Disability Discrimination
Curbing disability discrimination in the workplace is everyone’s responsibility. And it’s unfair, though all too common, to place all of the burden on people with disabilities to absorb, defuse, or fight disability discrimination themselves. But what can people with disabilities do to prepare themselves for possible – and unfortunately probable – workplace discrimination?
Most disabled people in or approaching the job market want some assurance that if they do run into ableism in the workplace, they themselves will have tools to handle it, hopefully with valuable allies, but alone if necessary. This mix of anxiety and hope can have an enormous impact on disabled people’s employment plans and aspirations.
Businesses, organizations, and employers of course have their own responsibilities and roles to play, to improve workplace disability inclusion and equal opportunity.
To start with, they can genuinely respect and fully enforce disability rights laws. Employers can continue to inform themselves about laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA Accessibility Standards for public accommodations and workspaces, and similar state level regulations. Most importantly, they can resolve to do this not in order to figure out ways to avoid complying or merely evade lawsuits, but to carry them out in good faith.
With this guidance, employers can enact and implement inclusive company policies. Beyond the scope of laws and regulations, companies and everyone in them can make real efforts to hire people with a variety of disabilities, make their work experience safe and rewarding, and of course serve customers with disabilities at least as well as they serve everyone else.
Meanwhile, purely educational and symbolic initiatives have some value too, such as disability awareness days and Disability Pride Month each July. Done right and in good faith, these can add up to more than empty PR gestures. Awareness-raising activities can help ensure that not just lawyers and Human Resources professionals, but management and all staff better understand disability issues and disabled people.
But these are all institutional tools. They can help, but often feel less responsive and practical for actual disabled people worried about or experiencing real-life discrimination in the moment. The question still remains – what can employees and job applicants with disabilities actually do, for themselves, to fight and defuse disability discrimination?
Here are six broad questions disabled people can work on, at any stage of their careers, to become their own best advocates:
1. Know your disability
What actually is your disability? Is it physical, sensory, cognitive, or emotional? Does it have a specific name, and if so, will most other people recognize and understand it if you told them what it is?
Knowing the medical side of your disability is important. But in the job market, it’s more important to have a good grasp of how your particular disability does and doesn't impact your work. Do you need physical adjustments in the workplace, flexible schedules and deadlines, changes in the usual procedures, or just a more general understanding of difficulties you sometimes deal with? Or, does your disability have essentially no impact on your work at all?
And what is the right tone and level of detail to talk about your disability in different situations? When is it helpful, for yourself or for others, to talk about your disability? When is it better to keep it to yourself? Should you be casual and easy going about it, or serious and assertive? Is it better to be very complete and detailed, or broad and even a bit vague?
Finally, what is your own comfort level with discussing your disability? Whether or not it is essential or helpful, do you feel safe and confident talking about your disability? Or, is it extra hard to advocate for your needs and put people at ease, because right now you are not fully at ease with your own disability?
All of this is seemingly obvious that we often overlook it. But understanding and being able to talk about our disabilities can be more complicated and stressful than it seems.
2. Anticipate
What are the most likely points of obstruction or discrimination? Consider your particular disability, the job expected of you, and the workplace social climate, if you know it. Can you expect support, fellowship, and understanding from coworkers and managers? Is it a cutthroat culture where any sign of “weakness” is noticed? Will you be the first or only disabled person these people have ever worked with?
More generally, should you realistically expect any physical, procedural, communication, climate, or emotional barriers and complications? Where is the balance between hoping for the best while preparing for the worst? Whenever possible, base these evaluations on past experience, and an honest look at the environment you are or will be working in.
The good news is that disabled people themselves are in the best position to see the most likely obstacles ahead. Disabled people can for the most part trust their own instincts. Those working with them should trust disabled people’s instincts too.
3. Develop solutions
What can you do to solve problems you’re most likely to face? Will you need a bigger work space than the once assigned, to accommodate a wheelchair or other mobility aids? Will you need Sign Language Interpretation or large print materials for important meetings and training? What happens if you have to deal with a coworker who continually makes demeaning “jokes” about your disability?
As much as possible, come up with possible solutions ahead of time. These solutions should satisfy the employer of course. But they also need to be physically practical and emotionally sustainable for you. Again, past experience can help a lot, if you have it. And come up with more than one viable option if you can.
Some solutions are common sense, and only require good communication and reasonable buy-in from management. For more difficult dilemmas, there are expert resources like the Job Accommodation Network.
Having your own solutions rather than simply expecting others to solve problems for you makes it more likely that you’ll find something that actually works for you. Plus, being able to think of your own practical solutions is also a good way to show your mastery of the job itself.
4. Disability rights laws
It’s never too soon or too late to find out for yourself what can laws like the ADA actually do for you.
Start with a broad overview. For employment situations, focus most on Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers employment and workplaces. And look into which laws most directly apply in specific cases. It’s not always the ADA. Your situation might be better addressed by state or local laws or regulations. Also take note of the extent and limits of each disability rights law’s protections. They’re not all the same. And be sure to look up the law's past record of use – how it has actually worked for disabled people who experienced disability discrimination.
For better or worse, disability rights laws do a better job of laying the groundwork for justice and setting standards for equal access than they do at satisfying any particular disabled person’s immediate needs. It’s not enough to just wield the ADA like a protective talisman. It has specific uses and limitations. These laws are still essential tools. But it’s best to be clear about what they actually do and what you can expect from them.
5. Planning
If you do run into discrimination and want to do something about it, what steps can you take, in what order? Think in terms of starting with low level informality and moving step by step through higher-rank and more bureaucratic approaches. Try friendly and collaborative approaches first, but go adversarial when necessary. Begin internally, within the organization, but be prepared to bring in outside regulatory and legal support if needed. Don’t try to do everything at once, especially in more complex situations. Long-term processes can be exhausting. But that’s all the more reason to plan ahead for it.
And what do you want? What are your goals? Do you want to maintain the status quo, improve on it, or leave altogether but get fair compensation? What you want to achieve is key to planning your strategy.
6. Emotionally prepare
How do you handle upsetting encounters with personal ableism? One approach is to develop firm but friendly responses to the most common disability “microaggressions.” Part of that is deciding for yourself which ableist comments you find irritating but acceptable, and which are really hurtful and need to be addressed.
Also, think about how to process your hurt and anger. What are the best ways for you to express your anger? And when and how can you hold back your anger, without letting it become toxic?
Expect ableism from anyone, even from good people and trusted friends. Like so many other forms of prejudice, ableism is pervasive in society. So it’s not always a sign of evil intent or bad character when someone says or does something ableist. Knowing that may or may not help you curb your anger. But it should at least mean you are less shocked when someone you like and respect suddenly says or does something ignorant or hurtful.
And don’t worry too much about whether your responses to ableism and disability discrimination are “justified” or “reasonable.” Maintain a sense of proportion and fairness to others. But be honest about our own feelings, and mindful of your own emotional health.
None of these are surefire formulas for successfully beating disability discrimination. They aren't sufficient by themselves. But they might help to give you a chance.
