Disability Pride And The Next Wave Of Inclusion

As Disability Pride Month draws to a close, we are reminded that this is not an end but a space in time to reimagine disability at its essence. The very relationship of disability within the matrix of society and culture is in an unremitting state of flux and continues to evolve. The concept of Disability Pride offers a bridge for organizational culture to not only have a greater awareness of disability but recognize these current circumstances as a moment of opportunity.

In a time when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is becoming a cornerstone of business thinking, leadership once again has an opening to reassess disability as a critical piece of strategic growth while embracing this lived experience as central to greater competitive advantage. However, before one can truly adopt this way of thinking corporate leadership needs to recognize that the current model of DEI is not enough. In fact, it is missing a fundamental ingredient that has been central to the disability experience, the role of Accessibility.

Too often Accessibility gets squeezed together with notions of compliance and technological or architectural changes that are specific to the disability community. The fact of the matter is this could not be further from the truth. The inherent value of Accessibility while important for the overall inclusion of persons with disabilities in society has a far greater impact than one often imagines. At this time when the culture of work is at an inflection point, business leaders should be amenable to the idea that looking at the disability experience and the role of Accessibility can significantly impact organizational flow.

The concept of Accessibility is a window into expanding the very idea of disability as a business philosophy. Rather than just seeing the community as just another “minority group” within organizational culture, it is a throughline that connects the organization in its entirety. No one is saying to negate Disability Pride quite the opposite, Disability Pride is key for organizational growth by shedding light on the nuances and complexities of who we are as human beings, and that Disability exposes the value of human variability.

Business leaders are at a moment whereby acknowledging the importance of human variability, they can ultimately recognize the need for Accessibility to become a larger part of the business lexicon. Organizations should adopt a new acronym, rather than just DEI, they should add Accessibility to the mix creating DEIA or IDEA (not to get confused with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) that accentuates Accessibility as a necessary value add to inclusion practice.

IDEA or DEIA must become a cornerstone of business strategic planning in the digital economy of the 21st Century. Accessibility opens a door for creativity and opportunity that has yet to be discovered and offers businesses a technique to engage in a more humanist approach that disrupts the status quo. By reaching this new tipping point of inclusion, the responsibility of Disability Pride is one of authority where people with disabilities can help business leaders in the digital economy navigate these new waters and provide a level of guidance. It is this guidance that begins to reframe how persons with disabilities can take their place in this evolving economic landscape. As Shimon Peres, the former Prime Minister of Israel and Nobel Laureate put it, “For me, dreaming is simply being pragmatic.” Looking toward the future, embracing disability should be simply a matter of principle to shape a fully realized business of inclusion.