The Power of Memoir:

 Personal Narratives as Catalysts for Social Change

Memoirs have long served as a powerful medium for sharing personal experiences and illuminating broader societal issues. By offering deeply personal accounts, these narratives provide readers with unique perspectives, allowing them to step into the author's world and gain insight into diverse lived experiences. In this blog, we explore several memoirs that tackle challenging topics and reveal important truths about our world.

Exploring Personal Narratives and Social Issues

1. Institutional Negligence and Abuse

Joe Gibson’s Seventeen*(2023) courageously addresses the sensitive issue of a teacher’s affair with a student. More than just a personal account, this memoir critically examines institutional responses to misconduct. Gibson exposes how some organisations prioritise reputation over justice, revealing the troubling reality of systemic failures in safeguarding vulnerable individuals. This book underscores the urgent need for accountability and systemic reform to prevent such abuses.

2. The Art of Writing Life Stories

Cathy Rentzenbrink’s Write It All Down: How to Put Your Life on the Page (2023) offers a compelling and accessible guide to memoir writing. With a conversational tone, Rentzenbrink demystifies the writing process and explores classism in literature, shedding light on representation and diversity in storytelling. Her work resonates with themes of equality, diversity, leadership, and ableism, demonstrating how personal narratives can drive meaningful conversations about social issues.

3. Empathy Through Storytelling

While Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s *Americanah* (2013) is a novel rather than a memoir, it employs deeply personal storytelling techniques that mirror the memoir genre. Adichie’s ability to immerse readers in her protagonist’s experiences fosters empathy and understanding across cultural divides. Her work demonstrates how relatable and engaging storytelling can serve as a bridge between different lived realities.

#### **4. Disability Rights and Shared Humanity**

Judith Heumann’s *Being Heumann: The Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist* (2021) is a powerful testament to the role of personal stories in advancing social change. As a leading disability rights activist, Heumann challenges ableist assumptions and invites readers into spaces where discrimination persists. Her memoir encourages deeper understanding and solidarity by highlighting the shared humanity of disabled individuals.

5. Race, Identity, and Mental Health

David Harewood’s Maybe I Don’t Belong Here: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery (2022) offers a poignant exploration of racial discrimination, mental health, and identity. Harewood articulates the complexities of navigating environments that demand conformity while subjecting individuals to systemic biases. His memoir sheds light on the profound impact of societal prejudices on mental well-being and self-perception.

Ruth Winter's Survival: a Memoir, talks of how depression can be triggered, by lifestyle and circumstances, as equally as it can be a physical flaw. Nurture or nature?  An inherited a vulnerability, through repeated attacks strength may also have been weakened by hate. While nurture can enhance well-being, so too can environments erode it. A story that gives voice to those who often go unheard in our society. This work sheds light on the hidden experiences of disabled individuals, survivors of sexual abuse, and victims of domestic violence and hate crimes.

6. Cultural Identity and Belonging

Anita Rani’s The Right Sort of Girl (2021) provides a compelling narrative about identity and belonging. As a British-Indian broadcaster, Rani shares her experiences of growing up between two cultures, addressing racism, sexism, and the pressure to conform. Her storytelling is vivid and immersive, making readers feel as though they are walking alongside her. She tackles heavy themes with the warmth and familiarity of a trusted confidant, demonstrating how personal narratives can be both impactful and relatable.

7. Resilience and Humour in Personal Storytelling

Sara Cox’s Till the Cows Come Home: A Lancashire Childhood (2019) brings a refreshing blend of humour and heart to the memoir genre. Cox’s portrayal of her rural upbringing in Lancashire offers an authentic glimpse into working-class life in Britain. Through her witty and engaging storytelling, she addresses themes of family, class, and resilience, illustrating how memoirs can balance humour with profound insights into social and cultural experiences.

Conclusion

These memoirs highlight the power of personal narratives in addressing critical social issues. By sharing their truths, authors like Gibson, Rentzenbrink, Adichie, Heumann, Harewood, Rani, and Cox challenge readers to confront uncomfortable realities while fostering greater empathy and understanding. Their stories spark vital conversations about abuse, class, race, disability, mental health, cultural identity, and the broader human experience.

As both readers and writers, we can learn from these courageous storytellers who have laid bare their lives on the page. Their work reminds us that memoirs are more than just personal accounts—they are catalysts for social change. Whether through raw honesty, conversational storytelling, or humour, these narratives prove that there are many ways to share one’s truth and leave a lasting impact on readers.

What memoirs have had an impact on your perspective? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Invisible Ripple

Exploring Systemic Discrimination and Disability Hate Crime through Literature

 

A few years ago, I was tasked with updating out understanding of hate crime in a national report on disability hate crime—a responsibility that weighed heavily, not just in its content but in its broader implications. It was a monumental challenge to condense such an urgent, layered issue into a form that would engage readers without sacrificing its critical findings. The underlying driver of this crime, as I came to understand, is a societal narrative so ingrained it’s often invisible: ableism.  

