Workplace: Culture/Inclusion

ERG/BRG Toolkit

Workplace: Culture/Inclusion

Foundational Stage 

Build sense of community 

Disability marketing campaign/disseminating information to inform/educate and celebrate disability inclusion (intranet, newsletters, internal blog posts)

  • Metric – # campaigns, communications 
  • Metric – #website visits 

ERG members assist with onboarding new hires with disabilities

  • Communications about accommodations and helpful benefits; engaging managers and new team. 

Encourage self-advocacy. 

Encourage inclusion of benefits for caregivers and care receivers. 

Organize disability awareness events to inform/education on disability and celebrate inclusion.

  • Metric -# events hosted in a year 
  • Metric – # ERG members attending events/#non-ERG employees attending events 

Invite disability inclusion allies to join ERG. 

Disability Inclusion E/BRG Allies: Programs and Engagement

People talk about allies, but you don’t always hear about what that means and how resource groups engage allies.  This resource has been developed provide resources to disability E/BRGs as they look to support employees with disabilities by engaging allies.

What is an Ally 

  • Most people think of ally as a noun, which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “a person or group that is associated with another or others for some common cause or purpose.” 

However, the verb form of ally needs to be the focus for E/BRG leaders.  As a verb, ally means “to unite or form a connection or relation between.”  True allyship is action, not a title.

By recruiting and engaging allies at every level of the organization in supporting and advocating for colleagues with disabilities, you can create a culture of true inclusion.  

  • Here are some sample definitions relating to allies:
    • Ally: Anyone who commits to creating a culture of inclusion and pursuing the advancement of others through positive efforts that benefit all people is an ally.
    • Allyship: Allyship is a lifelong process of building relationships with marginalized groups and individuals via trust, consistency, and accountability. It’s not self-determined, but rather based on efforts recognized by those for whom you’re allying.
    • Actionable Allyship: Becoming an active ally means putting your words and intentions into practice. Allies do this by lifting others, sharing opportunities, recognizing inequalities, listening openly, and following through with self-reflection, growth, and change.
  • What is the purpose of an ally and what value do they bring?
    • Allyship is linked to business outcomes that include innovation, productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction. It helps alleviate feelings of burnout and fatigue and reduces employee turnover from those who may opt to leave because they feel unwelcome or uncomfortable.  To create fully diverse, equitable, and inclusive workspaces, we should not leave the work of advocating for inclusion to the underrepresented or marginalized groups.  Rather, we should act as allies to people from marginalized groups and use our positions of privilege to support them and help destroy any external barriers that limit the ability of these people to contribute their skills and talents or to access resources and opportunities. (Forbes: Why Allyship is Good for Business, 2021)
    • Be a sounding board for programs and initiatives to educate and influence the non-disabled community (i.e., universal/inclusive design, accommodations, self-ID).
    • Increase awareness about the disability community and the issues that impact them. Provide insights to the disability community about the lives of persons without disabilities.
    • Serve as a bridge between the disabled and non-disabled communities to strengthen an inclusive culture.
    • Build a place of psychological safety for those with disabilities.
    • Be “speak-up champions” and stand up against wrongdoing.
  • Roles that allies may fill to support disability-focused E/BRGs:
    • Sponsors.
    • Partners from other E/BRGs (i.e., the concept of intersectionality-identifying with more than one marginalized community).
    • Individual contributors who are empathetic to the work you’re doing.
    • Business partners who are willing to help by using their skills (i.e., IT, Talent Acquisition).
  • To identify potential ally populations, identify who may have similar needs and think about what they want from your E/BRG to make their efforts meaningful in their lives. Take a targeted approach to programs that meet each of their needs and gives meaning to them as an ally (i.e., helps them meet their personal goals, helps their part of the business, improves workforce retention and the reputation of the business).  These may include:
    • Caretakers.
    • Families and friends of someone with a disability but are not necessarily caretakers.
    • Empathetic supporters – many empathetic supporters eventually report they have a disability.
    • Peers and executives – provide executives with data that demonstrates the business case for engaging allies. 

