What They’re Saying…
… About the Challenges
Facing People With Disabilities
There are an estimated
54 million people with
disabilities in the
United States. Despite
laws aimed at equality,
many still face significant barriers in the
workplace.
“Our nation’s current
disability-benefit
programs are based on
a policy principle that
assumes that the presence of a significant
disability and lack of
substantial earnings equate with a complete inability to work.”
—Lex Frieden, council chairman,
National Council on Disability
“We have to make sure that we’re not promoting discrimination
with a smile, and that means relying too much on stereotypes
and myths about the potential of people with disabilities as part
of the work force.”
—Nancy Starnes, vice president and chief of staff,
National Organization on Disability
“The problem that we have is that people don’t understand
mental illness and they don’t want to understand mental illness.
They want to ignore and pretend mental illness does not exist
until it [affects] them.”
—Bill Freeman, president, American Disability Association
“Most disabled people would tell you that the bigger concerns they
have around the workplace are not around physical accessibility.
They’re more around attitudes. I think it’s easier to legislate and
see change around bricks and mortar than it is around attitudes.”
—Andrew Imparato, president and CEO, American
Association of People with Disabilities
Editor’s Note: What They’re Saying… showcases provocative viewpoints
on controversial subjects. The editorial staff of DiversityInc does not necessarily agree with the ideas expressed on this page.
… About Recruiting
Employees with
Disabilities
The unemployment rate for people with
disabilities is nearly 30 percent. While
some corporations have ignored this
group, others are aggressively recruiting
people with disabilities.
“Each year, we hold events at HP facilities
throughout the world for students and job-seekers with disabilities, and we are proud
to count several former program participants among our colleagues today. We’re
also expanding our disability employee-resource group, formerly available only to
U.S. employees, to our locations around the
world to communicate training and
awareness to HP employees and work with
program managers to ensure our internal
programs are accessible.”
—Mary Ellen Parker, disability program manager, Hewlett-Packard,
No. 31 on The 2006 DiversityInc Top
50 Companies for Diversity® list.
“Recruiters will check a college’s disability
office. There’s a channel team that specifically
focuses on target groups, one of them is people with disabilities … There may be some
accommodations we need to make to help
[people with disabilities] perform more effectively, such as software that speaks to the
employee or has voice recognition. The company focuses on an employee’s talent and
how that person can contribute.”
—Joe Lovato, associate director of
global diversity, Procter & Gamble,
one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy
Companies in 2006.
“[Our PWD-employee-resource group
includes] parents of children with disabilities
and anyone interested in disabilities, either
through volunteering or wanting to learn
more about disabilities. A lot of what we
do is promoting disability awareness; that’s
what’s most important at Merrill Lynch.”
—Chris Fossel, national leader
for Merrrill Lynch’s Disability
Awarenss Professional Network.
Merrill Lynch is No. 1 on the
Top 10 Companies for People
With Disabilities.