 

The process of working on that report planted the seeds for something greater. Returning to my PhD allowed me to refine and reframe those academic ideas—inequality, disadvantage, prejudice—into something more accessible. The result is a growing series of books designed to shine a light on systemic discrimination and its deeply personal and institutional impacts. 

 

Pools and Prejudice: The Personal Toll of Ableism  

The first book, Pools and Prejudice, dives into the individual experience of prejudice, exposing its life-altering effects. Through powerful storytelling, it seeks to bridge the gap between abstract concepts and the visceral realities they create. It’s a narrative that challenges readers to confront the hidden privileges and biases shaping our lives.

 

COVER OF POOLS

Jamaica Hollow: When Organizations Fail  

The second book, Jamaica Hollow, turns its focus to the organizational level. It examines the failure of accountability and the legitimacy gap that can spiral into human rights violations. By unravelling these systemic breakdowns, the story reveals the dangerous consequences of ignoring structural discrimination.  

 

COVER OF JAMAICA HOLLOW

What’s Next: Plim Players

The third instalment, Plim Players, is in the works. This book will address cultural factors behind the silencing of certain groups, further peeling back the layers of systemic inequality and offering new ways to think about social justice.  

 

COVER OF PLIM PLAYERS

Why These Stories Matter  

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that issues like ableism and systemic discrimination thrive in silence and invisibility. My goal with these books is to break that silence. By weaving narratives that inform and provoke, I hope to empower readers to recognise what many choose to ignore—or learn about - and inspire change at both personal, organisational and societal levels.  

 

Leadership challenge 

Systemic discrimination, particularly when it leads to hate crime, is not just a “specialist” issue. It’s a human rights issue that speaks to who we are as a society. Pools and Prejudice, Jamaica Hollow, and the upcoming Plim Players will contribute to a growing understanding and, ultimately, a more mindful way of working for many. 

 

Let these stories open the door to conversations that are long overdue. If you’re ready to look past the surface and into the systems that shape our lives, these books are your next read.   

C-Change- Realigning the stars

At C-Change, our colleagues are committed to embracing diversity, challenging conventional practices, offering choices, inspiring hope, and fostering inclusive environments. We are on a collective journey to explore the history of C-Change, adopt an allied stance, understand the principles of inclusive practice, and discuss ways to promote equality and diversity. This is not my story; it is an organisational account framed through an equality lens.

Exploring the 5 Ps: Integrating Key Principles into Organisational Life

[Description: C-Change constellation: five stars labelled People, Public, Privilege, and Political]

People make C-Change

It’s Personal: If You're Affected, You're Involved

It was a delight to begin by listening to a colleague who shared how things started for the organisation. With the closure of Lennox Hospital, several ‘patients’ with complex requirements were left in need of homes within communities. From the start, C-Change was innovative in finding ways to support the well-being of those previously locked in institutions. With the support of colleagues and the direction of families, people were not only supported better but also more cost-effectively, as intervention costs often dropped over time. I pointed out how the ‘cheaper’ aspect has become important again, sadly, under austerity. Fundamentally, at C-Change, human rights come first, not ‘care’ or ‘aid’ because it's all about prioritising well-being and rights. The conversation continued with longer-serving colleagues explaining to newer members the importance of enabling people to enjoy family homes within their localities. 

I'm always struck that the roots of the organisation mirror the emergence of the Disabled People's Movement and its fight for deinstitutionalisation. I was working for a DPO at the time but was too young and inexperienced to grasp the significance of the Movement. Only later did I connect the dots, and realise the meaning, the coalescence of smaller groups of d/Disabled individuals seeking to leave hospitals so their well-being needs were addressed as well as their medical needs. Hence, the Medical Model/Social Model distinction, while criticised today, made much more sense in this historical context and the nature of the fight.

I always enjoy C-Change's culture of ‘Radical Hospitality’ because it is about empathy and interaction, not just an initial greeting. It’s about fostering a sense of belonging and anticipating changes, understanding that while needs may be universal, individual wishes and preferences matter immensely. I don't need to declare, identify or fill in a form to ask for help. Plus, because I know the answer will be ‘yes,’ I'm never afraid to ask. It’s the intentionality behind my colleagues' interactions that fosters well-being, far more than rigid lists of do’s and don’ts, which can often be limiting.

Question: Well-being?

