Business is Personal for Many Celebrating Disability Pride Month

By Lauren Camdzic , Lead, Disability Inclusion Task Force, Porter Novelli

Like other dimensions of identity grown out of historically marginalized and disenfranchised communities such as gender, race and sexuality, disability and the journey to claiming that piece of oneself is a multi-dimensional and highly personal. As Disability Pride Month comes to an end, I’ve reflected a great deal on the evolution of my own disability pride, and how my employers play a role in shaping my identity.

My professional and disabled identities have always been tightly interwoven, and the process of owning my disabled identity has largely dovetailed with my professional growth. Growing up, becoming a successful professional in corporate America was the dream, and everything I did in school was in pursuit of that goal. Then, at the most pivotal point in that journey, just two months after graduating from college, I sustained a spinal cord injury that resulted in permanent disability. Suddenly, I wasn’t only a young professional looking for her “big break.” My injury added a new layer and challenge to realizing my professional goals. During the months of rehabilitation immediately following my injury, one of the biggest mental and emotional hurdles was coming to terms with what the new version of me would be, and how my career aspirations fit into the picture.

Now a seasoned professional, I am able to reflect on how my workplaces over the years have played an enormous role in fostering both my professional and disabled identity, and I’ve observed some key themes that can help foster pride in the disability community:

• Accessible Accommodations are a critical factor in ensuring people with disabilities have the same opportunities as non-disabled employees. Not only are accessible accommodations federally required thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), (which celebrated its 32nd anniversary on July 26th), they contribute to building a culture that extends beyond tolerance, and focuses instead on care, consideration, and inclusion.
• Creating opportunity is another way employers can contribute to fostering disability pride. Especially for those in a position of privilege, deliberate efforts to extend growth opportunities and recognition to disabled employees help build equity in the workplace. According to The World Economic Forum, “people with disabilities who are employed often experience unequal hiring and promotion standards, unequal pay for equal work and occupational segregation.” Further, they found, “although 90% of companies claim to prioritize diversity, only 4% of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disability.”
• Fostering community in the workplace is perhaps the most influential way an employer can encourage disability pride (unsurprisingly, it also tends to be the most difficult to achieve). Most disabled people know what it is like to be the “only” in an office, on a Teams call, or in a boardroom…and it’s an isolating feeling. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the unemployment rate among those with a disability in 2021 was 10.1 percent while the unemployment rate among those without a disability in 2021 was 5.1 percent. Hiring people with disabilities and creating a space for them to come together, such as through Porter Novelli’s Disability Inclusion Task Force and Omnicom’s Open Disability Employee Resource Group, can be foundational to promoting disability pride in the workplace.

Both my professional and disabled identities were born at the exact same time, and for better or worse, my career has been my measuring stick for personal growth and a key contributor to disability pride. With more than 15 percent of the world’s population identifying as disabled, employers globally have a responsibility and opportunity to create employment experiences that the community can be proud of.