You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D

Episode 20: Disrupting Ableism in the Workplace

Ableism. It happens in workplaces, in communities and in society in general, every day. Maybe you have lived experience facing it. Or maybe you’ve practised it, without consciously realizing it.

In this episode, we get a perspective on disrupting ableism in the workplace: Why it’s happening, its many forms, its impact and what can, and needs to be, done about it.

Our two guests have many powerful insights on ableism. Listen to this conversation with Sree Nallamothu and Fran Odette.

Sree Nallamothu is the Co-Executive Director of Toronto Neighbourhood Centres. She’s also a documentary film-maker, a passionate story teller and an advocate for social change.

Fran Odette has more than 25 years of experience in disability advocacy, activism and education. She co-designed and co-teaches a critical disability studies course titled, Disability Discourse: The Experienced Life, at George Brown College in Toronto.

Their insights in this episode will get you thinking more consciously about ableism.

ODEN’s Dr. Jennifer Crowson, PhD, is guest co-host this episode.

 

SHOW NOTES

• Episode transcript: https://www.odenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TranscriptEp20DisruptingAbleismInTheWorkplace-19April2024_otter_ai.pdf
  
  
• Maytree “Five Good Ideas” webinar on Disrupting Ableism in the Workplace transcript link: https://maytree.com/five-good-ideas/five-good-ideas-for-disrupting-ableism-in-the-workplace/
  
  
• “The Biggest Challenge is Ableism, Not My Disability” — United Nations Africa Renewal e-magazine 2021 article by Franck Kowanu;  interview with Haben Girma: https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-2021/‘-biggest-challenge-ableism-not-my-disability’
  
  
• Ableism 101: https://www.accessliving.org/newsroom/blog/ableism-101/
  
  
• Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital “Dear Everybody” campaign to end ableism against youth who have a disability: https://deareverybody.hollandbloorview.ca/?utm_campaign=DearEverybody21&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=textpost&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw7-SvBhB6EiwAwYdCAayqMMB4GA_2TYPstJ6-KZfDLTcWUGOImL86p1L21TITBUyiHw_5bRoCwioQAvD_BwE
  
  
• United Nations Geneva Disability-Inclusive Language Guidelines: https://www.ungeneva.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Disability-Inclusive-Language-Guidelines.pdf
  
  
• Disability Discrimination: Everything Canadian Employers Need to Know: https://www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/ca/resource-hub/discrimination/disability-discrimination-canadian-employer-guide/

Episode 19: The IDEA Initiative — A Year One Update

In our Season 5 opener, the two guests who were with us on our 2023 season opener, are back to give us an update on year one of the Inclusive Design for Employment Access initiative, or IDEA for short.

A quick recap: IDEA is a six-year research project being done with $9 million of federal funding under Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund. IDEA is reimagining how Canadian workplaces can be more inclusive for people who have a disability.

It’s been almost a year since IDEA officially launched in May 2023, and we wanted to find out what’s been happening since then.

Listen to this great year one update conversation with Dr.Emile Tompa and Dr. Rebecca Gewurtz, who lead the IDEA initiative.

 

SHOW NOTES

Find out more about the IDEA initiative:

• Website: https://vraie-idea.ca
• Government of Canada page about IDEA: https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/nfrf-fnfr/stories-histoires/2022/inclusive-design-inclusif-eng.aspx
• Institute for Work and Health page about IDEA: https://www.iwh.on.ca/projects/inclusive-design-for-employment-access-idea-evidence-synthesis

Connect with and follow the IDEA initiative on social media:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vraie_idea
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vraie-idea/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vraie_idea/
• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@vraie_idea
• Mastodon: https://mstdn.ca/@vraie_idea

Get in touch about getting involved in the IDEA initiative: info@vraie-idea.ca

Listen to the original conversation about the IDEA initiative (Episode 8): https://youcantspellinclusionwithoutad.podbean.com/e/idea-—-the-new-six-year-initiative-that-s-reimagining-canadian-workplaces-for-disability-inclusion/

Season 5 Trailer

We've got another great season  lined up. It starts April 9. Stay tuned for a lot of insight-packed conversations coming in the months ahead. Here's an idea of what's coming in 2024, in season five of You Can't Spell Inclusion Without a D.