1. What is important for me?

2. What is important to me?

 Allied Position and Unearned Privilege

While many individuals will experience things differently, it is crucial for us, as colleagues, to acknowledge and address the disadvantages many face without reinforcing the common stereotypes imposed on them. C-Change has a long-standing tradition of viewing each person as unique; they are team leaders, responsible for the decisions made about their support (or helped to do so). Our colleagues amplify diverse voices, ensuring that each individual's needs, wants, dreams and unique identities are fully acknowledged and respected.

The feedback to the questions I raised, was intended to raise the matter of practice based on medical ‘musts’ rather than human needs, wants, and wishes. I shared with colleagues that I've often forgone things that may appear essential to others (e.g., parking) in favour of things that bring me huge joy (e.g. fires). Very quickly, colleagues understood how personal choice is, and that with limited time, energy, and money, the freedom to choose was important in order not to simply focus on need but the wider range of things we each require for our well-being. If we reduce access to essential needs, most will struggle or suffer. Furthermore, if we only apply well-being to health matters it's too late.

Public Matter - Professionals Natter

We then began a conversation about Personalisation, Standards, and Citizenship. I offered that during my time at C-Change, I'd observed that the organisation had a counter-narrative. One that moved in the opposite direction to many service providers within the care sector. I felt that working in different ways, with alternative wording, and an aim to uphold human rights, produced a culture that was often (positively) at odds with institutional and public assumptions.

A huge amount of great practice was shared, with colleagues keen to explore how and why things go wrong at times.

Jo’s Narrative: Not a Service User but a Person We Work For

Jo is not a client but a brother, neighbour, student, voter, train enthusiast, and teammate. The narrative of Jo’s life challenges conventional labels, highlighting his full humanity.

A Privilege: Adopting an Allied Position

Mea culpa, I did shoehorn my willingness to share ideas of critical theory behind the word ‘privilege.’ For colleagues, privilege is a delighted pride they have in their roles, a tangible feeling of honoring the lives of those they support. The energy in the room rose as everyone shared their stories. “My colleague said they got more from the person they support than the person got from them!” was shared with huge joy - I teared up. Imagine if such feelings were shared across the entire social care sector. A stark contradiction, I felt, to the daily barrage of negative press many are subjected to. The flaying by paper-cut of thoughtless comments, reiterated niceties no doubt well-intentioned, but oppressive, dehumanising, and disempowering over time. Yet you can't say, “I've lost it,” because people judge, as they can't see you've been kicked repeatedly in the same spot over years.

From a critical perspective, privilege means being able to live without the disadvantage of a specific and characteristic discrimination. For example, my privilege is living free of classism, homophobia, and racism… no one other than me knows exactly how far or narrow the extent of my overall unearned dis/advantage spreads. What I can say is that from this intersectional position, facing ableism is a disadvantage (not my lack of ability). If my advantage is not facing racism, then the privilege of many is not facing ableism. In domestic violence organisations, the political alignment is to feminism. Therefore, I’m gappy to say that reference to disability equality is instinctive C-Change because of the population within the org. My colleagues are anti-ableists almost intuitively, but I’d guess it is because there has been much work/learning in the past and along the way.

“Non-disabled privilege is unearned advantage, the absence of the prejudice, discrimination, and injustice weighing on the disabled population. A position often left unarticulated and unchallenged.”

We talked a great deal about how privilege relates to politics, policy, and practice. Many voiced their intent to learn more.

Human Rights and Panel Principles: Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination, Empowerment, Legality.

Political: Control - Fundamental to Well-being

Choice and control are not just important; they are essential to well-being because of their profound impact on health. At C-Change, discussions about finances are clearly defined by people's ownership of their money, empowering individuals to make decisions based on personal desires rather than imposed ideas about needs. This way, C-Change can offer choice and control, not just a few options, fostering resilience. Furthermore, the ongoing relationship with people ensures that preferences are understood and expected to change. Personal networks—family, friends, and neighbours—also play a significant role in daily choices, ensuring present happiness and long-term well-being.

Principles of Inclusive Practice - Choice: Ensuring respect in service provision without imposing restrictive norms of working practice.

Positive: Cultivating Hope

I felt it was ironic that we got to the exuberant and high-energy part just as I was physically fit to drop. As I set the groups up to work, I reflected on how much easier it was to work with three impairments, not five! And that when people observe you doing a job well, they’re largely unaware of the effort required. It used to be far easier to spend most energy on the job than now having to spend it on personal movement - both physical and mental. I often watch my colleagues work effortlessly with others, taking a minute to appreciate how much intentionality goes into making this possible!

Anticipation allows us to envision a hopeful future, creating a proactive rather than reactive environment. At C-Change, discussions about the future are filled with optimism, encouraging actions that turn aspirations into reality.

Questions:

1. What are six things that I value and take for granted in my life?

2. Can the people we work for do the same?

The conversation moved into party politics, unsurprisingly given recent events in the UK.

