Beyond Adding the “A”: Planning for Actual Accessibility
90-minute Workshops
Day 3
Session Code: S6-AWhen: April 7, 2022
Level: Intermediate
Track: Critical Employment Practices
Presenters: Ashley Oolman, Allied Folk | Alli Strong-Martin, Lifeworks Services, Inc.
Description
Although DEI professionals recognize the need to incorporate disability inclusion in their efforts, gaps in knowledge and vast inexperience have made it challenging for many organizations to go beyond simply “adding an A” to DEI. Despite the valiant efforts of disabled advocates and activists around the globe, mainstream workplace culture continues to lack critical awareness of how it replicates historical harm.
If businesses want to create safe places where employees, including those with disabilities, thrive, we need to intentionally address the status quo upheld at work. This session will explore the demands for disability employment rights and justice, and how to integrate new approaches in order to move the dial in an authentic or meaningful way. Together we will shift the conversation from acknowledgement of complacency to counter-culture commitments.
Join us as we move “beyond adding an A,” by taking action toward addressing real and systemic gaps hidden at work.
Learning Outcomes
• Articulate areas of accessibility that impact the workplace—physical, digital, policy, and attitudinal
• Uncover the root causes of inaccessibility and the ways they continue to hinder workplace equity
• Challenge current harmful norms by committing to addressing specific areas within our own workplaces