Training Allies

Create a safe space and include allies in discussions on what they would like to learn about disabilities. Also keep in in mind that they don’t know what they don’t know so you should also think about different topics that would help colleagues become better allies such as:

  • Disability terminology and how to talk about disabilities, and etiquette (how to engage with individuals with disabilities).
  • Accessibility and various disabilities (ambulatory, hearing, speech, vision, intellectual, behavioral, mental health, etc.).
  • Barriers to inclusion for the disability community (physical, policy, social, transportation, digital, attitudes, etc.)
  • How to be an ally and show support, respect, and advocate. This might include how to use inclusive language or how to break stigmas around mental health or other disabilities.
  • Disability Fundamentals Training for Managers: https://disabilityin.org/resource/disability-fundamentals-training-for-managers/
  • Disability:IN webinars and recordings: https://disabilityin.org/resources2/corporate-partners-portal/ (This is a password protected resource.  Contact your company’s point of contact with Disability:IN to obtain the password.)

Recognizing Allies

  • Provide meaningful recognition, acknowledging the contributions of allies in visible and impactful ways.
  • Create a champion award program that recognizes/rewards allies for their contributions to disability inclusion; nominate someone as the E/BRGs biggest ally.

Tips on How to be a Disability-Inclusion Ally

  • Recognize that it’s your role to create a space for others rather than focus on your own individual efforts. Amplify the voices of those who are marginalized before your own.
  • Remember a colleague’s disability is one aspect of their identity. Get to know individuals with disabilities as people first.
  • Join an E/BRG to learn, network, and get involved.
  • Overcome the fear of saying the wrong thing – even the most experienced advocate does not know everything. 
  • Become informed and do your best to regularly utilize disability etiquette and respectful language choices and encourage others to do the same. Learn about disability, etiquette, and language so you are comfortable talking about it.
  • Attend trainings and webinars, read books and articles, watch movies, listen to podcasts.
  • Learn how to ask about someone’s disability; ask if they are comfortable sharing, then listen if they want to share.
  • Understand the medical model, social model, and hybrid model of disability. (National Institutes of Health – Rethinking Disability: The Social Model of Disability and Chronic Disease)
  • Be aware of the difference between having a disability and the experience of being disabled; keep in mind each individual experiences their disability differently.
  • Be a champion for those with apparent or non-apparent disabilities.
    • Make sure captions are turned on as a default for your meetings. Ask captions to be turned on during on-line meetings when they are not the default.
    • Ensure meetings and documents are accessible.
    • Be present – show up for events supporting the community.
    • Automatically provide closed captioning or CART services for all large company meetings and have in place standard mechanism for making this accommodation request when any type of meeting is announced.
    • Ask that all company meeting invitations and interviews include instructions on how to request an accommodation to be able to fully participate in the meeting/interview, if needed.  (Consider including examples such as wheelchair access, sign language interpreter, CART services, dietary restrictions, etc.)
    • When a microphone is available, encourage usage for people who are hard of hearing.
    • Ensure managers include workplace accommodations information when providing employee resources/support at the end of all performance reviews, new hire on-boarding, etc. (when providing other resources such as tuition reimbursement, Employee Assistance Program, and learning and development internal resources).
    • Be aware of and able to readily direct people to company’s accommodations processes (for both ongoing accommodations and any needed for a specific meeting or event).
    • Be an empathetic listener when individuals with disabilities choose to confide in you as an ally and maintain any requested confidences.
  • Offer assistance/support when observing a person with a disability is having difficulty reaching or carrying something, opening a door, finding where they need to go, or otherwise fully participating safely and comfortably in the work environment.  (Note, if offer of assistance declined, accept this as a positive exchange).
  • Remind colleagues that 75% of disabilities are non-apparent and we should not assume that there are not people with disabilities in the work group or on the team.
  • Interrupt bias when you come across it. It may be in the form of negative or prejudicial comments or jokes about people with disabilities. 
  • Provide equity for people with disabilities in all areas of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, and compensation. 

