You might think hiring’s just about resumes and references, but that’s a short-sighted view. Especially when it comes to hiring people with disabilities, the structure around the job can be just as important as the job itself. Too many employers still fumble when it comes to building inclusive environments that actually work. Not performative stuff—real supports, thoughtful incentives, and systems that don’t condescend. You’re hiring talent, not checking a box. So let’s get into what real support looks like when you’re serious about building a team that reflects the full spectrum of human potential.
Leading Companies in Disability Inclusion are Twice as Profitable
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) occurs every October and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).
This monthly observance dates to 1945. The goal is to shine a spotlight on — and raise awareness about — disability issues in the workplace, including accessibility, hiring, training, advancement and retention.
Delaney Norvor is a pioneering technology expert and advocate for underrepresented professionals, currently serving as the Director of Product Management at the National Apartment Association. Despite facing selective mutism due to dystonia, she excels in managing over $30 million in product assets and leading diverse teams. Passionate about mentorship, Delaney empowers marginalized and disabled individuals to navigate their careers, championing inclusivity and systemic change within the tech industry.
Hear Delaney discuss …
1. Her journey as a technology expert while living with selective mutism and how her experiences shaped her leadership style and approach to managing a diverse team in the tech industry.
2. Her career challenges and triumphs related to both personal and systemic discrimination and her strategies for overcoming these obstacles that can inspire others facing similar barriers.
3. Her lessons learned as a mentor and how organizations can implement these lessons to create a more supportive environment for all employees.
Takeaways:
The Importance of Inclusivity in Leadership:
Delaney’s journey highlights how diverse perspectives enhance team dynamics and drive innovation. Audiences can explore ways organizations can actively promote inclusivity and support underrepresented professionals, particularly in tech.
Strategies for Overcoming Barriers:
Delaney’s experiences with selective mutism and systemic challenges offer valuable lessons on resilience and determination. Discussions can focus on practical strategies for individuals and organizations to address discrimination and improve accessibility and support for disabled employees.
In case you missed it, October marked National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Here’s why it matters: People with disabilities represent a vast pool of untapped talent in a competitive global labor force, particularly with the domestic unemployment rate at historically low levels.
Nevertheless, too many companies still ignore people with disabilities in the hiring process — despite their proven talent, merit and ability to do the job. Moreover, even some progressive employers which hire persons with disabilities may fail to retain, train and advance this overlooked segment of the workforce due to unlawful discrimination.
Robert Chelsea was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA where he lived and was educated as average black person, but became a Burn survivor, Amputee and Face Transplant Recipient. Hear his passion for advocacy in Transplant Technology and what caused him to advocate for the disabled diaspora.
Psst, readers, please read my quote and let it sink in before we start this narrative:
“One of the most difficult challenges in having a disability, or being of a certain age, race, gender, religion, etc., is that too often people see it and not you!”
Admit it or not, we all hold unconscious biases, including yours truly. We’re hard-wired that way. However, among the perspective altering vicissitudes in life are those instances that unearth our unhidden biases sometimes – correction, most of the time – to our discomfort.
There has been a surge in federal civil rights lawsuits regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) over the past decade. Lawsuits involving website accessibility under the ADA are also on the rise, growing 14% year-over-year in 2021. The major complication in all of this is that the ADA, passed by Congress in 1990, predates the earliest websites. Because the law does not explicitly discuss web accessibility, over the past three decades a legal landscape has developed that is both unpredictable and divisive.
For one, rules and regulations for web accessibility are beginning to vary from state to state. Members of Congress are penning letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) urging them to establish clear accessibility rules for state and local websites. And there are a growing number of inconsistent rulings among that nation’s federal court districts on the subject. This article will explore the urgency of revamping the ADA to account for existing and emerging technology, and how uncertainty continues to grow on how and where the ADA applies.
Though she died six weeks ago, Marilyn Golden is with me in her wheelchair at the start of the ADA Accessible Trail in the Nags Head Woods Preserve. An eye-catching sign points the way into the forest. This is her doing. The New York Times described her, in its obituary, as a “lynchpin” in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Marilyn and I grew up together in San Antonio. Our birthdays were a month apart. We went to the same synagogue and sometimes sat in our beloved Mrs. Durham’s high school English classes together. We skipped out of other classes to meet friends and expound on the meaning of life, social justice and Grateful Dead lyrics. Marilyn was brilliant. Funny. Tenacious. She dug deeply into any argument and every detail, and never gave up.
In case you missed it, the 30th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was not long ago. All employers need to remember that workforce diversity includes people with disabilities.
All savvy employers should know by now that providing equal opportunities to people with disabilities simply makes good business sense. This is especially true in an interconnected, global economy. Unfortunately, not every company has gotten the message.
As the ADA turned 30, there was good and bad news regarding people with disabilities (PWDs). The good news: The disability community can be found in virtually all aspects of modern society.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The observance, which dates back to 1945, is sponsored annually by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.
Did you know? The employment population ratio for people without disabilities (65.7%) was more than triple that of people with disabilities (18.7%) in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Delaney Norvor is a pioneering technology expert and advocate for underrepresented professionals, currently serving as the Director of Product Management at the National Apartment Association. Despite facing selective mutism due to dystonia, she excels in managing over $30 million in product assets and leading diverse teams. Passionate about mentorship, Delaney empowers marginalized and disabled individuals to navigate their careers, championing inclusivity and systemic change within the tech industry.
Robert Chelsea was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA where he lived and was educated as average black person, but became a Burn survivor, Amputee and Face Transplant Recipient. Hear his passion for advocacy in Transplant Technology and what caused him to advocate for the disabled diaspora.