Title: The Handshake
Series: Awareness Is The First Step Toward Change
Creator: Terry Bremer (creative director)
Date: Circa 1990
Source: Disability History Museum (online)
www.disabilitymuseum.org/dhm/lib/catcard.html?id=441
On Kickball, Group 4, and Growing Up:
“I was crushed that my accomplishments did nothing to expand her sense of who or what I was. Since I was coded for disability, she saw me as one ever in need of help, if not protection.” – from an essay by Andrew Leibs
These questions and answers are taken from a phone interview I had with Andrew in mid-April 2011.
Tell me about yourself and your experience with disability.
I too have faced discrimination all my life, at 39. I have cerebral palsy. I have struggled to prove everyone wrong, that I am competent and intellectual, brilliant, despite my unique walk. In my youth, I said I did not belong in special ed, that I did belong in honors classes, and I got into them. My favorite job was my first one, as a Student Assistant at the college, in fall 1991. The college was just beginning its ADA initiatives. I served as a scribe for students with mobility impairments or learning differences. I read textbooks on tape by leaning over my tape recorder and pressing the record button. Now we have the Kindle! It was a great beginning.
The working world after that has been unkind, at times. As a degreed professional, at one company, I was told my degree did not matter because it was not earned recently, my experience did not matter because it was not already management level, and my founding of the employee resource group there did not count because it was volunteer and not paid experience. A granted request for an accommodation was considered a raise, and a reclassification of my job description was considered a promotion. For both I was told to be grateful. “I am telling you this so you do not get your hopes up. You don’t want to look foolish. Everyone can see you applied.” Despite graduating from college with Cum Laude distinction, I was pigeon-holed in an entry-level position and had not received a promotion in 10 years. Last week I interviewed for a job, and I was told that I needed to look more professional to protect the image of the brand. I look as professional as I can, although I look very young and have a distinct walk.
I decided to courageously step out on my own. I am a Cornell University Certified Consultant with The Disability Training Alliance. I train companies to raise interest in ADA compliance and give understanding, knowledge, and awareness of disability issues. I am certified to train the following nine (9) Cornell programs.
Program 1: Disability Awareness: Understanding the ADA — and How to Communicate Respectfully and Effectively with People with Disabilities
Program 2: Getting Hired and Moving Ahead in a Job When Working with a Disability
Program 3: Tapping into Talent: Best Practices in Hiring, Retaining and Accommodating People with Disabilities
Program 4: Serving Customers with Disabilities: Reaching Out Expanding Your Market
Program 5: About Hidden Disabilities: Legal, Practical and Human Issues
Program 6: Reaching Individuals with Disabilities: Accessibility in Federal, State or Municipal Entities
Program 7: Reaching Individuals with Disabilities: Accessibility in Private or Commercial Businesses
Program 8: Accessible Technology in the Workplace
Program 9: Accessible Web Sites: Everyone Benefits!
I also have programs about best practices with employee resource groups and establishment of a mentoring program. I am developing one about best practices for universal design that are elegant and go beyond ADA mandate. One about permission marketing and other types of visionary pioneering is percolating.
1. First, tell me about your organization–what does it do; does it help both employers and employees, and if so, how?
The Disability Training Alliance was founded in 2005. It is an alliance of diversity professionals and subject matter experts training organizations on matters of disability awareness. Topics of interest include awareness and etiquette, disclosure and accommodation, talent management, accessibility for all, employee resource groups, mentoring, sharing of best practices in consortiums. Our mission is to create successful experiences and outcomes in all phases of employment: recruitment, interviewing, hiring, retention/engagement, and promotion/advancement.
We provide consulting to corporations such as retailers, insurers, pharmaceuticals, healthcare providers, financial and educational institutions, telecom and technology companies, etc. In these changing times, companies need awareness and education when it comes to the inclusion of disability in corporate culture. We present best practices in training workshops to ensure access for all. In the U. S., people with disabilities are an untapped talent pool 54 million strong. We discuss employment trends.