Identifying, Inviting, and Engaging Allies

  • Levels of ally engagement: 
  • Passive: Join E/BRG with minimal involvement.
  • Learning: Attend events, trainings, workshops.
  • Leading: Serve in a leadership capacity for E/BRG; mentor employees with disabilities.
  • Advocating: Influence decisions so individuals with disabilities are included (i.e., product development, web design, hiring, promotions, accessibility, marketing).
  • E/BRG leaders should take an active approach to invite colleagues to join as an ally.
    • Include colleagues at all levels within the organization.
    • Identify key stakeholders to invite to the table by tying your work to shared business goals: IT, Talent Acquisition, Product Development, User Experience, product accessibility team. Demonstrate how disability inclusion can positively impact their part of the business. 
  • Assume your allies don’t yet have all the tools they need, and they are engaging to learn more and to be supportive.
    • Host education opportunities on how to show support for the disability community and provide a safe place to ask questions.  
    • Disability isn’t a bad word; help allies feel more comfortable talking about it. 
  • Create a culture of inclusion.
    • The E/BRG can let people know this is a comfortable place to participate. 
    • Create a space of psychological safety so allies can be open. 
    • Encourage members with disabilities to be approachable and create a space where allies can be real and ask questions. Host “Awkward Question” sessions.
    • Create a separate safe space or sub-group where allies can connect with each other.
  • Listen to allies.
    • Recognize that inclusion works both ways and have two-way conversations where you ask for input from your allies. 
    • Ask allies for their lived experience as someone without a disability and what types of programming would be helpful for them.
    • Provide recognition and programs that are as valuable to allies as they are to those with disabilities, so everyone benefits from their participation. 
  • Allies may already be supporting other diverse E/BRGs. Have information available regarding intersectionality to show how their allyship with another E/BRG intersects with disability. (Refer to intersectionality information in this toolkit for resources.)
    • Collaborate during awareness months/dates to bring more people to the table.
    • Focus on areas of common interest (i.e., mental health, professional development, neurodiversity).
    • Partner with other E/BRGs to share best practices on engaging allies.

Metrics

Gather metrics to demonstrate ally program successes and pre-package the information to share with others. Some examples include:

  • Poll E/BRG members asking if they identify as a person with a disability or ally at their level of comfort. Include a definition of ally and person with disability. Do this regularly as sympathetic supporters may later identify as a person with a disability.
  • Check for horizontal vs vertical membership – Does membership represent the company demographics, and do you have representation across all levels? It shouldn’t just be a flat bar of people at the same level within your organization.
  • Compare your demographics to other internal E/BRGs – How do your numbers stack up against your counterparts across the organization? Are other E/BRGs able to engage people at all levels and if so, how did they do that within the organization?
  • Measure if allies are actively engaging (events, community engagement, communication channels, intern mentor or other mentor programs, etc.).

Additional Resources

Connect with other diverse ERGs and share information about the intersectionality of disability and other diverse groups 

Intersectionality: Disability and Aging 

According to the Job Accommodation Network, many individuals will continue to work at full production with no accommodations. around 40 million Americans are over age 65, and that number is expected to continue to increase as baby boomers age. With the aging of the baby-boom generation, the average age for workers will increase, and the likelihood that more employees will be managing a disability rises. Many individuals will continue to work at full production with no accommodations. However, aging may contribute to limitations that can easily and cheaply be accommodated. Age-related limitations can involve a wide range of conditions, including depression and anxiety, and other cognitive, sensory, and physical limitations. https://askjan.org/disabilities/Aging.cfm

Resource Centers 

Intersectionality: Disability and American Indian & Alaskan Native

Native Americans, Disability and Employment – Library of Congress Panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZMB_sdhuJY Information on the Tribal Outreach Program of the National Council on Disability and insights from the experiences of Native Americans specialists in employment and disability issues.

