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When businesses first start grappling with diversity they usually create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team and task experienced HR staff to develop and implement a DEI plan and initiatives. Although well-intentioned, DEI teams tend to focus more on the inclusion of women, older workers, LGBTQIA+ people, and ethnic and cultural minorities and tend to forget about people with disabilities. Given that in Australia people with disabilities are almost twice as likely to be unemployed than the general population, this is cause for concern.
In the past decade or so we have seen all levels of government and larger corporations respond to this by developing Disability Inclusion Action Plans. These plans contain specific actions, such as recruiting disabled people into their workforces and ensuring disabled customers can access their services. However, this tends to be where the buck stops and the energy declines. There are a few reasons for this including:
Box ticking - the DIAP is completed, published on the organisation's website and then promptly forgotten as other business takes priority.
HR teams struggle to find qualified or experienced people with disabilities to fill identified vacancies.
Lack of expertise - Leadership teams fail to understand and implement effective solutions at an organisational level.
A key aspect is that decision-makers are invariably able-bodied people who generally have minimal lived experience of disability. Without the input of people with that lived experience, organisations will often implement ineffective solutions that don't adequately provide access or include some cohorts. A good example is when government departments or businesses direct deaf customers to contact them via a teletypewriter (TTY) or the National Relay System (NRS) instead of providing a mobile number for SMS, email address or instant messaging options. In reality, TTYs are all but obsolete and the NRS is notoriously unreliable.
"Decision-makers are invariably able-bodied people who generally have minimal lived experience of disability. Without the input of people with that lived experience, organisations will often implement ineffective solutions that don't adequately provide access."
One of the key principles of universal design is equitable use. This means that services or products implemented by a business should be designed such that they can be accessed by anyone. The same principle applies to organisational structures and job roles. It is possible to adjust these to accommodate disabled workers, but it's often not considered because it doesn't fit the current business practice and culture.
When an organisation implements DEI plans and DIAPs they are essentially reimagining the existing business structure and culture. A good leader will understand this is far more involved than a "tick box" exercise and a well-executed inclusion plan will lead to a distinctive shift in the way business is done, and who is involved in the decision-making. A truly accessible and inclusive organisation will implement things like:
Including people with lived experience of disability on boards, strategy teams and in senior end executive roles.
Hiring people with lived experience of disability to develop and implement DEI plans and DIAPs.
Engaging consultants with lived experience of disability to ensure services and products are codesigned to meet universal access requirements.
Establishing ongoing relationships with disability organisations to strengthen community ties and employment pathways for people with disabilities.
This list is not exhaustive and different strategies are needed to strike a balance between the demands of business requirements and aspirations for improving access and inclusion. If you would like to talk more with me about developing or improving the effectiveness of your organisation's own roadmap to access and inclusion, please contact me.
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