Thinking about trends for the Disability Economy for 2023 and beyond....
As we put to bed another International Day of Persons with Disabilities and face the prospects of a new year, it is important to take this moment to think about the next steps in the evolution of the Disability Economy. Both past, present, and future continue to inform these trend lines and are reshaping our very understanding of the importance of human variability as a vital cog in the engine of this burgeoning economy. The philosopher George Santayana wrote that “You must welcome the future, remembering soon it will be the past, remembering that once it was all that was humanly possible.” It is the idea of possibility that is so ingrained into the fabric of the Disability Economy while recognizing the need to promulgate a collective memory to reshape our understanding of the role disability plays in society.
We must look towards the future and see the development happening where the Disability Economy can pave the way to recalibrate society’s expectations while being a point of departure in cultivating a new collective memory of possibility. Over the next few Mindset Matters columns, the focus is to provide a brief overview of where some of the trend lines are heading and what needs to be explored more extensively in the year ahead.
Let us begin with the need for the authenticity and representation of persons with disabilities. Entering 2023, the disability community has reached a tipping point where there has been a recognition of the need for more representation of persons with disabilities within the realm of film, television, and advertising. We are beginning to see a surge in representation from Oscar-winning films such as CODA, to various characters with disabilities across the Marvel Universe. However, the real impact is coming from the industry itself, as highlighted by companies such as Netflix's commitment to diversity and inclusion to Nielsen tracking representation of disabilities across various media channels allowing for real institutional change to take shape. The disability community finally has a seat in the larger economic conversation. Having greater representation across the media landscape only impacts the potential for growth in this space and is something to be cognizant of in the year ahead.
Another impactful trend on the rise is the growth of accessible technologies. This is nothing new, however, we are seeing accessible tech garnering more widespread appeal from gaming to website design, and it is continuing to find new audiences. We are also seeing the market respond very favorably to the value of these new technologies. From stalwart companies like Microsoft’s development of their Inclusive Tech lab to the litany of entrepreneurs and impact investors who are entering the marketplace recognizing the potential opportunities and profitability of this space. This is a trend that needs continual scrutiny and analysis as it evolves.
A significant component of the expanding Disability Economy is focused on mental health issues. Even before the pandemic, but especially since, there has been a significant rise in the number of startups in the digital health sector. Companies like Talk Space, Calm, and Headspace to Wondermind are only a few of the companies that have sprouted up in the last several years that focus exclusively on dealing with issues of mental health. The rise of such companies is having a tremendous impact on mitigating stigma and rethinking how society engages in mental health for the long term. Seeing these trend lines continuing to evolve and having founders and executives who are Millennials and Gen Z provide a greater recognition and transparency when dealing with mental health offering a net positive to the marketplace as a whole.
It is important to gauge the trends that are defining this ever-expanding market to truly understand its intersectional nature and highlight the very fact that the business world must figure out strategies that work for their organizations to best embrace disability as a foundational principle for market growth. The next column will uncover several more trends that business leaders should pay attention to in the coming year and actively engage in the $13 trillion apparatus of the Disability Economy.