Perceptions of Disabilities Among Native Americans within the State of Utah https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9106&context=etd

Understanding Disabilities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities – Toolkit Guide https://ncd.gov/sites/default/files/Understanding%20Disabilities%20in%20American%20Indian%20and%20Alaska%20Native%20Communities%20Toolkit%20Guide.pdf

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Native people overall are 50.3% more likely to have a disability, when compared to the national average. CDC 2008 https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/American-Indian-Alaska-Native/AIAN/LTSS-TA-Center/info/ai-an-age-and-disability

Intersectionality: Disability and Asian/Pacific Islander 

Non-Profit Organizations:

  • Asian Americans with Disabilities Initiative (AADI) www.aadinitiative.org was founded in July 2021 and is rooted in the spirit of intersectionality.  It was founded by a young Korean American student at Princeton, who went through years of testing before discovering that she has Chron’s disease. As it turns out, there was no widely accepted translation for Crohn’s disease, and it is widely thought to be a disease affecting Caucasians.  This stirred her interest in exploring the intersection between her disability and her Asian-American identity.
  • Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California (APIDC) www.apidisabilities.org was created in 1999 as an informal coalition to develop the next generation of leaders – youth with disabilities. However, as it has evolved through outreach and conferences, APDIC has undertaken original research in the absence of data specifically aimed at APIs with disabilities. 

In 2016, the Disability Visibility Project highlighted Asian Pacific Americans with Disabilities in a good article located here 

Articles, essays, etc:

Here are some blogs, insights and articles written by young Asian Americans with disabilities.

  • A great article that appeared in Glamour Magazine in 2021 about the intersectionality of being an Asian woman with a disability can be found here. 
  • Another article from 2021, this article focuses on why Asian American kids are under-diagnosed when it comes to learning disabilities.
  • A Huffington Post article here featuring Alice Wong, best known for launching the Disability Visibility Project
  • Another Huffington Post article here on what’s like being disabled and Asian in America, also features Tiffany Yu who launched Diversability
  • A first-person essay from Vox here on being an Asian American disabled person who uses a ventilator and living through the pandemic
  • An Accenture report here on “Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage”
  • CUNY Journal of teaching Disability Studies on “Cultural interpretations among Asian views of disability” by Jennifer Feng can be viewed here
  • Huffpost on Asian Voices article here on “What It’s like being disabled and Asian in American” by Wendy Lu 
  • Article on here “The Ruse of Analogy: Blackness in Asian American and Disability Studies” 
  • Article: Disabled Asian Americans Deal with Racism and Ableism
  • Approximately one out of ten Asians have a disability: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/materials/infographic-disabilities-ethnicity-race.html

Video:

Elevating Intersectionality: Disability and the Asian Experience in Media – YouTube

Intersectionality: Disability and Black/African American 

Fourteen percent (14%) of working-age African Americans have a disability compared with 11 percent of Non-Hispanic Whites and eight percent of Latinos. In fact, African Americans are more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to have a disability in every age group. National Disability Institute – FINANCIAL INEQUALITY: Disability, Race and Poverty in America

Exploring the Intersection of Black History and Disability Inclusion – U.S. Dept. of Labor Blog – Black Americans in the civil rights movement have had a significant influence on America’s disability rights movement.

According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the US are more likely than white adults to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress. Despite the needs, only 1 in 3 Black adults who need mental health care receive it. National Alliance on Mental Illness

The death rate for Blacks/African Americans is generally higher than whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide. US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health

Video/Audio-Black/African American & Disability:

How I’ve Overcome my Fear of Stuttering – LeRon Barton – Over 70 Million people in the world stutter (1% of the population)

TikToker Nakia Smith (Charmay) talks about the history of BASL and how it’s unique from ASL. How To Sign In BASL (Black American Sign Language) | Strong Black Lead – YouTube

Intersectional Insights Podcast: Olivia and Raven are black blind women spreading awareness, and sharing their perspectives on disability and black womanhood. Episodes are about 3-5 minutes long.  Intersectional Insights | Podcast on Spotify

Intersectionality of Race and Disability 2022 – Disabillity:IN Webinar – Corporate partners share practices around employment support, supplier diversity efforts, ERG/BRG collaboration and more.

