You want to appear inclusive? Do something that you think might help people with a specific disability. You want to BE inclusive? Do something that all people with disabilities can equally use, and include them in the process

You want to appear inclusive? Do something that you think might help people with a specific disability. You want to BE inclusive? Do something that all people with disabilities can equally use, and include them in the process.
Who are accessibility celebrations for?
We have National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is still more than double that of non-disabled individuals.
We have Autism Awareness/Acceptance/Action Month, but 85 % of autistic people are unemployed
We have the ADA’s birthday (it is now almost 34 years old), but more than 8,000 lawsuits over ADA violations were filed last year alone.
People with disabilities are painfully aware of these dates because we live them every day.
If your company is going to “celebrate” a day, do it with actions that reduce this discrimination, not with words that are forgotten the day after the celebration is over.
Inclusion that isn’t backed up with action is performative. It provides the appearance of being inclusive without the actual impact of inclusion.
Alt: You want to appear inclusive? Do something that you think might help people with a specific disability.
You want to BE inclusive? Do something that all people with disabilities can equally use, and include them in the process.