Web of Accountabilities

Closing the gap [legitimacy] between professional accounts and the voice of the people we work for demands that we add more to strategic conversations than financial consideration. At C-Change, when teams talk about the rights, they intentionally realign the conversation to the 5 Ps. This means that well-being is considered and human rights are honoured. As the (bad) graph below shows, when more time is given to what is possible, political, and a privilege rights are denied less often - colleagues don't stop at the individual (people).

Turning to the keywords in our discussions—hospitality, citizenship, choice, control, anticipation—these elements interconnect like a web, creating a space that could help sense, if not measure, accountability. At C-Change, I plotted a culture of proximity and trust, essential for recognising and responding to others' needs and feelings. Rather than stop at people, the organisational conversations I’ve been part of extend far further to encompass their strategic objectives.

Final Thoughts

engaging with C-Change's narrative provides many insights, but certainly articulates and reinforces the transformative power of accountability in whose voice and storytelling underpin change.

Note: I have purposefully omitted the more personal stuff we shared because, while illustrative, there is a difference between sharing personal experience and organisational know-how in public.

Podcast Gold: Transforming Tomorrow

In Transforming Tomorrow  “Professor Jan Bebbington and Paul Turner delve into the work that the Pentland Centre members undertake, and how this impacts on business. These are short, accessible listens, helping you keep up to date with the most current research - from biodiversity to modern slavery, seabeds to factory floors”

 

Fashionably late to the party, I found myself immersed in the world of Transforming Tomorrow. It is a captivating podcast that reignited a spark of thought about ethical research. JB's infectious enthusiasm and solution-focused approach to research was delightful, and I must confess, his accent was welcome on a rainy Wednesday.

 

Using my research practice*, I’d like to share four aspects that particularly caught my attention in the Dr Jouffray episodes:

 

It struck me:

 

1. Power of Language 

JB's thoughts on shared vocabulary, especially his liking for the word ‘stewardship’ struck a chord. While I've previously used the term in the context of leadership activity - I too hadn't associated it with such contention. It sparked thoughts on the nuanced nature of wording and the transient nature of definition in research contexts. I remember swapping deviant for divergent to qualify an alternative tone of narrative, and a voice that could add nuance to, not oppose, conventional assumptions.

 

2. Multidisciplinary Associations

 JB and Jan's conversation on multidisciplinary associations resonated deeply. In my Phd phase, I found myself delving into disciplines way beyond my initial grasp at undergraduate level. It's a common journey, where insights gained in later stages of exploration often go beyond the depth of the initial study. The blend of disciplines is a rich tapestry that fosters a profound - if not a broad - understanding of associated subjects. 

 

3. Ethical Accountants and Breaking Stereotypes:

   Paul's good-natured teasing of accountants brought a smile to my face. It reminded me of my own prejudices before encountering accounting professionals in organisational, academic and management roles. The accountants I've known have been surprisingly activist and politically sensitive, shattering my stereotype of the number-focused and heartless bean-counter.

 

I saw this as I was writing: 

 

 

 4. Star organisations and positive transformation 

Happenstance, it was luck that I already worked with an organisation that was delivering services in a fashion that countered typical ways of doing things within their sector. Doing what could be conceived as impossible by normal standards. By giving clients the greater portion of a budget usually held by the service provider, people had choices that enabled opportunities for happiness, and at a cheaper rate for those typically viewed as most complex. An accounting practice currently ignored in social care.

 

***

 

As a leadership scholar with a focus on social justice, my academic work and research dealt with EDI and language practice. The initial thrust of my MA research was to explore "inclusive practice," but, like stewardship, the notion of inclusion proved to be contested, controversial and contentious. Respect, intertwined with well-being and social justice, emerged as a central theme instead. I drew on interviews with educational leaders in a thematic study. Since I’ve erred towards ideas of privilege and critical theory.

 

Navigating academic environments has presented its own challenges. Due to my visible impairment, assumptions are made about my academic background.  People tend to assume my discipline is Disability Studies, steering me towards the rooms with special educational needs on the door rather than workshops on ethical development. This certainly highlights the prejudice that disabled researchers often face - we only have one interest, one field and one expertise. More likely to be the subject/respondent than the knowledge holder in the study, some go as far as to say we are mere data.

 

When contemplating PhD questions, sustainability was important because it was a growing strategic concern at the time; and ethical development coupled well with accountability and legitimacy theory. From my point of view, there was no reason why disability should matter at all in this context of organisational / community interface.  The realisation dawned later that the identities of researchers do impact their work, I had to recognise the significance of sensitivity, and leveraging one's strengths in terms of skill, knowledge and know-how. (I'd led disability equality training for 2 decades - I had professional wisdom !)

