Today, the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) will host its first National Diversity Forum at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center,. This event is part of Add Us In – an initiative with the main goal of identifying and developing strategies to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities in small business communities. This specifically entails those located in or serving underrepresented and historically excluded communities, including those owned and operated by ethnic and racial minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals; veterans; women; and people with disabilities.
Add Us In is not only a project that is a priority for the department, it is also a project that is very close to my heart. Like so many of you, my life has been profoundly impacted by my various identities and experiences. Disability, race, gender and sexual orientation have all shaped the person I am today.
I faced multiple challenges in becoming successfully employed, as many people with disabilities do. We are often unable to find sustainable employment opportunities, and struggle to manage prejudice, our own disability related needs and other challenges. Just like many other underrepresented and historically excluded groups, we bring incredible skills to the workplace; we just need the opportunity to prove ourselves to be motivated and productive employees who contribute to the bottom line.
I think that we can all agree, no matter who you are or where you are from, that work is about dignity and respect. A critical part of our National Diversity Forum is a Plenary Dialogue including questions around employment strategies for people with disabilities, business hiring practices, resource coordination and sharing, and understanding the role of community supports. Our goal for this Plenary Dialogue is to learn from you and to hear your shared ideas and personal examples that move us forward towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
However, I know that not everyone can come to Washington DC or be present at this Forum. To ensure that participation is possible for everyone, I would like to share with you the six questions that will shape the Plenary Dialogue:
- What are key elements of disability hiring that differ between large and small businesses?
- What do small businesses need to increase the number of people with disabilities within their ranks of employees?
- How can the benefits of diversity (including disability) hiring be better promoted?
- How do you suggest coordination between education and employment systems be increased to ensure greater employment for youth with disabilities?
- How do you think workforce systems and employment policies can be made more responsive to communities that are culturally and linguistically diverse?
- How can ODEP and employment systems better engage with “influencers” such as family, faith and other community supports in underserved communities?
Please feel free to email me with your feedback at: Kathleen.martinez.public@dol.gov or post a comment to this blog. I look forward to hearing from you, and together we can lead the way toward creating a more inclusive workplace.
Kathy Martinez is the assistant secretary for the Office of Disability Employment Policy.
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No one perfect, or everyone is disability -we all the same.. need the same workspace, same chance in this life.
it was nice article and helpfull too.
A more inclusive work space benefits everyone.
Workplace diversity and inclusion is one of the most important issues in the contemporary workplace. By alerting your employees to potentially difficult situations through training, they’ll avoid harassing and disrespectful behaviors, creating a healthy environment for everyone, with no costly lawsuits.
Indeed disability has nothing to do with working abilities. They can do some jobs even better, they can focus better and are sometimes more motivated dan other people. Its sometimes just a matter of patience.
This is really a nice post.
Well.. according to me disability can’t play any role in several cases. A disable person can perform better and maintain quality of work as well. In today’s working environment instead of working hard people prefer smart work to get best results.
Someone that has a disability may not be able to perform the same duties on a job that it may require. Is the employer at fault for this? I work in a coal mines, and definitely wouldn’t care if someone wanted a job that was permenately disabled, or in a wheelchair for example, but they could not perform duties underground that other miners could. Should the company open a spot for them on the outside on a desk job? Or would that be discriminating against the other workers that have worked there 20 years? It is a touchy subject when you really delve into it.
discussion like this that we seek.
thanks for the information and knowledge
Workers should use respirators for protection from contaminants in the air only if other hazard control methods are not practical or possible under the circumstances. Respirators should not be the first choice for respiratory protection in workplaces.
Hi Kathy,
The questions for the plenary discussion are all well thought out that really requires great thinking in return. Though I am no expert on this, I’ll try to share some of my insights on some of your questions.
“What do small businesses need to increase the number of people with disabilities within their ranks of employees?”
As I see it, as long as people with disabilities can perform well, small businesses will not be limiting the ranks of their employees. I mean, should not be limiting.
“How can the benefits of diversity (including disability) hiring be better promoted?”
Maybe give less tax for those businesses? HAHA! How else can we give incentive to those companies?
“How do you suggest coordination between education and employment systems be increased to ensure greater employment for youth with disabilities?”
Maybe the government can make an automatic company to accommodate all the graduates of a school with students with disabilities? Or an agency at least who can source out the graduates with disabilities?
Very interesting content. Thank you for posting.
nice article
very interesting and educative information. thanks for taking the time toshare..
Its very hard for small businesses when considering employing a disabled member of staff and it can depend quite heavily on their disability. If you are doing a job which involves a lot of travel and movement on the job then hiring someone with a physical disability could cause problems. And if you are a small business then security is a big concern, you need to be able to rely on your staff
Financial assistance from government should be made available for small businesses so they are able to offer the same level of disabled workplaces as large businesses, which will naturally have more situations and resources available for equal employment opportunties.
Being a disabled myself, I must say thoughts like these, will definitely help us give a chance to live a normal happy life.
Awesome,thanks for Sharing Guy’s…
Hey,Kathy Martinez .thank you for this informative post…. i really appreciate this helpful blog post…
Really awesome conclusion regarding small businesses..
keep sharing more and more….
I appreciate that a ‘job’ can convey status and respect for many people. However, at a time when ‘jobs for life’ really is a thing of the past, perhaps it is more appropriate today to make use of all the flexible ways and opportunities that are available for working and creating an income. For example, working from home, using the internet, being self-employed, creating multiple income streams, providing a service or solving someone’s problem – is this is the modern way forward for self-motivated people including people with disabilities?
Surely, a disability can make certain tasks difficult, but there are SO many jobs where it doesn’t matter one bit. There needs to be some outreach or program so that employers may actually seek out disabled candidates when a position is available.
Using teambuilding and opening the lines of communication to include everyone is very important. Then you can improvise based on what is given by other team members.
Thanks for the valuable information that you shared with us.
Perhaps the company gets a tax break for creating programs to hire? Although, I would like to take the route of helping these disabled learn how to create a business and be employers themselves. Perhaps exposing them to new education to aid with their particular situation that will help steer them in a job that will fit perfectly?
Very interesting content. Thank you very much
contains a very interesting and educational information. Thanks for writing
The Shaping a More or Inclusive workplace should works with the others
way you told above.
It is really informative information.Thanks admin for showing this article.small business communities is more important then ever.
una information muy util gracies por compartirlo
un saludo desde barcelona
It’s really a cool and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing….
Mariana Saenz
As a small business owner, i have employed a person in my office for data entry and a/c’s works and it’s really a uplift to me and i feel happy after reading this article.
I’m super interested in this one … “How do you think workforce systems and employment policies can be made more responsive to communities that are culturally and linguistically diverse? ”
What were the best responses?
Very informative post..
Looking forward for more articles from Kathleen
Great article full of information about people with disabilities
I am disable myself and so much is made out of this topic. I just want to do what a I love and not be judged.
This was a very good article regarding the importance of diversity. Regards from India.
You have to see how the project will go for the workplace and it may not work for all industry..
A good read, however I agree with some of the comments. Not every workplace can be made conducive for the less fortunate. There are limits.
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