How international day of people with disability can launch a lasting inclusion movement
Tuesday 3 December 2024 is International Day of People with Disability. Many orgs will likely put a social media post up or maybe share some cupcakes. But what does it really mean and why is now the time to build your movement?
This may be controversial, but I feel it needs to be said.
People with disability are not special. They are people with unique skills and presentations. The reason they need a special day is because, as a society, we have historically excluded them from the ‘mainstream’. All the leadership theories currently state you should support each member of your team as an individual. You are part of a superior organisation, meaning you already have this as part of your ethos. So this article is simply about the incremental changes you can make to ensure people with disability are included at every step of their journey with you, be that contributing to your corporate outcomes or purchasing your organisational outputs.
My challenge to you is how can International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) be used as a springboard for long-term, meaningful change rather than a one-off event.
Never has there been a better opportunity for organizations to take the first step in creating sustainable disability inclusion practices and experience the business, social, and cultural benefits of disability inclusion. Did you know a Nielsen report highlighted that one in four households included at least one person with a disability. This is a broad consumer base with diverse needs and preferences. By offering accessible products, services and employment opportunities, businesses can tap into this market, enhancing customer loyalty and expanding their reach. Or more precisely, approximately 4.4 million Australians live with a disability, accounting for 17.7% of the population. Consider this number plus their families and caregivers and it becomes an obvious economic strategy to better serve this market.
Steps for your disability inclusion movement:
Many organisations fear inclusion processes. Our human nature wants to protect ourselves at all costs. This means we avoid facing our privilege as it might show a reflection that is different to the stories we have told ourselves. Then we start thinking well this might be too big a problem for me or my company to fix. You don’t have to fix it. But you do need to play a role in the solution.
Inclusion starts with listening:
- Advocate for IDPwD to be a day when organizations commit to listening to the voices of people with disabilities. This could include hosting panels, conducting surveys, or engaging with employees and clients with lived experience.
- Look at your data on disability. And if you don’t have data ask why? If 1 in 5 Australians have a disability and your workforce is not representative of this why?
- You will likely have more people with disability in your ranks than you realise. Those people may have a lot more to give if small accommodations could be provided.
Small Steps, Big Impact:
Simple actions can serve as a foundation for your disability inclusion campaign:
- Build a roadmap for transforming conversations into measurable goals. This needs to be unique to your organisation and your position on the disability inclusion spectrum, our disability inclusion quiz may be a great starting point for you. But most organisations could consider key milestones like:
-
- January: Accessibility audits. We can help you with our engaging lived experience walk through. Many of the Supporting Potential lived experience advisors have complex needs. By seeking their guidance and input, you will be more likely to accomodate all people with disabilities.
- March: Staff training on disability inclusion. Hiring people with disability without first building a safe environment for them to bring their full selves to work will likely hurt your inclusion efforts. Providing insights into the social model of disability and putting real people to the stereotype images can have huge impacts. Our empathy enhanced training has shown significant behaviour changes in acceptance and willingness to accomodate reasonable requests for adjustments
- July: Recruitment of people with disabilities. Most adjustments cost very little money. It just takes a different approach. Several of the Supporting Potential lived experience advisors have an intellectual disability. They have great insights but can often struggle to convert this to writing in order to fit with existing operating models. But they can speak their ideas excellently. By providing chat to text apps, they can contribute just as much as anyone else on the team and can sometimes do this more efficiently.
- Then on international day of people with disability 2025, it’s time to Celebrate and Reflect:
Use IDPwD to publicly celebrate contributions of employees with disabilities, but also set the tone for reflecting on areas for growth. It’s key to be transparent about your journey. You won’t be achieving perfection in a year but you can inspire confidence and accountability for further improvement moving forward.
So what’s stopping you from starting? Small, conscious efforts will allow you to better embrace accessibility and inclusivity, supporting you to unlock new markets, drive innovation, and contribute to a more equitable society.
To read all our other blogs visit here.