 

Turning to the literature, Hine’s paper uses Socratic dialogue to lay out thoughts on the societal cost of organisational ‘waste’. Her work has left a lasting impression years later. It was easy to see where many organisations failed to be accountable to 10% of the population they need to serve by ignoring those who do not fit in - let alone get in the door. Oswick et al’s exploration of knowledge transmission and the erosion of sharp disciplinary edges resonated with my own observation of interdisciplinary blending - or lack of it.  Much was lost in translation when disability-specific texts were domesticated, sometimes shifting meaning and adding bias and stereotype. As I discovered when wanting to review the overlapping literature - little coproduction was available. There was only one paper on sustainability and disability that I could find, thankfully giving both subjects equal weighting. Instead, I used literature analysis to explain why a review was impossible.  The work revealed that in many EDI texts disabled scholars and authors were at best politely reworded, or replaced by an ableist narrative that ignored any reference to disability equality theory or disabled theorists - no ideas, activist agenda or reference to disabled authors, Disability Studies, or the Disabled people's movement. I’ll add that these are easily accessed which suggests a lack of trust in testimonials.

 

I felt compelled to investigate why organisations were willing to spurn disabled people ‘s skills, knowledge and professional wisdom, by ignoring their authority and experience from academic and working life - and at a great cost to society (GDGs!). 

 

Picture it like a big, buzzing conversation. But guess what? The voices of the disabled population are kind of missing from the chit-chat. It's like they're on the outskirts, and assumptions are sneakily tucked away in the stories we tell. Now, here’s the game plan: We're switching up the usual academic talk to fight against this ableist vibe. We're throwing shade on those assumptions that biased researchers casually toss around in their own language. It's a bit like saying, "Hold up, we need to shake things up a bit.” Can we roll out a fresh take on academic authority - one that’s legit. No more hushing up the voices that are divergent, lets shout out evidence-based knowledge but in a way that highlights Disability Studies - giving a nod to the fact that disabled folks need to be authors and co-authors, not just a footnote. Think of it as a step towards setting those voices free. In a nutshell, we're turning up the volume on the voices that often get brushed aside. It's time for a research revolution!

 

 

Account-ability: human rights in disability conversation 

 

 Starting a conversation on disability equality in the workplace

 

Progress and Leadership 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Thank you, Paul, Jan and JB for providing a captivating auditory experience that also reignited the flames of curiosity. It served as a reminder of the richness found in the intersection of diverse disciplines and the power of breaking stereotypes in academia.

 

 

Bibliography:

- Fenney Salked, D. (2016). Sustainable lifestyles for all? Disability equality, sustainability and the limitations of current UK policy. Disability & Society, 447-464

- Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

- Hines, R. (1988). The Sociopolitical Paradigm in Financial Accounting Research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 13(3), 251-261.

- Oswick, C., Fleming, P., & Hanlon, G. (2011). From borrowing to blending: rethinking the processes of organizational theory building. Academy of Management Review, 318–337.

 

*Ethnography: the craftsmanship of revealing culture through words.

Ableism: a specific type of oppression, akin to homophobia, racism and sexism, held in the culture and language that inform society’s debates.

Anti-ableist: a defined position against ableism, the oppression that disabled people face – like feminist or anti-racist.

 

Progress and Leadership

 

Disability Equality gives us a way of articulating the voice of disabled people, but equality and accountability are part of an organisation's long-term vision.  Therefore leadership teams need to ensure organisations develop alternative working practice that challenge the legitimacy gap.

 

While the recruitment of people who are visibly different is good, those who acquire impairments at work are estimated at 86% of the disabled workforce. If 400, 000 professionals leave employment every year, that is a huge cost to business. 

 

As John West-Burnham wrote: “Our judgements about almost all social interactions, organisations and communities depend upon our perceptions of the relationships involved’ and ‘If the prevailing orthodoxy is [discriminatory] …  on an equitable basis then the role of leadership has to be to question and challenge that orthodoxy. The more deeply embedded the orthodoxy the greater the need for transformational leaders”.  (West-Burnham, 2009, p. 12)

 

We cannot say whether discrimination or impairment is a causal factor, but we can state that the barriers facing professionals at interviews probably persist throughout their career, and therefore impact those who become disabled mid- or late-career. Therefore, institutional discrimination almost certainly plays a large part in the absence of disabled professionals at senior and board levels. Viewed thus, matters of diversity and adjustments are also important in the progression of skilled, talented and experienced individuals. 

A disabled professional’s CV will possibly show shorter than average spans in multiple roles within different organisations. This eclectic mix of knowledge and skills has become the norm. The disabled professional will also have gained rich experience within and beyond employment that needs to be recognised as strategic, extensive and maybe overachieving. This makes their suitability for promotion obvious, yet they rarely achieve it, preferring to leave instead. As we saw in the discussion about trust, assumptions about the lack of excellence within the disabled population need to be challenged and extended to the diversity of roles available across the board. 

