October marks the start of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a time that raises awareness on disability employment. People with disabilities have always had a harder time obtaining work, mostly due to preconceived notions of their capabilities and unconscious bias.
While 2023 saw the highest rate of disability employment in history—averaging at about 37%—there is still so much work to be done to further inclusion and independence opportunities for the community. This year’s NDEAM theme, “Access and Good Jobs for All” will be focusing on this idea—promoting fair access to well-paying jobs for people with disabilities to further raise these employment numbers.
“Our theme in 2024, ‘Access to Good Jobs for All,’ speaks to our commitment to expand the number of employment opportunities for people with disabilities and the quality of those opportunities,” Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams said in a news release. “Good jobs change lives and all workers—including disabled people—deserve the opportunity to prepare for success in high-quality, good-paying jobs in workplaces free of discrimination.”
This month, we take a look at a few of the employees who not only illustrate this year’s theme but break the stereotypes surrounding the ability of disability community in the workplace:
John D. Kemp
Born without arms or legs, John D. Kemp combined his passion for advocacy with his leadership knowledge and has served as a CEO and/or founder of numerous nonprofits and organizations for people with disabilities. He co-founded the American Association of the People with Disabilities organization, arguably the largest legal advocacy group for people with disabilities, and was the former CEO of the Viscardi Center and the Henry Viscardi School, which works to provide educational and employment opportunities to disabled people. Kemp is now the president and chief executive of the Lakeshore Foundation in Alabama, which focuses on providing sports and activities for the disability community.
Haben Girma
Haben Girma is a human rights lawyer and the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. Since graduating in 2013, Girma has used her education to work on behalf of people with disabilities, representing them in cases where they have directly been affected by ADA violations. Alongside her work in the courtroom, Girma spends her time presenting TED Talks, authoring written works on disability issues and has even met with former President Obama to speak about accessible technology. At just 35 years old, Girma remains as one of the most influential and pivotal advocates for accessible technology today.
Ed Roberts
Ed Roberts was a wheelchair user who was paralyzed from the neck down. He was UC Berkley’s first wheelchair attendee and went on to become the director of the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, which had previously rejected hiring him due to his disability. During his time in this role, Roberts created what is still used as the standard model for Independent Living Centers in the United States and has improved California’s policies on disability inclusion. Roberts was also the co-founder of the World Institute on Disability and the Physically Disabled Student’s Program at UC Berkley.
Collette Divitto
Collette Divitto is a baker and the proprietor of Collettey’s Cookies. Despite having her college degree and the work ethic to back her passions, Divitto was rejected from numerous possible jobs due to the interviewers’ unconscious bias surrounding Down syndrome. She decided to take matters into her own hands and her business, Collettey’s Cookies, became wildly popular both online and across retailers. It also became a central hub for disability employment advocacy. Along with employing several people with disabilities at her own company, Divitto created a nonprofit organization called Collettey’s Leadership Program to provide pathways and trainings for other job seekers with disabilities.
Just like the contributions of these individuals, people with disabilities have proven time and time again that they can work in every capacity and industry. This National Disability Employment Awareness Month, it’s important to remember that people with disabilities aren’t just capable of work, but are critical to forming a more inclusive, accessible and educated society.
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