we
may bring that experience with us to open our awareness
about the issue.
Confronting the needs
of an aging community is critical and it is in people's
faces more and more. We are all aging, and more and more of
us have physical limitations that make it difficult or
impossible to manage in locations used by our organizations
without demanding sufficient accessibility. We are also
discovering that there are few truly accessible sites within
budget limitations that meet other concerns as well. It
would be foolish to wait until the half of us who are
becoming or are already seniors will be unable attend our
activities because we cannot manage the rigors of the sites.
Those of us who are
close to people with disabilities and know intimately what
they experience probably have a greater awareness as well.
This is similar to reports of White people with partners or
children who are People of Color who see the daily
experiences of racism perpetrated on their loved ones,
develop greater awareness and sensitivity, and are likely to
be called to be allies for social and racial justice.
"Most of us,
including myself, are gravely unaware about disability
issues and our own insensitivity..."
I think most of us,
including myself, are gravely unaware about disability
issues and our own insensitivity about it – our language is
just an indication. We frequently say things that are
fundamentally insulting to folks with disabilities, and many
of us walk on eggshells when we talk, so we won’t make
mistakes. Basically we are well-meaning folks with good
intentions, but I believe that if we are willing to work
through our unconsciousness it will make us not only
sensitive about ability but also all the other marginalizing
issues - race, class, gender, etc. Responses and reactions
around disability issues remind me of those of white folks I
work with around race: Who me??? Oh I didn't intend
anything. You should be less sensitive. Please teach me. You
should talk to the right person about it, not me.” Etc, etc.
As a white woman I
have been deeply engaged in personal and public work around
being white that has been powerful for me and others who are
my partners in taking on that challenge for many years. I've
found there is always more to learn, that we will never
really get it, with regard to any "ism" in which we are the
dominant group. But being committed to being open, to
learning, to admitting mistakes, to be willing to face
whatever discomfort there is in being challenged and changed
by our learning, and then to keep going, seems to be what it
is all about - particularly for those of us who are
committed to a world in which difference is honored, and
disparities no longer plague us.
I believe the issue
is the "Achilles heel" of diversity professionals. Is that a
bad metaphor, given we are talking about disability - or
apt? I think most of us are very clear that a community
which cannot include and embrace the voices of any
marginalized group, whether it is People of Color, women,
LGBT folks, folks with disabilities, or any other group is
in danger as a group which claims to have a commitment to
diversity and inclusion. Most of us who work with diversity
know that when that is occurring - when a group doesn't feel
welcomed, included, and heard, that it is NOT being
welcomed, included, and heard. And if someone cannot be
included, they cannot have a voice.
"We remain as
unaware and insensitive to issues of disability as our naïve
clients are around race, gender, class, and other issues..."
We work with
organizations which have continuously struggled with issues
of disability, yes? So...what is it about us that over the
years we remain as unaware and insensitive to issues of
disability as our naïve clients are around race, gender,
class, and other issues? Rather than becoming more committed
to fully including people with disabilities and listening to
their voices powerfully to learn about ourselves and our
insensitivities, prejudices, dismissive and derogatory
actions and statements we often resort to defensiveness and
scapegoating people who speak up too directly and too
frequently.
My friends who have
disabilities and are experts in the field have shared how
difficult it is to encourage people to confront and address
issues of disability and to ally with people with
disabilities. Some of what I've gleaned from them is that to
do so we have to face a deep terror of mortality, which we
often glimpse in aging and disability. I invite us to have
the courage to take on this issue with great heart, love,
and urgency, for the sake of our own humanity and for the
wellbeing of our organizations. We are ignoring a deep
source of pain and ignorance that we are perpetrating on
those we love. Unfortunately, many of the most passionate
informed and wise voices continue to be silenced as years
pass.
Remembering the
reactions of others around issues where we are members of
the marginalized group may be a “way in.” We can use our
experience to learn about our insensitivity when we are in
the privileged or dominant group. Recalling our own
reactions to situations where we are not in the privileged
group and those who are relate to us in ways that are
hurtful can provide insight.
"Imagine
diversity trainers being on the front line as true allies
regarding ability and aging issues."
It could be
considered a real opportunity for those of us who claim to
be sensitive about diversity and who are “temporarily abled”
to develop our skill in addressing disability as fully as we
deal with whatever other "isms" occur in the organizations
we coach, teach, and train. I trust that if we do - and if
we can do it with love and respect as well as rigor, it will
transform us individually and organizationally.
We can heed a call to
listen and learn from our family members who are most deeply
impacted by issues of disability. We could commit to having
folks who currently deal with disabilities which limit ease
of participation feel welcomed in all of our programs and
organizations, and that our actions truly reflect
sensitivity to this issue.
I trust that dialogue
about this will continue to be rich and deep and reflect
commitment, appreciation, and community, even as it is
confronting to some of us. I hope it contributes to more
discussion and I look forward to comments and feedback. I,
too, am very culpable in my ignorance and insensitivity and
fear around disability. And I trust that I, too, will be
better for addressing this.
I believe we must
address this as a critical and ignored issue in our
profession - and for our larger society. Imagine diversity
trainers being on the front line as true allies regarding
ability and aging issues. Pretty cool.
