Common Workplace DEI Challenges Faced by Individuals with Disabilities
It’s widely recognized that individuals with disabilities can face varied and complex challenges when it comes to navigating the workplace.
These might include accessibility issues, negative attitudes, and stereotypes about their capabilities, or feeling excluded from social events.
Yet with a little effort on the part of business leaders, these challenges can be easily surmounted.
Here’s how to do it.
What is DEI?
Before we dive into the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, let’s quickly recap what DEI means and why it’s important in the workplace.
DEI stands for “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and is an acronym that indicates initiatives that further these values.
The idea is that many marginalized groups face obstacles in their place of work, whether this is navigating discrimination, implicit biases, or issues with accessibility. DEI initiatives aim to counteract these.
Due to the multifaceted nature of the challenges marginalized groups face, DEI policy can take many forms. Initiatives may include mentoring programs for disabled employees, employee resource groups (ERGs), workshops, or flexible working arrangements.
Not only is this important for facilitating a better working environment for marginalized individuals, but it also strengthens your workforce and makes your company more adaptable in the face of crises and obstacles. If that’s not enough, focusing your efforts on DEI initiatives makes your company more appealing to the wider workforce and can help you attract the brightest talent.
Unfortunately, there’s still some way to go when it comes to implementing rigorous and successful DEI policies. In particular, individuals with disabilities can face a particularly tough time in the workplace.
Common workplace DEI challenges faced by individuals with disabilities
1. Biases in the hiring process
Unfortunately, obstacles can begin as early as the recruiting stage.
The above picture shows three workers (2 women and 1 man) in orange vests, one in a wheelchair speaking to another worker in a yellow vest. Free-to-use image sourced from Pexels
Recruiters and hiring managers may hesitate to extend a job offer or even an interview to applicants with disabilities. This can stem from an implicit bias that these individuals are less capable or require more accommodations than the company is prepared to provide.
Naturally, this can have a devastating effect on applicants with disabilities, as it both shuts them out of the workplace and can wreak havoc with their self-esteem (as if the recruitment process wasn’t torturous enough!).
Thankfully, implicit biases can be tackled with DEI initiatives. For example, training sessions can be implemented to challenge assumptions about individuals with disabilities and prevent subconscious thought patterns from getting in the way.
Another great way to tackle these biases is to challenge yourself to focus on an individual’s strengths rather than their perceived “weaknesses”. For instance, an applicant for a customer service role might have great problem-solving abilities and excel at making strong outbound calls.
By changing your mindset to focus on skill sets rather than disabilities, you can challenge any deep-seated biases you may have about the disabled community.
It’s also important to bear in mind that disabilities can be incredibly varied, so don’t assume everyone has the same experience or requires the same adjustments (if they do at all).
2. Lack of accessibility
Accessibility issues are one of the more widely recognized challenges that employees with disabilities face.
These may take the form of physical barriers, such as hard-to-reach offices or equipment that’s difficult or uncomfortable to use. They may also take less tangible forms, such as web accessibility for individuals with visual or hearing loss or cognitive, neurological, or physical disabilities.
The solution? By being flexible and accommodating with working hours, job duties, and technology, you can create a workplace where employees with disabilities can thrive. Naturally, this will have a knock-on effect on performance and satisfaction levels.
Bear in mind that accessibility issues can affect all aspects of the workplace, even ones you may not have considered, such as your employee wellness program. What is an employee wellness program? Essentially, this is a series of initiatives that promote healthy living among your staff and can include things like fitness classes and mental health apps.
The above picture shows 2 women working at a desk. One of them is in a wheelchair. Free-to-use image sourced from Pexels
However, have you considered if this program is beneficial or even applicable to your employees with disabilities? If not, scheduling a talk with them will help you ascertain what sort of program would serve them best.
Another solution to tackle accessibility challenges is to have a DEI officer or leader who’s responsible for these issues. Far too often, well-intentioned ideas can fall by the wayside as other obligations or crises take precedence.
By focusing this responsibility on a specific person, you avoid the “bystander effect”, in which everyone assumes someone else will spearhead efforts to bring about change.
3. Negative attitudes and stereotypes
So, you’ve tackled recruitment biases and worked hard to remove accessibility issues in the workplace. So far, so good.
With that said, a workplace isn’t simply a desk and four walls; in other words, colleagues and management can have a huge impact on an individual’s experience. Unfair treatment of disabled individuals can abound, such as exclusion from employment rights, workplace harassment, and being refused promotions or professional development opportunities.
Naturally, such experiences can severely hamper a disabled employee’s ability to enjoy work or perform their role. When it comes to unfair treatment, it’s important to sanction offending employees and run workshops and training initiatives to combat these attitudes. These can be effective in challenging stereotypes and discouraging harmful behavior.
However, even if your intentions are good, managers or team leaders may run the risk of infantilizing disabled employees if they don’t believe they’re capable of performing their tasks.
Though you should always check with employees about what adjustments they actually need, you must also focus on building confidence by allowing them the opportunity to take on more responsibility and assume higher-level tasks.
The above picture shows three people outside smiling for the picture. Two of them are men and one a woman. One man is in a wheelchair, the other man has a prosthetic leg. Free-to-use image sourced from Pexels
For example, maybe you have a new recruit in sales with a visual impairment. Be supportive, but don’t treat them with kid gloves. Once they’ve gone through their induction, put them to work. Though you might monitor calls so you can provide feedback, as you would with any new employee, it’s important not to assume they need special handling unless they’ve specified this themselves.
4. Social isolation
An important aspect of the workplace that’s getting more attention than ever in 2023 is extracurricular activities and events. Think sports events, team-building days, and quizzes (though the list is endless).
We’re not saying you have to get rid of these, but do consider whether your disabled employees can join in with at least some of them. If they can’t, it’s highly likely they’ll feel excluded.
Naturally, this can negatively affect workplace performance and self-esteem, so it’s important to make provisions for them. Again, don’t play guessing games—ask your disabled team members for feedback to ascertain what activities and events they’d enjoy the most.
Tackling DEI challenges in the workplace
In the modern workplace, DEI initiatives are becoming increasingly salient, especially for employees with disabilities.
It’s important we all play our part in making the workplace more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. For business leaders, this can mean tackling biases in the recruitment process, combatting accessibility issues, countering negative attitudes, and implementing DEI-friendly workplace events.
These efforts will benefit your employees to no end, which, ultimately, can only be to your organization’s advantage.