Intersectionality of Race and Disability 2021 – Disability:IN Webinar – Corporate partners share who they practice disability inclusion through a framework of intersectionality and best practices on multicultural recruitment and retention.

Resources: 

Intersectionality: Disability and Latino/Latina 

According to the final report of the 2014-19 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Plan of Action on Disabilities and Rehabilitation, there are a total of 52 Pan-American Countries & Territories and of those countries:

  • 25 (48%) have specific legislation on disability, 
  • 17 (33%) are implementing national disability and rehabilitation plans, 
  • 16 (31%) have a Community Based Rehabilitation Strategy,  
  • 15 (29%) use the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) in their disability certification systems, 
  • 8 (15%) do not include disability in their disaster and emergency risk management plans. 

Additionally, PAHO data indicates that:

  • Almost 12% of the Latin American and Caribbean population is thought to live with at least one disability, representing around 66 million people,
  • 17 Countries have signed the Inter- American Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities ,
  • People with disabilities are 2-4 times more likely to die in disasters and emergencies than those without disabilities,
  • Many health facilities and services are inaccessible for people with disabilities. Barriers that are faced by people with disabilities include inaccessible health spaces, communications barriers, lack of training of professionals, financial barriers.

According to the 2018 US Disability Status Report, the prevalence of disability among non-institutionalized people by Hispanic/Latino origin and age group in the United States was:

  • All ages: 8.9% (vs 13.5% for non-Hispanic)
  • Ages 4 and under: 0.9% (vs 0.7 for non-Hispanic)
  • Ages 1-15: 5.4% (vs 5.4% for non-Hispanic)
  • Ages 16-20: 5.6 (vs 6.5 for non-Hispanic)
  • Ages 21-64: 8.3 (vs 10.9 for non-Hispanic)
  • Ages 65-74: 57.3 (vs 24.1 for non-Hispanic)
  • Ages 65+: 52.5 (vs 47.1 for non-Hispanic)

Video/Audio: Latino/Latina and Disability

Intersectionality: Disability and LGBTQ2+

Audio/Video:

  • Intersectionality: Out & Equal – Disability:IN Webinar – Out & Euqal University Director highlights intersectionality between disability and LGBTQ communities, outlines steps to becoming an out and equal workplace, and explores the importance of self-ID. Webinar Slide Deck.

Resources: 

Intersectionality: Disability and Veteran 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: https://www.va.gov/resources/

Mental Health Resources
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health: https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/
Wounded Warrior Project

DAV: https://www.dav.org/veterans/resources/

National Library Service: https://www.loc.gov/nls/resources/general-resources-on-disabilities/resources-for-disabled-veterans/

U.S. National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5279827/

State Specific Resources

California

CalVet: Veterans Resource Book

New York

Disabilities Support: https://www.nyc.gov/site/veterans/services/disabilities-support.page#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20questions%20or,or%20646%2D396%2D5830.

Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) free membership connects veterans with spinal cord injuries or related diseases to services including assistance with your earned VA benefits, help with employment and higher education, sports and recreation opportunities, and access to PVA’s research and advocacy efforts.

The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities has created a resource guide to support during the COVID-19 crisis. If you have questions or concerns regarding disability services, please contact 212-788-2830 or 646-396-5830.

Talent Case Study: LeAndre Yarrell: Mentoring Leads to Opportunities for Advancement for a Combat Injured Veteran 

Video/Audio:

The Dichotomy of a Service-Disabled Veteran: from Invincible Warrior to Ordinary Citizen – Disability:IN Webinar – The miliary has its own culture, language and style. Here what employers are doing to create a veteran-informed culture in their workplaces. Webinar Slide Deck.

Veterans with Disabilities: Retaining them Once Hired – Disability:IN Webinar – Companies share their strategies for onboarding and ongoing practices and policies in support of veterans. Webinar Slide Deck.