Nancy Arvold is a
former social worker, practicing therapist, diversity
researcher and teacher in the San Francisco Bay area.
Currently completing her Ph.D. in transpersonal psychology,
her dissertation is entitled Doing our own Work: A
Journey into Whiteness. She can be contacted at
narvold@sfo.com.
|
 ATIA
2009
"Showcasing Excellence in
Assistive Technology"
October 29 - 31, 2009 ~ Chicago,
IL
The Assistive Technology
Industry Association brings you a powerful new conference. Choose
from 150+ educational sessions spanning the breadth and depth of
assistive technology. Connect with professionals, users, parents and
manufacturers to realize the power of assistive technology.
Experience assistive technology at work. See the future at product
previews.
More Information
Here:
www.atia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
 Ever
Widening Circle
October 30, 2009 7:00 – 9:00 pm ~ Oakland, CA.
A
gala evening celebrating the Disability Community and featuring
entertainment by singer songwriter legend Janice Ian.
More Information
Here:
www.wid.org/ewc-2009
 2009
I-NABIR CONFERENCE
"Sharing Skills – Building
Confidence"
November 1 – 3, 2009 ~
Washington, DC
The 2009 Inter-National
Association of Business, Industry, and Rehabilitation Conference
will offer opportunities to establish, strengthen and enliven our
connections with peers, with employers, and with job seekers with
disabilities. Plan to join us as we explore new and fresh approaches
to job development and to serving people with emerging disabilities
and barriers.
More Information
Here:
http://www.inabir.org/conference.html
 Employing
Outstanding Individuals with Disabilities
“Strategies on Inclusion,
Recruitment and Retention”
November 5, 2009 ~ Toronto,
Ontario
Learn strategies for employing people with
disabilities from a global perspective through speakers from Canada,
the United Kingdom, and the United States. Attend workshops that
provide information on employing people with disabilities,
accommodations, and retention. Hear of the hurdles people with
disabilities encounter in the labour market and how barriers can be
removed. Network with employers that are dedicated to diversity and
inclusion.
More Information
Here:
www.joininfo.ca/Toronto/Conference2009/
 COSD
10th Annual National Conference
November 8 – 9, 2009 ~
Dallas, TX
COSD's 10th Annual National
Conference will host important opinion leaders who will bring
actionable and usable ideas applicable for both higher education and
employers. The conference will reshape our thinking about disability
as an important component of diversity.
More Information
Here:
http://www.cosdonline.org/2009-cosd-annual-national-conference
 Think
College Capacity Building Institute
November 8, 2009 ~
Washington, DC
This Capacity Building
Institute will offer UCEDDs strategies and resources that can be
used to support the development and implementation of postsecondary
education options for people with developmental disabilities within
their states. Participants in this day-long training will be
eligible to receive a $15,000 mini-grant to support statewide
planning or development/implementation of a PSE initiative in their
state, through a competitive RFP process.
Contact Cate Weir at
Cathryn.weir@umb.edu for
more information
 15TH
Annual National (Canada) Supported Employment Conference
“Building the CASE”
November 11 – 13, 2009 ~
Moncton, NB
The CASE conference attracts
leaders in the field year after year, and is highly valued as a high
quality networking and professional development event. Conference
Highlights
• International
Speaker Sean Wiltshire opens the conference
• Former and present Members of Parliament, and past
president of Canadian
Chamber of Commerce, join
us as conference keynote speakers
• Increased focus on policy and employer involvement
• Over 400 YEARS of collective experience in Supported
Employment offered by
workshop presenters!
More Information
Here:
http://supportedemployment.ca/en/conference
 28th
Annual Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities
Conference
December 9-11, 2009 ~
Bethesda, Maryland
The source for information
and insight on disability employment issues in the federal
government for more than 25 years. Get an edge in recruiting, hiring
and retaining qualified federal employees with disabilities. Attend
to find the latest information on personnel policies and practices,
developments in technology, legal updates, and resources that will
help your agency achieve its goals.
More Information
Here:
http://www.graduateschool.edu/Conferences/Perspectives/index.php
 CAREERS
Conference 2010January 25 - 27, 2010 ~ Madison, Wisconsin
The Careers Conference is hosted
by the Center on Education and Work, part of the School of Education
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is one of the largest and
most comprehensive events of its kind, featuring top quality
professional development.
More Information Here:
www.cew.wisc.edu/careersConf/default.aspx
|
Every
once in a while something comes along that “breaks the mold” around a
disability issue. These videos do that brilliantly! They are a series of TV
advertisements from an organization in Great Britain. They have created
engaging cartoon characters in little scenarios that “change the way that
you see disability”. Turn up the volume and prepare yourself for a treat! If
you find the accents hard to understand, click on “subtitles” and experience
another advantage of captioning. If you want an extra treat, click on “Sign
Language” and watch the sign language interpreter inserted into the video
you are watching.
Teddy
Fitzmaurice is President of Teddy’s Ts. He designs, prints, and sells
Tshirts that promote human rights and disability advocacy. A person with a
cognitive disability, he graduated from high school in 2003 and began his
business in 2006.
disabledperson.com
has launched a new website to help employers and graduates with disabilities
to connect with each other. Like similar job-matching sites, this one is
particularly focused on college graduates with disabilities and features
both resume-posting and job-posting functions.