 

 The power of representation

•       As the Disability Power 100 list shows, increasing the representation of disabled people as achievers is ever more important to counter misrepresentation and replace outdated ideas with the real experience of positive relationships. 

•       It is therefore critical to “recognise, celebrate and promote” the contribution of disabled individuals as equally capable, creative and productive workers in their field who bring knowledge, expertise and craftsmanship to their workplace. While helping to shift attitudes and expectations, visibility challenges culture. 

 

    the end of a tale but the beginning of a journey 

 

Together, the four posts sections spell out an alternative understanding of working with disabled professionals. Starting with language, workplace culture can change, and the transformation depends on us, as employers, to follow the lead of the disabled community*  those who have actively challenged the attack on their human rights. 

 

Together they provide an extended terminology that will help employers to talk with more certainty about:

•       the disabled worker  the person, their skills, experience, qualifications and particular knowledge

•       disablism   the barriers, negative attitudes and working practices faced by disabled people but not by their non-disabled colleagues within organisations, sectors or professions (eg fear, lack of awareness, avoidance, micro-aggression, stairs, complex or incomplete policies)

•       ableism – the misrepresentation or silencing in the documents, communications and wider storytelling of organisations 

•       impairment, condition, difference or functioning – private information, the disclosure of which is a disabled individual’s choice to disclose: the same is true for their identity as a disabled person

•       inclusive practice an ongoing process of adjusting equitably to diversity.

 

It is all very good news, as addressing the prejudice, discrimination and inequality disabled workers face 

 

The Disability Employment Gap – A Closer Look

This blog sheds light on the gap in work opportunity for the disabled population. By exploring how:

- Workplaces often fall short in recruiting and promoting disabled workers, and

- They unwittingly contribute to the injustice imposed on the disabled population. 

EMPLOYMENT 

The low employment rate of disabled people is a human rights issue, which leads to a higher likelihood that disabled individuals struggle to secure employment and face extended periods of unemployment. The scope of the disabled population is larger than commonly thought. For instance, in a company of 1,000 employees, roughly one in ten, or 100 workers, may have impairments, whether they identify as disabled or not. This figure is significantly greater than the number of individuals parked in the few accessible bays outside the building. However, many people underestimate the size and diversity of the disabled population as a whole. Consequently, they tend to underestimate the extent of the problem and the cost of the disability employment gap to both the industry and society.

Clearly, the issue goes beyond the occasional lack of personal fit. Effective inclusive practices remain inconsistent, partly due to the diversity of impairments. While most differences have likely found accommodations in some form, overall inclusive practices are not yet a reality that disabled professionals can take for granted. Organisations and institutions often serve as sources of injustice, as disabled workers possess no less experience, skill, or wisdom than their non-disabled colleagues. However, they encounter far more barriers than most employers imagine. Many depend on organisations willing to take action to address the disadvantages they face. For business leaders, the challenge is to align organisational change to benefit both disabled individuals and the broader working community.

Culture Shock

• The unemployment rate is 1 in 4, which drops substantially for people with learning disabilities, compared to 1 in 10 for others.

• Fewer than 1 in 10 disabled individuals are currently employed, in contrast to 1 in 10 non-disabled people. This disparity has repercussions extending beyond finances, affecting well-being, self-esteem, relationships, and health.

• An astonishing 86% of all disabled people in the UK acquire their disability during the course of their working lives.

• The employment rate for disabled people stands at 45.4%, while non-disabled individuals have an employment rate of 81.2%, resulting in a substantial gap of 35.8 percentage points.

Why Being Seen at Work Matters

Efforts have frequently focused on accommodating impairments, with training solutions targeting frontline staff, while senior leadership teams have received less attention. Understandably, this has led to resistance from workers who felt overwhelmed by the amount they needed to learn. Moreover, without support from decision-makers, there has been minimal funding for strategy implementation. Additionally, it seems that disability training, when provided, often receives less time and attendance compared to other equality strands. This poses a challenge, as professionals realize the depth and breadth of knowledge required to address these issues. Many now recognize that without the backing of senior management, leadership teams, and boards, strategies often fail to align and achieve the necessary changes. Time-consuming and costly individual-level adjustments rarely result in significant departmental transformations within a company's purpose. Therefore, viewed in this way, few organizations do nothing, most take some action, and many could do more.

The net result is that few do nothing, most do something, and far more could make better use of what can and is being done together.

