How to move beyond disability awareness

I almost didn't post about today, which is International Day of People with Disabilities. Yes, disabled people live with disability every single day. Still, awareness days matter. They spark conversations and, ideally, actions. The difference lies in allyship: - Performative allyship: Companies post today, then go silent until next year. - Genuine allyship: Companies make progress every day. This year’s theme is “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.” True progress means disabled people must be seen as leaders, not just participants. Too often, we’re underestimated, told “it’s a lot of work,” or only considered for roles tied directly to our disability. I know this firsthand. I held many nonprofit PR, marketing, communications, and digital roles. It's more than enough experience for a VP role. No one asked. The one time I put my name forward, I didn’t get it. Fortunately, that changed recently! I was asked if I wanted to take on an officer role with a nonprofit board. That's why I devote much of my volunteer time with this organization more than any other. Another time, I applied to a committee addressing issues that affect all residents, including people with disabilities. The two chosen were leaders of nonprofits serving disabled communities. They didn't have someone with lived experience. That’s not inclusion, and it doesn’t advance social progress. Meanwhile, I’ve run a successful business for 20 years. Not by “resting on my laurels,” but by working hard. If companies want to foster disability-inclusive societies and advance progress, here are steps to start: 1. Normalize accessibility as part of culture, not an exception. Make accommodations seamless and proactive so disabled employees don’t have to fight for them. This fosters inclusion at the systems level. 2. Create pathways into leadership, not just entry-level roles. Mentoring and coaching should explicitly prepare disabled employees for management and executive positions, not stop at “support roles.” 3. Pairing with experienced colleagues should be reciprocal. Disabled employees bring lived expertise. Encourage two-way learning so inclusion advances social progress across the organization. 4. Invest in professional development with equity in mind. Training should be accessible, funded, and scheduled during work hours. This signals that leadership growth is valued for everyone. 5. Include disabled voices in decision-making, not just consulting. Representation must extend to strategy tables, boards, and leadership committees. Progress requires lived experience shaping policy and culture. 6. Measure and report progress. Track how many disabled employees are in leadership pipelines and roles. Transparency drives accountability and societal progress. #Accessibility #MerylMots Image: White generic person figure with a flourish around its top half and International Day of People with Disabilities

Infrastructure > awareness. It's International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Let's make it count. Let's make it transformative, not performative. Let's kick off 365 days of dignity-focused practices. PERFORMATIVE - Posting about #accessibility and #disability … and videos without captions. - Inviting disabled speakers … “for exposure.” - Deciding who to hire based on who “looks disabled”…but not “too disabled.” - Talking about disability inclusion … while banning flexibility. - Talking as if "disabled people" and "leaders" are non-overlapping categories.   - One day of remembering disabled people exist...unless there are other news. TRANSFORMATIVE - Auditing your org’s policies for ableism and rewriting them - with disabled leadership. - Hiring disabled experts at expert rates. - Hiring for competence. Period. - Making sure disabled people can say no, disagree, take space, be believed, and build actual careers. - Flexible work. Asynchronous work. Accessible work.  - 365 days of designing for disability dignity. Disability dignity is a daily practice, not one-off. Build it. #HumanResources #Leadership #Dignity

It’s time to progress accommodation into appreciation. The real barriers for people with disabilities aren’t our bodies. It’s how society perceives us. Too often, outdated perceptions and ableism keep talented people from contributing fully in the workplace. Here are bold ways to combat ableism in the workplace: - Ditch the "Inspiration" Trope: Disabled professionals are leaders, innovators, and changemakers, not feel-good stories. Hire, promote, and pay us accordingly. - Audit Your Work Culture: Are accessibility and inclusion woven into decision-making, or are they afterthoughts? If the latter, it's time to rethink your approach. - Redefining "Professionalism" Bias against mobility aids, neurodivergent communication styles, or flexible work setups is ableism in disguise. Make space for diverse ways of working. - Invest in Disabled Leadership Diversity at the top transforms company culture. Actively mentor and elevate disabled professionals into leadership roles and around boardroom tables. - Make Accessibility Proactive, Not Reactive Waiting until someone requests an accommodation is too late. Embed accessibility into hiring, meetings, events and product design from the start. Let’s build society and workplaces that don’t just include disabled people but value, consider, adapt for and empower the path. Video description: Alycia sitting in a wheelchair wearing white top and jeans speaking at an event. #Disability #Leadership #Ableism #Inclusion #Workplace #Accessibility