Why is disability awareness important? Those “living with disability” are the largest minority group in the world, one anyone may join at any time, due to traumatic birth, accident/injury (youth, workplace, civilian, and military), new diagnosis, progression of disease, and living a long life. One in five on the planet are affected by disability personally, and four in ten are affected tangentially. In th US, this group is the most spendy: $1.4T in buying power, and $220B in discretionary income. (Those baby boomers!)
The incidence of disability is increasing for many reasons. Due to innovative medical technology, people are living longer, and surviving life experiences they would not have survived in the past. One in two of the elderly have at least one disability; the most disabling condition is arthritis. Conflicts around the globe are causing our young veterans to return with debilitating injuries; they still need to earn a livelihood somehow to support their families. Due to the recessionary post 9/11 economy, baby boomers are staying in the workforce for longer periods of time; the retirement limit is being raised to keep wage earners in the economy. Because of modern diet and lifestyle, our children are not exactly healthy. Childhood obesity is a serious concern; our future wage earners will be experiencing disability sooner than their parents and grandparents ever did, even before they enter the workplace. Employers must be prepared for these realities.
2. How has hiring of employees with disabilities changed over the past two decades, e.g. are there some disability groups that are now finding employment that didn’t used to?
“There are no good jobs for people with disabilities in your company; but there is a good person with a disability for every job in your company.”
– Richard Pimentel, consultant and advocate on employment and disability issues
According to the National Council on Disability (NCD), “the promise of the ADA is the elimination of disability-based discrimination in all aspects of society.” This promise of help/entitlement provided by the ADA has been negligible. The NCD states, furthermore, “Disparities still exist in access to health care (insurance) and economic self-sufficiency (personal financial assets).” People with disabilities want societal inclusion, and that includes wage-earning employment.
Twenty years after the passage of the ADA, as of July 26, 2010, 30-50% of working age adults with a disability, including college grads with a disability, are employed, compared to a 90% employment rate for working age adults and college graduates without a disability. This is with advances in education, transportation, building codes, communication, technology, etc. That does not mean 30-50% full-time employment. Of those who are working, most are underemployed. What that means is that they are overqualified for the work they do, the work they are doing is unrelated to their knowledge, skills, abilities, and strengths, or it is transitory (temporary and/or part time) and not permanent employment.
Accessibility to employment is a civil rights issue, an economic sustainability issue, and a human rights issue. Most disabilities occur during prime working age. Everyone is temporarily able-bodied. Disability can happen to anyone at any time.
3. What resources or strategies would you suggest to a college graduate about to start looking for work, e.g. gauging if a prospective employer will accommodate his or her needs; important considerations, etc.
Waiting until graduation from college to commence with the job search is too late. The process should begin in junior high/early mid high. Accommodation requests and confident disclosure training need to happen early, so students are ahead in their self-advocacy.
There are remedies for this bleak employment outcome. Although there is not yet a national organization for all students with disabilities, as recruiters would find by race, ethnicity, and gender and possibly orientation on college campuses, students with disabilities can be found if recruiters know where to look. One strategy is to source from BOTH the career services and the disability services departments for outreach; every junior college and college and university in the country has two these departments. The reason BOTH need to be sourced is that they do not interact; they are in separate circles of influence.
Another strategy is to go to the user-experts. There are also national organizations that can assist. The National Business and Disability Council (NBDC) has the Emerging Leaders Program. Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD) has the Career Gateway and Student Summits and Annual conference. The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) has two internship programs: The Congressional Internship Program and The Federal Agency Internship Program. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has the Entry Point Program for science, tech, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. Lime Connect, founded by Rich Donovan, a graduate of Columbia University’s Business School, is another resource. Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) is nationwide during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This year NDEAM will be on a date TBD in October 2011. NDEAM is every October.
