Goodbye Disability Pride Month: Hello Disability Pride Year Round

As we say 'Goodbye' to Disability Pride Month, we reflect on its origins and meaning, and how organisations can apply the affirmative model of disability to embed disability pride all year round.?

Origins

The first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston in July 1990 to mark the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signing. Since then, the movement has gained momentum and become a month-long event, including Disability Pride Parades across America, the U.K, New Zealand, South Korea, and Norway, among others.?

Definitions

There are many views of what constitutes 'disability pride'. In the essay 'Disability Pride is Back!', visual artists Qadri and Mac Farlane (2020) reflect on the creation and installation of a Disability Pride Mural (the first of it's kind in Australia):

‘Disability Pride means. . . owning ourselves and owning our place here in the world, and that our place in the world is just as valid as anybody else’ (Sifis 2019 in Qadri and Mac Farlane 2020).

?‘Disability Pride is . . . learning to be more than just okay with myself and with the various diversities my body foists upon me . . . and see myself as a whole person’ (Morphy Walsh 2019 in Qadri and Mac Farlane 2020).?

The online publication AmeriDisabilty describes Disability Pride as ‘accepting and honouring each person's uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity’(2019).

E, D & I Agenda and Disclosure Rates

Despite these positive notions, there is a reluctance by both organisations and employees to discuss disability. Disability is often overlooked in an organisation's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy. When referred to, disability does not get the same level of attention as other areas on the diversity agenda (Greedy 2021). Likewise, employees do not feel comfortable discussing and disclosing a disability (Leigh Day 2014) due to the fear of stigmatization and the impact on their recruitment prospects and career progression (von Schrader, Malzer, and Bruyère 2014).

Applying principles from the affirmative model of disability can help an organisation to confront stigmatisation and encourage discussion and disability pride all year round. Developed in response to the social model of disability, the affirmative model rejects the social model's focus on personal tragedy and dependency and advocates the positive aspects of 'disability' and the need for individuals to take control over their own support and training (Swain and French 2000: 578-9). The model emphasises 'disability as a positive personal and collective identity, and disabled people leading fulfilled and satisfied lives' (Ibid: 571).

So what does this mean in practical terms? What follows are seven practical steps you can take to embed the Affirmative Model of Disability into your organisation's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion policy and strategy:

?Seven Ways your Organisation can Practice Disability Pride 52 Weeks of the Year?

1. ?Leadership buy-in: Encourage leadership and management to talk openly about disability; this could be their personal experience, a friend, or a family member.?
2. ?Self-advocacy: Allow employees to create self-advocacy documents, reflecting on preferred ways of working/learning, strengths, challenges, and areas for development. Complete the document independently or in formal supervision or mentoring context. They can be for everyone, not just people who identify as being disabled or neurodivergent.??
3. The experience of disability is partly constructed out of the environment; it's neither the individual's 'fault' or sole responsibility. Ensure that your communications and language align with the social and affirmative models of disability.
4. ?Disability is the norm, not the exception. Create a campaign to destigmatise disability in the workplace by exploring acquired Disability and Neurodiversity. 83% of disability is acquired over our lifetime.
5. Put disabled people at the heart of organisational change. Form a Disability and Neurodiversity Steering Committee, made up of different positions and experiences. Give the committee a budget to enact and monitor change (and pay for their time).?
6. ?Empower disabled voices throughout the organisation: run a reverse mentoring scheme, where disabled and neurodivergent employees mentor line managers and senior leaders.?
7. ?Enable disabled employees with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Invest in professional workplace adjustment services to ensure adjustments are robust and enabling. Disabled employees don't know everything. Please don't assume that Ken from accounts can support Sam in marketing because they both have cerebral palsy.?

Are you looking to embed disability inclusion into your E, D & I strategy?

Perhaps you're at the start of the process and looking for some professional input. Or maybe you’ve begun the disability inclusion journey but not sure how to implement and monitor new initiatives?

At Dyslexia Box, we've been working with the team at the MoneySuperMarket Group to embed neuroinclusion into the workplace. Here's what Heather Edwards, Inclusion and Engagement specialist had to say:

"As part of Moneysupermarket Group’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy we asked Dyslexia Box to conduct a disability and neurodiversity audit on our current policies and practices, as we needed their specialist insight and advice. Their expertise has been invaluable and has highlighted challenges and barriers that we can now work to remove. On completion of the audit, we received detailed reports and recommendations. The Dyslexia Box team were happy to spend as much time as we needed to talk through their findings and ensure understanding. We’re looking forward to delivering on their recommendations and return to Dyslexia Box for future advice and training."

Contact us to have a chat about how we can support your team and organisation.

Dr Deborah Leveroy is the Neurodiversity and Inclusion Lead at Dyslexia Box, a workplace adjustment provider specialising in enabling Neurodiversity and Disability in the workplace.

Works Cited

AmeriDisability, (2019) What is Disability Pride… And How to Display It [Online]. Available at: What is Disability Pride… And How to Display It - The Latest National Disability News (ameridisability.com (Accessed 1.8.22).

Farlane, L. & Qadri, D. (2020) Disability Pride is Back! [Online]. Available at: Disability_Pride_is_Back (1).pdf (Accessed 1.8.22).

Greedy, E. (2021) Disability needs to be higher on the D&I agenda [Online]. Available at: HR Magazine - Disability needs to be higher on the D&I agenda (Accessed 1.8.22).

Leigh Day, (2014) The Purple workforce – A report by Leigh Day into the experience of disabled people in the workforce [Online]. Available at: disability-report_v8_final_online.pdf (base-uk.org) (Accessed 1.8.22).

Swain, J. and French, S. (2000). 'Towards an Affirmative Model of Disability'. Disability and Society, 15(4), p569-582.

von Schrader, S., Malzer, V. and Bruyère, S. (2014) 'Perspectives on disability disclosure: the importance of employer practices and workplace climate'. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal. Vol 26, No 4. p237–55.?