Disability inclusion is not discretionary. It is a must.
Written by Caroline Casey for World Economic Forum. Read full article here.
Although I was diagnosed with ocular albinism at six months old, my parents made the decision to not inform me and I was raised as a sighted child, attended a ‘normal’ mainstream school and my low vision was never discussed.
I inadvertently found out the ‘truth’ when I was 17 and refused to accept it as I did not want to deal with it. I threw myself into the closet and proceeded to dwell there for the next 11 years. At 28, I finally began the journey of self-acceptance.
The irony of the phrase ‘hiding in plain sight’ was not lost on me as I contorted my needs and stifled my voice. I was petrified of being a burden or asking for help. Back then, I thought that asking for help would be deemed as attention seeking, that my peers would view me as less than and not capable of doing my job.
I spent so much of my formative years passing as a sighted person and finding workarounds that when I could no longer mask my needs, I did not know how to tell my employers. Holding back such an integral part of who I was felt exhausting and I found myself trebling my workload. Never again.
More than 1.3 billion people ?across the world live with some form of disability and, with an ageing population, this number is steadily increasing. Having an inclusive society that benefits everyone needs to shift from being an ideal into a fully-fledged reality.
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It is unacceptable for CEOs, board members and other key decision makers to continue to ignore 20% of the population. Whilst I may be legally blind, having limited sight does not stop me from having vision and I truly believe in the power of the collective.
By galvanising 500 of the world’s most powerful CEOs to commit to putting disability inclusion in their business agendas we can affect real and meaningful change. Leaders know that it is in their interest to join our community and they trust us to point them in the right direction when it comes to inclusion. This is all about ensuring culture change – leaders make choices and choices create culture.
There is a desperate need for systemic change – not just inspiring moments. Despite a growing focus on diversity and inclusion (D&I) in business, disability continues to be caught in a systemic blind spot, preventing true change from occurring.
We must interrogate why disability inclusion remains the poor cousin of D&I and do better.?The New York Times ?recently published an expose that featured doctors openly admitting that people with disabilities were less desirable patients, with discriminatory discourse that portrayed disability as an inconvenience.
Unfortunately, this study was merely...