The Microaggression 90% of companies are making

We’re less than 6 weeks out from Disability Pride Month (July) and chances are you probably don’t have a plan for Disability Pride set in motion. Let’s talk about how that’s a microaggression and what that means for disabled people. 

Whenever I teach about ableism, I teach through two perspectives: implicit bias and systemic ableism.

Oppression Funnels

These two types of ableism create a funnel of oppression for disabled people. Our society was built by people who share the incorrect implicit bias, or undetected, unexamined belief, that disabled people are inferior to non disabled people. Therefore, as they created various elements of our society, our society was then built with ableism and systems were created without including disabled people into society. Then, those systems exclude disabled people and because disabled people are not a part of society, it reinforces ableist implicit bias.

The implicit bias that affects representation in both business and entertainment circles has been systematically enforced for centuries dating all the way back to the medieval times when your physical appearance was believed to equate to virtue and moral standing. During these times society believed that disability was either a sign that the person was receiving consequences for sin, or that the disabled person was experiencing purgatory on earth. 

While as a people we have come to realize that disability is not something we believe is purgatory on earth or a consequence of sin, our storytelling still reflects many of these beliefs. Our current storytelling also still lines up with the touring Freakshows during the Victorian era. Disabled people were often sold into Freakshows by their families and forced to perform as it was the only form of employment they could engage in, and they were otherwise seen as a financial burden.  Freakshows and Medieval mindsets are what created the implicit bias that disabled people should be feared, and this was systemically enforced by the legal system through the creation of The Ugly Laws.

The Ugly Laws were municipal laws that stated that no disabled or “unsightly” person should be permitted to be seen in public, leaving disabled people with no opportunities for work, community, access to health care or basic human rights. The last of these laws were overturned in 1971.

Let’s take a look at how this ableist implicit bias turned into systemic oppression, back into implicit biases and then into more systemic oppression.

The implicit bias is represented in blue and the systemic oppression is represented in teal.

The beliefs of Medieval times are not something that went away with the passage of the ADA. Because the ADA is not a self enforcing law, the burden of enforcing it lies on the very community it is supposed to protect: disabled people. Statistics show that complaints of ADA violations only have a 13% rate of being settled.

The Ugly Laws were a systemic form of oppression that created or reinforced the belief that disabled people were not worthy of inclusion in everyday life, or even looking at, and they still inform our implicit bias today. This is reinforced by the lack of inclusion from media, marketing and entertainment industries and it is reinforced by the lack of inclusion in diversity initiatives. 

The red circle? That’s you.

That’s right where you’re at - you have the power to change the way disabled people are portrayed in media, marketing, entertainment. You have the power to include disabled people in your ERG, HR and DEI practices. You have the power to either take yourself - and your company - out of this oppression funnel that grows with each iteration, or stick with the status quo.

Chances are if you’re reading this you already know you should be prioritizing disability in your company from a moral standpoint, but convincing your boss, HR or DEI department to make the investment is the challenging piece. I’ve broken it down into researched points about how this affects your ROI so that all you have to do is forward this onto the decision makers.

In media, marketing, and entertainment:

Disability is the largest minority group in the world - we’re 25% of the population but we’re only featured in media, marketing and entertainment 3.1% of the time. Furthermore, when we are represented it’s usually through problematic stereotypes, stigmas and tropes that the disability community is working hard to overturn.

In family films, disabled characters are over 15% more likely to need to be rescued, as well as 2X more likely to die. 

ROI opportunity:

Disability isn’t just the largest minority group in the world, it also affects 73% of the marketplace in the USA. The 2020 Global Economics Report on Disability shows that those who have a personal relationship with disability (either disabled themselves or have a close family member / friend who is disabled) have over $8.68T in disposable income. We know that human beings are emotional creatures when it applies to our buying habits, and the lack of prioritization of this community will give your brand a cutting edge on competitors when you learn to include disabled people in equitable ways.

In diversity circles:

The fact that 90% of companies have some plan for diversity, but only 4% include disability is one of the most glaring microaggressions we face. Diversity circles are the exact circles we should be included in.

When companies do prioritize disability by hiring more disabled people and by accommodating them, the results are astounding. Studies have shown that companies like these see double the net income, 28% higher revenue, and 30% higher profit margins.    

ROI opportunity:

Plus, this should go without saying but disability has the most opportunity for intersectionality with other marginalized communities. For example, over a third of people in the LGBTQIA+ community have a disability. The highest statistics are for bisexual men, 40% of whom identify as disabled.   

What now?

Without a deep understanding of how we’ve gotten to such a deep place of inaccessibility and exclusion, it’s important to educate your entire team about the importance of including disabled people and understanding our implicit bias. 

When we’re ignorant, we continue to perpetuate systemic ableism and implicit biases. Education is vital if we want to see practical change to the way society treats disabled people. Purposefully choosing not to educate yourself, or your staff, leaves people in ignorance, and actively hurts disabled people - and your business.   

Whether you’re an individual or a team leader, learning about your own implicit biases and developing a better understanding of disability culture is the first place to start. Once you learn the basics of ableism, then you are ready to engage with internal efforts to bring in more disabled team members, make your workplaces more physically accessible and include disabled people in your company in ways that don’t perpetuate negative stereotypes. 

Ready to take the next step?