4 ways to make your workplace more inclusive across abilities

Some identities are highly visible. Some are less so. This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month and highlight the unique experiences of people with disabilities, both visible and invisible —?while reminding ourselves that there’s always more work to do when it comes to supporting intersectional talent.?

Disability Pride Month is celebrated this month to mark the July 1990 passing of the?Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) . Learn more about the history of this pride month —?and 7 ways to celebrate it —?in our?explainer .?

If you have an employee with a disability, chances are high that you aren’t aware you do. For workers with invisible disabilities, 88% choose not to disclose those disabilities at work, per?HBR . This could be for a myriad of reasons: stigma, misunderstanding, discrimination, or fear of those things happening.

According to?Hidden Talent: How Leading Companies Hire, Retain, and Benefit from People with Disabilities , most companies have positive, favorable attitudes toward people with disabilities —?and even see positive social or community responses towards hiring people with disabilities — but don’t act in line with those values.?

Looking for ways you can do better? Read on.

4 ways to make your workplace more inclusive across abilities

Twenty-seven percent of American adults ?are disabled. Here are four ways you can make the workplace better for them — whether you know about their disabilities or not:

1. Review your pay policies.?Because of a section of the Fair Labor Standards Act that hasn’t been successfully reformed since it was introduced in 1938, it’s legal for businesses to pay a “subminimum wage ” to people with disabilities. That’s a particularly egregious —?and yet still legal —?way of discriminating against people with disabilities, but salary gaps exist, too. The average U.S. household that does not include any people with disabilities has a median income of $68,700, and the?average U.S. household that does include people with disabilities ?earns $43,300.

2. Adopt permanent working flexibility.?Many companies transitioned to flex hours during the pandemic but haven’t formalized that policy. Allowing all employees, including those with disabilities, to work from home, choose their own hours, or otherwise control their own schedule helps drive inclusion.

3. Designate quiet spaces in office settings and offer various communication methods in online settings.?People with disabilities, including ADHD or dyslexia, may prefer to work in certain places (i.e. without background noise) or receive information in certain ways (i.e. in a written summary versus an audio recording, or vice versa). Set up norms for communication and behavior that allow everyone to thrive.

4. Revisit accommodations.?Many employers consider accommodations only when an employee is onboarding. Make sure you have a process in place for regularly checking in on employees and seeing if there are new accommodations or adjusted ones that they need to do their best work. Consider providing a list of examples.?This ?is a great guide to different disabilities and possible corresponding accommodations.

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