Co-host events with other diverse ERGs to raise awareness of intersectionality

Diversity Awareness Days for other diverse groups (Note: a calendar of disability-related awareness dates is updated annually and can be found in the Disability:IN Resources Library

 January

  • All Month – Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month
  • January 1st – Emancipation Proclamation Anniversary (Black/African American)
  • January 4th – Myanmar Independence Day (Asian/Pacific Islander)
  • 2nd Monday – Coming of Age Day (Asian/Pacific Islander – Japan)
  • 3rd Monday – Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Black/African American)
  • January 26th – Republic Day (Asian/Pacific Islander – India)
  • Varies: January/February – Lunar New Year (Asian/Pacific Islander – China and other Asian Countries)

February 

  • All Month – Black History Month (Black/African American)
  • February 1st – National Freedom Day (Black/African American)
  • February 4th – Rosa Parks Day (Black/African American)
  • February 14th – One Billion Rising (Women) & Black Love Day (Black/African American) & Pink Triangle Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • Week after February 14th – Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week (LGBTQ2+)
  • February 20th – World Day of Social Justice

March 

  • All Month – Women’s History Month (Women) & Ethnic Equality Month 
  • March 8th – International Women’s Day (Women)
  • March 21st – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Black/African American)
  • March 25th – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Black/African American)
  • March 31st – Cesar Chavez Day (Hispanic/Latino) & International Transgender Day of Visibility (LGBTQ2+)
  • Date Varies/Country – Equal Pay Day (Recognized on the Date When Women Catch Up to Wages of Men) (Women)

April 

  • All Month – Arab American Heritage Month & Celebrate Diversity Month 
  • April 6th – International Asexuality Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • 2nd Friday – Day of Silence (LGBTQ2+)
  • April 15th – Jackie Robinson Day (Black/African American)
  • April 26th – Lesbian Visibility Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • April 30th – El Día de los Niños (Hispanic/Latino – Mexico)
  • 4th Weekend – Gathering of Notions (Native American)

May

  • All Month – Women’s Health Month (Women) & Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (Asian/Pacific Islander) & National Military Appreciation Month (Military/Veteran) & Older Americans Month (Generational/Seasoned Professional)
  • Dates Vary – National Women’s Health Week (Women) & Asian Gold Ribbon Day (Asian/Pacific Islander)
  • May 1st – Loyalty Day (Military/Veteran)
  • 1st Week – Public Service Recognition Week (Military/Veteran)
  • May 5th – Cinco de Mayo (Hispanic/Latino – Mexico)
  • May 8th – Victory in Europe Day (Military/Veteran)
  • May 12th – Military Spouse Appreciation Day (Military/Veteran)
  • May 17th – International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia (LGBTQ2+)
  • May 19th – Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (Asian/Pacific Islander) 
  • May 20th – Armed Forces Day (Military/Veteran)
  • May 21st – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 
  • May 24th – Pansexual & Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • May 25th – African Freedom Day (Black/African American)
  • May 28th – International Day of Action for Women’s Health (Women)
  • May 31st – Memorial Day (Military/Veteran)

June

  • All Month – Black Music Appreciation Month (Black/African American) & Indigenous Peoples Month (Native American) & LGBTQ+ Pride Month (LGBTQ2+) & Men’s Health Month 
  • Date Varies by Country – PRIDE Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • 2nd Sunday – Race Unity Day & National Puerto Rican Day (Hispanic/Latino)
  • June 12th – Loving Day (Black/African American)
  • June 14th – Army Birthday (Military/Veteran)
  • June 19th – Juneteenth (Freedom/Emancipation Day) (Black/African American)
  • June 21st – National Indigenous Peoples Day (Native American)

July 

  • All Month – National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (Black/African American)
  • July 14th – International Non-Binary People’s Day (LGBTQ2+)