The importance of being visible at work lies in creating clear boundaries between private and public discourse, dispelling myths and uncertainties about disability, and fostering inclusivity. In the workplace, error is rarely as problematic as silence. People are generally flexible and understanding when they make an effort to use mindful language. However, in public documents and within organisations, terminology becomes far more critical, as it shapes the culture and values of an organization. Therefore, being seen at work and fostering open discussions about disability is pivotal in bridging the gap and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

Allies at work

As a wise woman once said: “political correctness changed the words, but did not change the conversation!”  Full credit Andrea Layzell @AndreaStEdmunds.

Compassionate relationships

Professional wisdom is a beautiful thing when applied to practice and workplace relationships. The difference between political correctness and respectful language isn’t whether a word is right or wrong but why the meaning strengthens or counters oppressive storytelling.
 
I have met a great number of kind, considerate, and compassionate people in my work, many have become good friends, but friendships and allied relationships are not the same things. It was on the Inclusion Press website that I came across the phrase: "we don’t have to like each other". The phrase is key in this context, because being kind to people we like is easy, however, being empathetic enough to acknowledge a different perspective is far harder.
 

From a position of strength

You’d be forgiven for thinking that I believe that being an ally demands friendship - it doesn’t. I’d say friendship sometimes helps and maybe follows, but it’s not the deciding factor in being able to interrupt the oppression another individual faces daily. In fact, if allyship is conditional on likability we have a problem. In some circumstances being friendly, or overfamiliar, may only serve to demonstrate unequal power in the relationships: “Be my friend…  I’ll choose when to be yours”.  
 
Speaking counter discrimination, on the other hand, is needed! But words are critical to define the characteristic discrimination and inequality other people face. Otherwise, you can’t a/ give it an articulation, or b/ interrupt it in conversation. Put another way, as an ally I need to recognise the stereotypes that feed the misrepresentation of those facing each type of organisational or systematic discrimination colleagues face - racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, etc. Without a working definition, therefore, however sketchy,  the language we use carries forth the culture that reproduces it.  From a position of privilege, it’s far more important for me to do my homework, than ask those in the room affected by its experience. The knowledge I gain through reading and speaking to people facing discrimination helps me change the way I speak about it. 
 
Few have been in jobs where in-depth equality is offered as part of orientation or ongoing training. Yet without this explicit reference, theory or tools, how does one begin to talk about the specific characteristics of discrimination and the exact nature of the characteristics of societal inequality imposed on each marginalised population. You need to look, sometimes quite hard, to find out what you do not know. For example, with feminism, gender equality doesn’t equate to being nice to women, a shared meaning for structural and cultural inequality is necessary to articulate sexism and patriarchy.
 
As research suggests, being able to ignore a worldwide crisis is less about denial and more about lack of awareness. Despite 50 years of activism the civil rights movement is still largely fighting the same battles. On the whole because while individual experience is sometimes heard, the ideas or interests of campaigners and specialists are often dismissed and/or not applied to work practice [and the disciplines that feed professionalism]. This leaves an idea of discrimination as an individualised problem expressed with regret. As we speak, for example, we often dismiss or ignore the size and scale of prejudice and inequality, particularly when we cannot relate its form to our own experience. It has nowhere to sit in terms of personal understanding.  
 
We tend to link stereotypes to deficit, prompting an organisational reaction, and societal voice articulating rejection or blame. For example, stupid, becomes hard to educate, becomes special educational needs, becomes segregated...  once we’ve established the pattern is easy to see how culture leads to human rights abuse. [it’s not the personal difference that leads to a bad experience, more the lack of typical protection not available to those being treated unfairly]. Unless we understand the cycle, blame is more likely to be laid on the individual. 
 
Allies are those who can name the stereotypes, the patterns, and the cycles of misrepresentation in language and culture. For some of us, safety in a room often rests on the quick response of others to spot and interrupt negative assumptions. It’s life-affirming to hear colleagues point out the words, phrases, or idioms that harm. Those that carry assumptions about the ‘normality’ of perfect bodies, with a language that creates the idea that those without difference are normal. It’s not the words themselves that are good or bad, it is their meaning in a particular place. It is the idea that some are typical, implying others are not, that needs challenging, not the ignorance of those speaking.
 

Language and Disabled people's movement

The Disabled people's movement in the UK has used the term Disabled for many years. It was chosen to emphasise the idea that disability can be defined as impairment, a characteristic discrimination, and a problem in society. The 'and' is really important, I think, because disability is already used to mean so much. While aspects of a layered definition may appear confusing at first, once considered, the addition of a defined 'ism' to something viewed solely as a personal predicament helps make other deeply rooted issues more visible. Furthermore, when language is used to express the interests of a large group, a global population, it has power. It adds to - rather than dismisses - what is often seen as an individual’s problem. 

Group strength

This is a UK perspective, it recognises that ‘people with disabilities’ is used in other European countries and the US, and ‘people with disability’ is used in Australia. However using 'Disabled' in the UK helps articulate specific barriers in the environment and a type of injustice created by culture, and that disability is not simply about an individual’s impairment, personal difference, or physical deficit.  