Ep. 18: Disability in the Media, Pt. 2 — Disability Representation & Inclusion in Canada’s Film/Television/Modelling Industry

Canada is known as “Hollywood North.” That’s because so many television shows and series, and theatrical and television films have been, and are filmed, in this country. They include Supernatural, Schitt’s Creek, Hudson and Rex, Deadpool, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek Discovery and Hot Zone: Anthrax.

According to figures from the Motion Picture Association, film and television production in Canada employed over 240,000 people in 2021/2022. That includes everyone from acting talent and extras, to sound editors and technicians, to camera operators, to makeup artists, to set carpenters.

But of all the people who work on all these productions in all these capacities, how many are people who have a disability? What exactly is the state of disability representation and inclusion in the film, television and modelling industry in Canada? And how is disability portrayed in it?

That’s what we explore in this second and final part of our series on disability in the media.

Our three guests have some powerful industry-insider insights.

• Katie MacMillan, Founder and Director of Operations, Kello Inclusive agency
• Actors Natasha Urkow and George Alevizos, who both have a disability

Show notes:

• Learn more about Kello Inclusive, the only talent agency in Canada representing only disability talent: https://www.kelloinclusive.org
• Find out about the CBC Television series, PUSH: https://www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/program/push
• Learn more about ACTRA: https://www.actratoronto.com
• Listen to part 1 in this series: https://youcantspellinclusionwithoutad.podbean.com/e/ep-17-disability-in-the-media-pt-1-—-disability-coverage-in-the-media/

Ep. 17: Disability in the Media, Pt. 1 — Disability Coverage in the Media

Disability is the world’s largest minority group — one that all of us will likely join at some point in our lives. According to World Health Organization figures, 1.3 billion people globally have a disability.  

People who have a disability are just regular people, living their every-day lives one day at a time...like all of us. Celebrating triumphs in life, and coping with life stresses...like all of us. But that’s not necessarily the message that comes across in media stories about disability. 

Myths and misconceptions about disability are still prevalent. And journalists and the media play a critical role in how people who have a disability...how disability itself...is perceived...and the level of disability awareness among the general population. 

That’s what we’re exploring in this episode, part one in a two-part series on Disability in the Media.  

Beth Haller teaches Disability Studies and Media Studies at Towson University in Maryland. Gus Alexiou and John Loeppky are both freelance journalists who have a disability.  

Our three guests have some powerful insights into the state of disability coverage in newsrooms, and disability-related stories produced in them. 

Ep. 16: ”Making the Journey” – Ep. 1 – A One-on-One Conversation with Joe Hoffer About the Disability-Inclusive Hiring Experience at Cohen Highley, LL

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. So we thought, what better time to launch a new, occasional series we’re calling, Making the Journey.  

It’s a fitting title for this series. Because when a business leader or owner makes the conscious decision to become intentional about disability inclusion in their organization, it really is a long-term journey. 

In Making the Journey, we talk one-on-one with business leaders about the twists, turns, challenges, awkward conversations, successes and lessons learned along the way in their disability-inclusive hiring journey.  

For the first instalment of Making the Journey, we talk with Joe Hoffer. He’s a partner at Cohen Highley LLP in London. And he’s an ODEN Business Champion.  

Cohen Highley forged a disability inclusion path for other businesses in Southwestern Ontario to follow...and they are. This is an insight-packed, engaging conversation. 

 

Show Notes: 

– Learn about the ODEN Business Champions League: 

https://www.odenetwork.com/businesses/business-champs-league/ 

– Business resources: 

https://www.odenetwork.com/businesses/business-resources/ 

– Business benefits of disability-inclusive hiring: 

https://www.odenetwork.com/businesses/business-benefits/ 

– Tip Sheet: 7 Tips for Making Sure Your Business is Disability Inclusive: 

https://www.odenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ODEN_7_Tips_Disability_04-FINAL-EN-FINAL-ua.pdf 

–Tip Sheet: 7 Tips for Ensuring Disability is Part of the DEI Conversation in Your Business 

https://www.odenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/EN_7_Tips_BIZ_02-FINAL-FINAL-ua.pdf 

Ep. 15: The Global State of Disability Innovation

If you’ve never heard about some of the disability innovation things happening around the globe....like Africa’s first Assistive Technology Accelerator project called Innovate Now....or StreetCo, a pedestrian GPS app developed in France to help people with reduced mobility safely navigate city streets....or the World Health Organization’s first official collaborating centre on assistive technology....you’re probably not alone. 

Disability innovation is happening around the globe...but is it truly happening *globally* in the collaborative sense of the word? 

That’s the question we’re exploring in this episode with our three guests: Professor Jutta Treviranus (OCAD University); Valarie Wafer (Chair of the Rotary International Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force); and Christine Hemphill (Founder and Managing Director of Open Inclusion).

Have a listen to this engaging conversation about the global state of disability inclusion.

Ep. 14: The State of Disability Inclusion in Business in Canada

There’s more conversation about disability inclusion in business and employment, than ever. It’s been driven by some rapid changes in the nature and future of work.

All this conversation is a good thing. But, it’s a discourse that’s been going on in Canada for over a hundred years. For all intents and purposes, the modern conversation in Canada about disability inclusion started during World War One.

It was originally focused on wounded veterans who were repatriating home with a disability; their employment prospects; their employability; and just how they were perceived by and fit into Canadian society and employers of the day.

The nuances have changed since 1917 and 1918, but the conversation about disability inclusion in business is still going on in 2023. Now, it’s mostly rolled into the over-arching business conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion.

So how much has really changed in Canada? How much has the needle moved? Where is it right now? And how much more does it need to move? Questions we explore in this episode, with guests Michael Bach, Yat Li and Anita Huberman.  

Ep. 13: A Spotlight on Assistive Technology

What do you think of when you hear the words, “assistive technology,” or AT, as it’s known for short? And what’s the difference between assistive technology and accessible technology? 

From smartphones, to podcast apps, to earbuds, to eyeglasses, to canes, they’re all AT. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes, assistive technology is “an umbrella term.” 

There are many things like texting, that have become ubiquitous — that we take for granted, that were developed originally as an aid for people who have a disability. 

Globally, according to figures from the WHO, right now there are 2.5 billion people who need one or more AT products to help them navigate their daily lives. With the population aging, that number’s expected to rise. 

We use AT every day in business, at work and at home, without necessarily thinking of what we’re using, as assistive technology. 

This episode, we get you thinking more consciously about AT. The WHO has its definition of AT; we find out how our three guests define it. And how important is your mindset about assistive technology? We explore that question, too. And we get some insights on the state of AT in 2023, and what exciting things are ahead. 

 

Show Notes: 

Learn about the many accessibility features of mobile devices: https://www.gari.info/index.cfm 

Ep. 12: Why Businesses are Lagging Behind on Web Accessibility — and What Needs to Be Done About It

In the beginning, the Web was pretty much accessible for everyone....because it was originally text based. In 2023, web-page technology and design has advanced light years beyond the original hypertext markup language (HTML) used to build the world’s first websites.  

But is accessibility....that universal power of the Web referred to by its inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, keeping pace with modern web technology and design?  

More often than not today, websites are the first point of customer contact for any organization. Anyone looking for information is going to go to your website first. 

But here’s the thing: The WebAim Million 2023 Report on the Accessibility of the Top One Million Web Pages found that 96.3% of home pages have WCAG 2.0 failures. And that’s down only slightly from 96.8% in 2022. 

This episode, we explore why businesses are still lagging behind on making their websites accessible, and what needs to happen to get the Web back to that universality regardless of disability that Tim Berners-Lee envisioned.  

We get our three guests’ different web accessibility perspectives on what needs to happen and how to get there; and what we might expect with web accessibility in the years ahead. Listen to this engaging conversation with Ran Ronen, David Berman and Sabine Lobnig.  

 

Read the WebAim Million 2023 report: https://webaim.org/projects/million/