August

  • All Month – International Civility Awareness Month
  • Date Varies – Black Women’s Equal Pay Day (Recognized on the Date When Women Catch up to Wages of Men) (Black/African American)
  • August 4th – Coast Guard Birthday (Military/Veteran)
  • August 9th – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 
  • August 21st – National Senior Citizens Day (Generational/Seasoned Professional)
  • August 26th – Women’s Equality Day (Women)

September 

  • All Month – National Recover Month & Filipino-American Heritage Month (Asian/Pacific Islander)
  • September 15th – October 15th – National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month (Hispanic/Latino)
  • September 16th – Mexican Independence Day (Hispanic/Latino – Mexico)
  • September 16th – September 23rd – Bisexual Awareness Week (LGBTQ2+)
  • September 18th – Air Force Birthday (Military/Veteran) & International Equal Pay Day (Women)
  • September 22nd – American Businesswomen’s Day (Women)
  • September 23rd – Celebrate Bisexuality Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • September 26th – European Day of Language
  • September 30th – Orange Shirt Day (Native American)

October 

  • All Month – Domestic Violence Awareness Month (Women) & LGBTQ History Month (LGBTQ2+) & Global Diversity Awareness Month 
  • Dates Vary – Latina Equal Pay Day (Recognized on the Date When Women Catch Up to the Wages of Men) (Hispanic/Latino)
  • 1st Week – National Diversity Week 
  • October 8th – International Lesbian Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • October 9th – Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Native American)
  • October 11th – National Coming Out Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • October 12th – Día de la Raza/Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic/Latino – Mexico, Spain, Central and South America)
  • October 13th – Navy Birthday (Military/Veteran)
  • October 15th – National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (Hispanic/Latino)
  • October 17th – Black Poetry Day (Black/African American)
  • 3rd Monday – Multicultural Diversity Day 
  • 3rd Wednesday – International Pronouns Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • 3rd Thursday – Spirit Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • October 26th – Intersex Awareness Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • Last Full Week – Ace Week (LGBTQ2+)

November 

  • All Month – National Native American, American Indian, and Alaskan Native Heritage Month (Native American) & Trans Awareness Month (LGBTQ2+) & National Family Caregivers Month & Movember (Men’s Health Awareness Month) 
  • November 1st – Job Action Day (Generational/Seasoned Professional)
  • November 1st – November 2nd – Día de los Muertos (Hispanic/Latino – Mexico, North, South, and Central America)
  • 1st Sunday – Trans Parent Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • November 8th – Intersex Solidarity Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • November 10th – Marine Corps Birthday (Military/Veteran)
  • November 11th – Veterans Day (Military/Veteran)
  • November 13th – November 19th – Transgender Awareness Week (LGBTQ2+)
  • November 14th – Independence Day (Asian/Pacific Islander – Cambodia)
  • November 15th – Roc Your Mocs (Native American)
  • November 19th – Red Shawl Day (Native American)
  • November 20th – Revolution Day (Hispanic/Latino – Mexico) & Black Awareness Day (in Brazil) (Black/African American) & Transgender Day of Remembrance (LGBTQ2+)
  • November 25th – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Women)

December 

  • All Month – Universal Human Rights Month 
  • December 2nd – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery/Human Trafficking
  • December 6th – Spain Constitution Day (Hispanic/Latino – Spain)
  • December 8th – Pansexual Pride Day (LGBTQ2+)
  • December 10th – International Human Rights Day 
  • December 26th – January 1st – Kwanzaa (Black/African American)

Examples of intersectionality initiatives and events can be found in the BRG Intersectionality Fact Sheet [link to: https://disabilityin.org/resource/brg-intersectionality-fact-sheet/] 

Ensure D&I is including disability inclusion and is engaging with employees with disabilities as part of their broader inclusion events

Formalized Stage 

Ensure there is an avenue for regions/sub-groups within disability ERG to have a voice (sub-group formation) [Refer to ERG structure information] 

Develop peer recognition programs for disability inclusion 

Video-based disability sensitivity training for recruiters, managers, and HR. 

