On the pervasiveness of tokenism in the workplace

As International Day of Persons with Disabilities fast approaches, I can’t help but reflect on how much—and how little—progress companies have made regarding inclusion of people with disabilities in their workforce. As a person with disabilities myself, I am passionate about the issue of tokenism in the workplace, because I have seen firsthand how tokenism can harm employees with disabilities and undermine the goal of true inclusion.

According to the International Labour Organisation (2022), 1 billion people live with a disability of some kind, and three out of 10 people with disabilities are active workers. In Mexico alone, over seven million people live with disabilities; of these, only 2.6 million are active workers (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 2021).

This is a concerning statistic, because it suggests that many companies are still not committed to creating a truly inclusive workplace. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) clearly states that people with disabilities have “the right…to work, on an equal basis with others…this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.”?Yet, the vast majority of Mexican companies are still reluctant to invest in recruiting and empowering people with disabilities.?

Why is this the case? According to Kaye et al. (2011), employers don’t hire and retain people with disabilities because of concerns with costs of adapting workspaces to be more accessible, handling workers with disabilities’ needs, the adaptation of people with disabilities to the demands of the job, the image of the company before its customers and clients, and their reaction to being assisted by a person with disabilities, among others. This is clearly a sociocultural stigma that has been unconsciously transferred into the workspace, and it has been quite difficult to eradicate.

“But what of those companies who do hire and retain people with disabilities? Aren’t they making a difference?” This is a complex question. It could be argued that yes, those companies are doing something to help people with disabilities get a job; most of the time, unfortunately, it doesn’t go beyond that.

I had a conversation with some colleagues of mine who work in the Human Capital department in their respective companies. Some of their coworkers have disabilities, and were hired to fulfil the organisational goal of becoming more inclusive, diverse and socially responsible. They are fairly well-paid (slightly above the average for the sector, and much higher than the average employee with disabilities in the Mexican labour market), and enjoy some degree of autonomy in their job positions. However, they don’t have a career development plan after several years working in the same position, and don’t have a much of a say in matters crucial to their area that could make an even greater impact on the company; instead, those matters are handled by the C-Suite. The employees with disabilities are pigeonholed in their roles, expected to be visible only to bolster the company’s reputation as a caring, inclusive, avant-garde employer. This is fairly common, not just in the Mexican corporate world, but as a Latin American labour market practice (with some exceptions)—and it’s tokenism, or tokenisation (Asare, 2022).

I wholeheartedly agree with Beckwith et al. (2016) and Sherbin and Kennedy (2017) that the key to overcoming bias and giving employees with disabilities the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers is to empower, mentor, support, and champion them, inviting them to have a seat at the table, and letting them participate in leadership and decision-making roles that take their expertise into account. This is what real inclusion and commitment looks like.

How can an organisation—especially in the Mexican labour market—be truly inclusive? There is no manual or checklist for this, it all depends on the company’s culture, but here are some tips:

• Involve the C-Suite and Board of Directors. A change in the corporate mindset cannot be achieved unless management is fully involved and intentional in its goal to make things happen, and committed to integrating diversity and inclusion into the organisational DNA. When company leaders are set on including and involving people with disabilities at their table, this sets off a positive and rewarding domino effect, impacting the whole workforce.
• Educate, educate, educate! Coach and foster awareness among employees of every rank on how to work alongside their peers with disabilities. Focus on minimising and nullifying biases, stressing zero tolerance towards discrimination, and provide quick and assertive solutions for problems that may arise when employees with disabilities join a team.
• Communication is key. Remember the adage: “What is not communicated, does not exist.” Incorporate inclusion and diversity into employee handbooks, code of ethics and company policies. Send out memos addressing its importance for the company, and how it will benefit everyone in the short and long run. This will make diversity and inclusion much more visible within company culture.?
• Change the narrative surrounding disability. Switch the storytelling around and focus on sharing how employees with disabilities can benefit the company at all levels, especially on improving company culture, employee engagement, and customer fidelity. ?
• Partner with organisations (especially non-profit, NGOs) that work with people with disabilities. They can offer valuable input and strategies on how to successfully and ethically make your workforce more diverse and inclusive, and how to adapt your workplace to make it more accessible for employees with disabilities.?

Tokenism is a serious problem in the corporate world, but it is one that can be overcome. There’s still so much to be done—and it will take a lot of hard work and commitment. One day, one step at a time, changing mindsets and attitudes—but above all, being intentional in making Mexico and Latin America a safe space for people with disabilities to thrive professionally.?

References

Asare, J. G. (2022, May 1). 4 Ways Companies Tokenize Underrepresented Employees. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2022/05/01/4-ways-companies-tokenize-underrepresented-employees/?sh=74b69e453b91?

Beckwith, R. M., Friedman, M. G., & Conroy, J. W. (2016). Beyond tokenism: People with complex needs in leadership roles: A review of the literature. Inclusion, 4(3), 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-4.3.137

Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. (2021, December 3).?Estadísticas a propósito del Día Internacional de Personas con Discapacidad (datos nacionales) [Press release]. https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/aproposito/2021/EAP_PersDiscap21.pdf

International Labour Organization. (2022, June 13). New ILO database highlights labour market challenges of persons with disabilities. ILOSTAT. https://ilostat.ilo.org/new-ilo-database-highlights-labour-market-challenges-of-persons-with-disabilities/?

Kaye, H. S., Jans, L. H., & Jones, E. C. (2011). Why don't employers hire and retain workers with disabilities?.?Journal of occupational rehabilitation,?21(4), 526–536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-011-9302-8

Sherbin, L. & Kennedy, J.T. (2017, December 27). The Case for Improving Work for People with Disabilities Goes Way Beyond Compliance. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/12/the-case-for-improving-work-for-people-with-disabilities-goes-way-beyond-compliance?

United Nations. (2006). United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf?