Employment

The unemployment rate for the disability community is disproportionately high, creating a cycle of exclusion and economic disparities. These pieces cover the need to expand employment opportunities and end workplace discrimination.

A red, spiral notebook and white pen against a light blue background. A white, torn off post-it note is taped to the notebook. It reads: "It's okay to not be okay."

It’s Okay Not to Be Okay – Until It’s Not

CONTENT NOTE: mental health disabilities, brief mention of suicide and suicidal ideation Even before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the United States was facing a growing mental health emergency. This rapidly-growing crisis has led to mental health becoming …

A comfortable-looking black office chair pulled up to a white desk with a black phone, black desktop keyboard, and a pair of glasses on it. A note attached to the chair has black text on white background that reads "out of office."

Navigating The Workforce as a Chronically Ill Person

CONTENT NOTE: brief mention of medicalized diet culture, brief mention of menstruation, ableist workplace discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I was diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease the year …

Outdoors. A tree surrounded by green grass is seen from the tree top down to its complex roots. The roots are surrounded by soil because they're all underground.

Getting to The Roots: Why Does Subminimum Wage Persist?

In 2018, the National Council on Disabilities reported that people with disabilities in the U.S. have decreased chances of finding work. In addition, the report found that disabled workers often work for subminimum wage, low wages, and under substandard employment …

Daytime, an aerial view of Islamabad, Pakistan. It's mostly green tree tops with buildings and roads. Large mountains in the background.

The Many Challenges of Working Disabled Women in Pakistan

In Pakistan, disability has been overlooked and ignored in all aspects of life, including administrative, financial, and legal spheres. As a result, people with disabilities are the most disadvantaged since we are unseen, unheard, and miscounted in the country. …

Stressed brown-skinned teacher with long, straight, dark hair in a colorful classroom, sitting at the toy table.

Removing the Stigma of Alcoholism in the Teaching Profession

CONTENT NOTE: detailed discussion of substance abuse and trauma . . . . . . . . . . . I began drinking heavily during college when I took a semester off, moving from Boston back to Baltimore to…

A blue, orange and red graphic with solid black text and illustrations. The text in the blue portion reads: "ADA Americans with Disabilities Act." Below that, in the orange and red sections, are solid black illustrations that are meant to symbolize or represent various types of disabilities. Listed in order: signing hands, two arrows pointing to an ear with a device in it, a pair of black glasses, an eye with a line crossed through it, representation of braille text with the word underneath, the traditional wheelchair user symbol, an amputee using a cane, a service dog, a person with a white cane, and a person's head with the brain visible.

Busting Barriers: ADHD and ADA Accommodations at Work

When I speak to other ADHDers who were diagnosed as adults, they share a common refrain: “Why didn’t anybody tell me sooner?” No, it’s not supposed to be hard to sustain friendships or clean the house. In fact, there are…

A group of people sitting around a table having a meeting, including a white female-presenting wheelchair user.

To Meet Disability Employment Goals, Disabled People Must First Have Access to Care

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, so let’s talk numbers: In 2020, 17.9% of people with disabilities were employed in contrast to the employment rate of 61.8% for people without disabilities. Although there have been shifts in employment…

A Black person's hands kneading dough on a floured surface.

Putting Respect on the Menu: On Being a Deaf Chef

Everyone has a gift or a purpose that puts a sparkle in their eyes, quickens their heartbeat a little, and wakes them up more excited to start the morning. We go about our daily activities with varied levels of anticipation…

Top-down partial view of a white person sitting cross-legged on a bed, holding a cell phone, and resting her hand on their keyboard. There is a pink notebook and pen next to them.

Working from Bed Isn’t Lazy. It’s Accessible.

2020 was a year of change and adapting, something disabled people are already pros at doing. One of the biggest shake-ups was the move to working from home. As much of the workforce shifted from the office to wherever we…