Offer social emotional learning programs for adults 

Educate various teams across the organization on the need for accessibility review (internal/external) (technology/physical)

Listening sessions

ERG to hear what employees with disabilities and allies need; Ensure that the queries and responses can lead to “Actions.” If needed, follow up with targeted focus groups 

Begin informal mentoring or reverse mentoring within ERG for employees with disabilities 

While you don’t always need to consider title or level for a mentor to be a mentor, reverse mentoring can be beneficial for senior leaders to hear from diverse individuals and have a safe space to ask questions and learn about what is needed to take back tot heir business/department 

Broaden reach of internal events to celebrate diversity/disability within the organization 

  • Consider using internal speakers to story-tell their own disability journey or relation to disability, highlight employee
  • Consider using external speakers to raise topics that will encourage internal discussion (Podcasts, Media Influencers, YouTube Videos/TV Show Clips [with permission], Documentaries, local congress representatives) 
    • Metric – # events hosted 
    • Metric – # ERG members attending/# non-ERG members attending 
  • Provide training/education sessions to stakeholders/partners (TA, other ERGs, etc.) 
    • Metric – # trainings 
    • Metric – # attendees 
    • Metric – # How many? How well attended? 

Operational Stage 

Self-ID campaign input and/or participation 

  • [Refer to Workforce/Formalized Stage: Self-ID resource Information]  
  • Metric: % employee population who self-identify as having a disability 

Survey employees with disabilities to better understand their needs (benefits, product/system accessibility) 

  • If “leadership” scored low in the survey regarding disability-specific issues, plan trainings or processes to improve leadership empathy 
  • If “employee support” is voted low, plan trainings or processes for employees 
  • If “company processes” score low, craft solutions *move with survey 

Within the BRG, create an advisory panel provides consulting and input in universal design, web/product accessibility, marketing collateral and design 

Encourage/Drive Accessibility Review 

  • Influence/work with IT to review accessibility of software/systems/applications (internal/external) and have them test and/or assist with systems testing 
  • Ensure accessible meetings and offsite: Consider captioning for video calls and making sure you are using accessible video calling programs 
  • Check documents and email correspondences for accessibility (Trainings and best practices shared) 
  • Influence drive to improve accessibility of 3rd party products 
  • Metrics – # trainings/meetings to drive effort 
  • Metric – # systems/processes reviewed for accessibility 

Integrated Stage 

Review employee engagement scores

  • Leverage existing survey data for employees with disabilities; overlay questions (Are you a leader or member of an ERG/BRG?)
  • Drive actionable process to remedy any “gaps” seen in the survey 

Influence disability inclusion in HR policies (including caregivers), working practices and environment 

Serve as sounding board for individual/workplace accommodations

  • Influence creation of workplace accommodations process
  • Support escalations related to accommodations to help resolve 

Recognition/Awards for disability inclusion champions

Examples can influde: 

  • Ally/ies of the Year 
  • ERG Chapter(s) of the Year 
  • External Partner(s) of the Year 
  • Global ERG Leader(s) of the Year 
  • Global ERG of the Year 
  • D&I Champion(s) 

Develop formal mentoring program for employees with disabilities to improve retention, performance evaluations, promotions 

Work with job coaches to inform them on company processes/programs that could be leveraged/modified

Establish natural supports including assistance, relationships, materials and interactions within the workplace for employees who have job coaches 

Influence formation of accessibility lead/team; Ensure accessibility of internal products  

  • Metric – # contributions to accessibility team efforts 

Utilize (if you have access) or advocate for use of self-ID data to influence culture, programs 

Use KPI’s to track participation and encourage more to join. You can also use the data to map where those who self-ID sit within the organization’s hierarchy  

Dynamic Stage 

Focus on People Management Development for employees with disabilities, include in succession planning process 

Enable remote work culture 

Destigmatize mental health 

Help HR identify line managers who have the right attitude and training to support disability inclusion efforts 

Influence and increase employee participation in self-ID campaigns 

Build relationships with senior leaders and executives as well to encourage disclosing and participation in campaigns 

Business seeks out advice from advisory panel 

  • Metric – # inquiries to advisory panel 

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