If PWD need accommodations, they need to ask, and not wait until their job performance suffers. In my experience, companies will not offer accommodation. It must be sought. That was the retail industry. Technology and telecom and other industries are different. That is one point of view. However, what if one of your employees has a heart attack or a car accident, and has a sudden, immediate need to work from home or from where they are receiving care? Is the company prepared to have a buddy or department come out to the home or rehab place to set up an office, to go above and beyond legal mandate? It does not matter what level of job band you are or how high potential you are considered to be to have accommodation provided for you. It needs to be provided when reasonable and possible, whether you are an admin or an executive, for equitable enjoyment of employment.
4. How much employment of disabled people can be attributed to the ADA? Has the ADA made a significant impact on helping disabled people get hired?
“It’s changed the lives of people. You know, if you are a parent pushing a stroller, if you are pulling a roller bag behind you, if you are a delivery person delivering something (using a ramp or a curb cut), you are using all of those features that are there because of the ADA.”
– Andrew Imparato, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
I would “yes and no”. Yes because accessibility to transportation and buildings themselves allows for access to interviews, and accessible technology provides employment possibility: earning potential and enhanced productivity. In 1990, only 5% of buses were accessible. In 2010, 95% of buses were accessible. To those who rely on public transportation to get to and from work or school or around town to run errands, shop and dine out with loved ones, or cast their votes at the polls, accessible transportation is a life changer. In December 2010, when I saw a kneeling bus in Albuquerque, NM, I was enthralled. That is due to the ADA.
Since the passage of the ADA, the presence of diversity and inclusion initiatives and the formation of employee resource groups (ERGs) within their context – which are used to create a sustainable workforce and expand market share – have become prominent and award-winning. In their desire to eradicate barriers to employment and economic power, corporations must consider discrimination on the basis of both obvious and non-obvious disability along with other forms of it by race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and orientation. I will explain ERG best practices later on.
No because the numbers are not showing it. They have remained flat for 20 years, similar to the numbers a century ago. The employment rate is still terribly low compared to the general population’s employment statistics (with and without a high school diploma or a college degree). Preconceptions and misconceptions, equating physicality with ability, and fear of the unknown exist with recruiters, HR representatives, managers, and coworkers. An affirmative action/quota component is missing in the ADA which decreases its effectiveness, in my opinion, compared to other diverse groups by race, ethnicity, gender, and orientation.
Government programs are often a disincentive to work. What I mean by that is the cliff effect: the actual benefits to staying on government assistance outweigh the personal costs of not being on it. Although physical barriers to employment are being removed, attitudinal barriers to employment remain.
5. Should a candidate with a disability be up front about and discuss their disability during interviews–are there pros and cons to that? Or is simply relying on your resume and experience the best approach?
As Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD) says in one of its taglines, “Some employers feel uncomfortable hiring the ‘disabled.’ Some don’t.” Pursue the ones who are comfortable. This question is a dual one about disability disclosure and the process of a request for a reasonable accommodation.
I wish we could rely on the resume alone to keep the playing field as level possible, as all other candidates do. However, the playing field is decidedly not level and people are people with their own unspoken biases to what they consider “entitlement” regarding civil rights for those with disabilities. Chai Feldblum, EEOC Commissioner in DC, says it is an equality + remedying an equality – situation.
Per Cornell University, the ADA has different disclosure provisions for three (3) stages of the employment process: hiring, or “pre-employment,” post-offer but pre-employment start, and post-employment or start of work. Thoughtful consideration includes the individual, the job task, and the disability’s nature. “A reasonable accommodation is: 1) any change in the work environment or way things are done that allows a person with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunity, 2) provided to qualified individuals unless this poses an undue hardship, 3) an informal, interactive process between employee and employer – in an ideal world. The employer is obligated to provide an accessible hiring process. If an employer claims they can’t provide the accommodation, they must show that it causes them undue hardship: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/jobapplicant.html.”