Using Disabled as a verb also aligns with disability theory, which is often referred to as the Medical Model and Social Model of disability. Because, the problem is imposed on the Disabled population, they don't have it. In addition, as a self-referencing term, being Disabled refers to the knowledge and activism of those putting the ideas of Disability Studies and Disability Equality into practice.  Its use does not mean that all Disabled people need to agree or sign up, rather it indicates a group for whom culture may impose problems. Within the Disabled people's movement, as within other civil rights groups [say the Feminist movement], there are radicals, moderates, and non-subscribers! 

 

As part of my Ph.D. research, I read over 3000 journal abstracts on ‘disability’. I then used personal experience, disability equality theory, and professional wisdom to analyse these texts. And despite a growing amount of documents representing the interests of the Disabled population, largely most did not. Examining those that didn't enabled me to identify key themes used by storytellers to misrepresent Disabled people in storytelling. I found that I began to feel whether the articles reflected a shared direction, a group voice, and whether writers described the ideas of the Disabled people's movement. It was not so much the words writers used, but the meaning they conveyed that I was interested in. Even where I felt writers struggled with their wording, I could see how they sought to put a recognisable representation of political interest into words. 

 

For many the term ‘Disabled’ has become positive and empowering, as it denotes the recognition of a protected characteristic (discrimination) or named oppression (ableism). Furthermore, when the ‘d’ of disabled is capitalised it represents a  political choice - a fight for civil rights and justice. As it can be used to convey resistance - I am disabled by attitudes; he is disabled by systems, he faces disabling structures - again these imply that being disabled is something external to the person. Significantly this perspective aligns with anti-sexist, anti-homophobic, or anti-racist views of inclusive practice, where institutional and societal ableism is everyone's responsibility. The vision of an equitable world strategic aim that requires both the acknowledgment of ablism within organisations and across institutions, with an articulation against the ableism in society’s storytelling more widely.

 

As an equivalent term to feminist, ‘anti-ableists’ are those who hold the view that ‘disability’ is not a description or a personal characteristic. A Disabled person is not a ‘person with an impairment necessarily, as the person does not have a disability, in the way that you might be ‘a person with brown hair’. Consequently, some articulate that the opposite of ‘disabled’ is not ‘able-bodied’ or ‘abled’, but ‘non-disabled’ or having ‘able privilege'.  For those working in Deaf and Disabled People's Organisations, for example, the use of the word Disabled is shorthand for a political voice and shared interests. Disability is not to be banned, equally ‘impairment’ is ok, but needs to be used with nuance to talk about medical conditions, diagnosis, or description of functioning – probably in a more private conversation in order to respect individuality and anonymity.  

 

Finally, the wording has significance for empowerment, particularly for those wishing to work within the legislation in the public roles. Understanding the critical difference between these different terms allows responsibility to choose to talk separately and clearly about:

 

·    a named individual => the person => bob

·    difference or impairment => diagnosis  

·    disablism => the character of organisational terminology and professional mindset

·    ablism => society’s barriers & lack of privilege => oppression 

 

Used in a sentence for example:  

 

Fred Brown (the person) is a man with cerebral palsy (the impairment). When the barriers and discrimination in organisations  (disablism) and oppression in society (ableism) that weigh on Fred have been removed, Fred will no longer be disabled, but he will still have an impairment and be called Fred. (Author unknown)

 

Disablism, then, can be likened to racism, sexism, and homophobia…. In the most simplistic way, one could say that the disabling effects of society imposed on Disabled people are in addition to the possible problems that may be caused by their impairments.  The critical implication of changing words, is specifically important in public, because it spells out that everyone can do something about naming ablism, whether they have an impairment or not. Being an ally needs to denote legitimacy, an acknowledgment of stories - the Disabled people's movement – the voices of many whose storytelling is often misrepresented because it is deemed untrustworthy.

 

Many Disabled people have felt empowered by the ideas, culture and language of the Disabled people's movement. As used by D/deaf & Disabled People's Organisations in an articulation of strength that speaks of trust and respect, the self-representation of Disabled people as authors in storytelling.

 

Ableism: a specific type of oppression, akin to homophobia, racism, and sexism, held in the culture and language that inform society’s debates.

Anti-ableist: a defined position against ableism, a named oppression that disabled people face specifically – like feminist or anti-racist.

Disablism: a specific type of oppression leveled directly at disabled people, much like misogyny or religious hate speech, that operates in a community of practice within and across organisational boundaries. 

 

This piece has been re-written to convey the understanding I gained from recent research. Therefore, I thank those who joyfully gave time to answer my questions: without them, there would be no words.