“Inclusion” without disability is still exclusion. (You don’t have to hate disabled people to be ableist) You just have to: - ignore disability in your policies & DEI strategy - treat ADA compliance as your only finish line - forget to budget for needed accommodations - hire for “culture fit” but avoid disabled talent Ableism doesn’t always sound like hate. In fact, ableism is usually just silence. Silence around underrepresentatuon Silence around reasonable accommodations Silence around stigma & bias toward disability That’s what this iceberg shows. Above the surface: good intentions. Below the surface: harmful inaction. As a person with a visible & invisible disability, I get frustrated for a few reasons but the main issue? Disability inclusion isn’t charity. There’s a clear business case for disability inclusion. Companies that lean into disability inclusion earn: 28% higher revenue 30% higher profit margins Still, 90% of companies claim to prioritize diversity but only 4% include disability in their DEI efforts. The human case is there. The business case is there. So what’s missing? Change. But what does real change look like? It’s not just a wheelchair icon or checking a box. It’s: - listening to disabled voices - auditing ableist hiring practices - measuring equity, not just optics - hiring/promoting disabled leaders - funding reasonable accommodations Ableism is the iceberg. Don’t let your culture sink with it. ♻️ Share so we can end ableism #DisabilityInclusion #EndAbleism #InclusiveLeadership #AccessibilityMatters #EquityInAction [image description: A graphic on a tan background that shows an iceberg in the middle. The title says the ableism iceberg and above the water is six statements: everyone is included, we don’t discriminate, disability imagery, ADA compliant, disability ERG, inclusion matters. Below the water it says what’s missing: no disabled bleeders, systemic in accessibility, ableist policies, ablest hiring process, invisible disability bias, neurodivergent erasure, no accommodations budget.]

Do this, not that: Disability Edition. Acknowledge, don’t berate. Recognise someone’s experience without blame or criticism. Be curious, don’t invalidate. Ask respectful questions instead of shutting someone down. Don’t assume, always ask. Let people tell you what they need, don’t guess or decide for them. Support, don’t try fix. Offer help when asked; Disabled people don’t need “fixing.”    Listen, don’t interrupt. Let people speak fully without talking over or correcting them. Believe, don’t minimise. Trust Disabled people’s accounts instead of downplaying them. Respect boundaries, don’t push. Accept boundaries without pressuring someone to go beyond them. Validate, don’t dismiss. Show empathy rather than brushing off someone’s reality. Empower, don’t control. Support autonomy instead of taking charge or micromanaging. Make space, don’t take over. Step back to amplify Disabled voices instead of speaking for them.    Create equity, don’t mirror equality. Recognise different needs, fair treatment doesn't mean identical treatment Learn, don’t dismiss. Be open to unlearning ableism rather than rejecting feedback. Image Description: A Disabled by Society graphic titled “Do This, Not That: Disability Edition” by Disabled By Society. It features twelve colourful boxes with icons and text, each showing a positive action to take and a harmful one to avoid. Pairs include: “Acknowledge, don’t berate”; “Be curious, don’t invalidate”; “Don’t assume, always ask”; “Support, don’t try fix”; “Listen, don’t interrupt”; “Believe, don’t minimise”; “Respect boundaries, don’t push”; “Validate, don’t dismiss”; “Empower, don’t control”; “Make space, don’t take over”; “Create equity, don’t mirror equality”; and “Learn, don’t dismiss.” Each pair is accompanied by a stylised icon visually reinforcing the message. #DisabledBySociety #DisabilityInclusion #Ableism #DiversityAndInclusion

You don’t stop being disabled when conference or event sessions end, so why do so many organisers forget about inclusion at conference dinners and networking events? It’s great to see more events offering sign language interpreters, quiet rooms, and accessible seating during the main agenda. But what about during the coffee breaks? The networking dinner? The drinks at the end? If those adjustments vanish the moment the keynote’s over, it’s not inclusion – it’s performance. Disabled people don’t just attend the content. We build relationships, grab lunch, join the side conversations. And if those moments aren’t accessible, we’re being excluded from the most valuable parts of the day. Having sign language interpreters available throughout all event elements; keeping quiet rooms open; offering seated areas during networking; telling people food and drink menus in advance; offering sighted assistance for intros; having portable hearing loops in place; or providing enetworking options. These are all things you can do to show you actually want to host an inclusive event in full, not just meet minimum requirements. Inclusion isn’t a scheduled item. It’s a commitment. #DisabilityInclusion #Disability #DisabilityEmployment #Adjustments #DiversityAndInclusion #Content