Be a confident self advocate. You have legal rights. Know yourself: your personality, abilities, preferences, skills, and goals. You are not your disability. That is just a label, a societal construct. Know your disability: what you need to ask for, what provisions and progress have been made through the years. Think highly of yourself! Be bold about your ability and be able to explain your performance strengths and transferable skills from work/school and life activities. Skills a candidate with a disability brings to the table are analytical, communication, and business skills gained from a lifetime of thinking faster and more visionary than anyone else; problem-solving, decision-making and leadership skills gained from experiential learning; internships, networking, mentoring opportunities, and officer-holding positions (high school and college campus, social/community/religious and professional organizations).
When deciding to disclose, use situational judgment. If the disability does not affect job function or performance, there is no reason to disclose. If the disability does affect the essential job functions and thus require accommodation to be successful, or if it would affect one’s performance reviews once on the job, be prepared to show documentation and present a formal request for an accommodation once hired. Be proactive. One way to disclose informally would be to overcome objections ahead of time. “Let me show you how I would handle that or do that, or how I have handled and done that in the past.” One of my mentors, when he was starting out in his career, he took his accommodation (a step stool) with him to job interviews to allay “unspoken” apprehension.
Recruiters and HR reps can make this easier as a common courtesy. For travel planning, let all candidates know whether the interview site can be reached by public transportation (or not) and is accessible. For reassurance, let all candidates know if the interview will be half an hour (or half a day). For inclusion, offer collateral in accessible formats, and have open captioning for all meetings and webcasts. Partner with non-profits in the community; they are your subject matter experts! Contact your regional Disability and Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC). Call 1-800-949-4ADA for help. See http://www.dlrp.org/.
Don’t be afraid to hire a person with a disability, fearing the person will request an expensive, outlandish accommodation. Many people with disabilities self-accommodate and problem solve expertly by this point in life. Most accommodations, if needed, cost less than $500. Accommodations might be expensive, exchanging the presence of heavy manual doors for automatic opening doors, for example. This change allows for universal design: the employee with a mobility issue who uses a wheelchair or crutches, and the employee pulling a laptop bag with one hand while carrying a Starbucks and papers in the other. All access is a best practice.
6. Any ancillary advice, anecdotes, and observations regarding the people with disabilities in the workplace would be very welcome.
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) help with all aspects of a company’s business case in recruitment, employment, supply chain, technology, and marketing. Participation in them, while voluntary and outside of stated job responsibilities, leads to increased visibility through leadership, possible promotions, gained market share, strategic planning feedback, innovative customer service, engaged community involvement. They are business entities, led/supported/attended by executive level upper management.
People with disabilities are capable and competent with candor, a can-do spirit, and unique perspectives. They do not need incubation like baby chicks. “One cannot consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar.” – Helen Keller. They need to be included for their abilities and perspectives.
According to Disability and Business: Best Practices and Strategies for Inclusion (2006) by Charles A Riley II, professor of Business Journalism at Baruch College and former editor-in-chief of WE Media, only 7% of corporations in this country have such a group for disability awareness in corporate culture. This book is my bible. Other current sources for information on ERG best practices are the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN), the National Business and Disability Council (NBDC) and Diversity Inc. Best Practices.
A leading insurance company has an ERG called possAbilities. It is chartered. It has a centralized budget and corresponding reasonable accommodation policy. Its focus is on employees with disabilities, including veterans, family members with disabilities, disability-owned suppliers, and customers with disabilities. It raisers awareness with its annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) events and Disability Mentoring Day (DMD), a part of NDEAM, educates through lunch and learn symposiums, establishes internship programs, leads by attracting enthused supporters who advocate for PWD, promotes culture change, has relationships with community partners, supports community events for PWD. ERG’s highlight the inherent value, significant life experience, and diverse perspectives PWD bring with them to work every day. “possAbilities has changed business culture, policies, and technology in support of people with disabilities to enhance an inclusive and supportive environment that empowers individuals with disabilities to be productive and achieve their full potential.” These are best practices any company could be quite proud of!
For more about Disability and Business: Best Practices and Strategies for Inclusion, see an excerpt from the chapter “Handshakes Not Handouts” at http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/cdevfin-disability-market/71-riley.pdf.
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