4 tips on allyship for disability inclusion at work: 1. Work on your own discomfort with disability. That's something that you can take accountability to work on yourself instead of bringing your discomfort to your disabled colleagues or expecting them to resolve it for you. 2. Meet people’s access needs without requiring them to directly disclose their disability or "prove" it. How refreshing it would be if your disabled colleagues could simply state their access needs without being asked why or for documentation. I should be able to request captions without naming a reason. I benefit from captions. It doesn't matter whether I benefit from captions due to my hearing disability or if I had another reason like an auditory processing disorder or being an English language learner. Creating this kind of environment is transformative not only for disabled employees but for everyone. 3. Once you know about an access need, keep advocating without naming names. A specific employee might have an access need like a fragrance free space, but there is no need to name them when advocating in the future. Sample script: "This isn't accessible for everyone. We need..." 4. Be the person who asks this question: "Have we considered disability + accessibility?" You don't have to know all the best practices to create change. You can be the conversation starter and the one who makes sure disability and accessibility aren't left out. Is this helpful? What other suggestions do you have? #DisabilityInclusion #Disability #WorkplaceInclusion

What does it actually mean to be a disability-inclusive workplace? It’s more than ramps and captions. It looks like this: 1) A simple, well-publicized accommodations process that starts with the job application 2) Annual voluntary self-ID campaigns, with a clear explanation of why data matters 3) A disability-focused ERG that has a direct line to leadership 4) Accessibility baked into tools, communications, procurement, culture, and training, not just products 5) Regular audits of digital systems, not just once and done 6) Including disability in DEI metrics, goals, and accountability structures 7) Normalizing flexibility without forcing disclosure 8) Improving accessibility for everyone, even your competitors. This can look like contributing accessibility improvements back into the open source, or participating in W3C accessibility initiatives. If you're missing most of these, your organization is not inclusive. If your organization persists in claiming inclusion despite missing most of these, that's a sign of performative inclusion. Inclusion means actions, not words. Start by figuring out where you are. Then do the work. #Disability #Inclusion #DEI #IDEA #DEIA

What do disabled people really want to hear? It’s not, “You’re so inspiring!” or, “I see you as my equal.” Sure, those words might sound well-meaning, but let’s be real—they often feel like hollow pats on the back. Compliments like these dodge the real issues and solve nothing. Here’s what disabled people actually want to hear: “You’re hired.” Not because of pity. Not because of diversity quotas. But because they’re the best fit for the job. Because their talent, drive, and work ethic are undeniable—just like anyone else’s. “Your medical coverage was approved.” Think about this: needing approval just to live with dignity. Healthcare isn’t some luxury. Yet disabled people have to fight tooth and nail for the basics, while many others take it for granted. “We’re happy to accommodate you.” Why does this still feel like asking for a favor? Accommodations are a necessity, not an indulgence. Accessible environments benefit everyone, but disabled people are still left pleading for what should be common sense. “You got the promotion.” Let’s talk about the career glass ceiling. Disabled people don’t want to be your diversity checkbox; they want to lead. They want their hard work to be recognized—not overshadowed by condescension or bias. The point is, empty praise doesn’t move the needle. Disability isn’t about being someone’s feel-good story. It’s about dismantling barriers and creating systems that give everyone a fair shot. Compliments are nice, but actions speak louder. What would happen if we built a world where disabled people didn’t have to fight for their rights, prove their worth, or demand inclusion over and over? A world where the system wasn’t rigged against them in the first place? It’s not charity. It’s not rocket science. It’s basic decency. Stop praising survival in a broken system and start fixing it. That’s what disabled people want to hear. What are you going to do about it? Graphic: Kelly Bron Johnson ID: The image is divided into two sections. The top half is titled "What people think disabled people want to hear," with two bullet points below: "You're so inspiring!" "I see you as my equal." The bottom half of the image is titled "What disabled people actually want to hear," with four bullet points below: "You're hired!" "Your medical coverage was approved!" "We're happy to accommodate you." "You got the promotion!"