Tag: Disability (Page 2 of 2)

For Autism Awareness Day, we’ve invited KCL Alumni, trainee solicitor and LGBT and disability advocate, Jonathan Andrews to feature as our guest blogger.

You can read more about Jonathan here and follow him on Twitter.

As an advocate for fair access to the workplace and equality of opportunity, I’m particularly keen to ensure that social mobility is treated as an integral part of any strategy; workplaces need to be open to talent from all backgrounds, as it’s only then that they can be sure they’re reaching out to the widest talent pool possible and not overlooking talented people. This applies to social background (such as the types of school or university attended) as it does for anything else.

More than that, it’s important to remember than nobody has just one identity – everyone has a gender, a race, a sexuality, a social background, etc. – and often these overlap. The majority of disabled people, for example, aren’t going to be from elite backgrounds, just as the majority of BME or LGBT people won’t – and if employers want to reach out to all talent from these groups, they need to consider people of all social backgrounds too. It’s not just a nice thing to do, but makes smart business sense.

Initiatives particularly focused on employment for a particular group – such as King’s Advance internships, which offer employment in leading firms to disabled students – can intersect into improving social mobility in this way. I also know of some fantastic initiatives which are focused on increasing employment among disabled people – particularly autistic people, where despite the majority having a strong determination to work, the rates in full-time paid work is just 16%.

One such project is the Autism Exchange, an innovative initiative on whose steering board I sit. It was developed through a partnership between Ambitious about Autism, the national charity for young autistic people, and the Civil Service. It offers paid quality work experience to young autistic people (aged 18-25) in a variety of sectors, including civil service departments (such as the DWP, the Treasury, the Department of Education and Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and private sector firms such as Deutsche Bank; and autism awareness training to workplaces, allowing them to effectively understand how to create the conditions for interns to succeed during their placement. Feedback on the placement, and particularly on the skills of interns, has been very positive, with several subsequently being offered full-time roles.

On social mobility more widely, it’s also vital that people are able to see people from backgrounds like themselves making their way in different fields – “If you can see it, you can be it”, as an acquaintance of mine once said, and if there’s no one like you in a field – whether this is due to social background or anything else – it becomes that much harder to visualise yourself there. I’ve set up an alumni network at my old comprehensive Darrick Wood – and worked with national charity Future First who are aiming for an alumni network in every school – to help make this a reality.

So, it’s UK Disability History Month? I feel this is probably one of the lesser known history months!

What is it? Or perhaps the better question might be, why does it exist? As with most history months, it’s an attempt to generate a public focus on the history of equality and human rights with a specific focus on disability. Disabled peoples’ contributions and achievements are often overlooked or undervalued and disability history month provides a platform for changing these attitudes and showcasing success. The Month is in its 8th iteration this year and there has been a steady increase in interest and activity.

Disability History Month runs from 22nd November to 22nd December and covers the scope of HIV/AIDS Day (1st December), the International Day of People with Disabilities (3rd Dec.) and International Human Rights Day (10th December). It also follows on directly from Anti-Bullying Week (19th to 23rd November) which is an important parallel as it has been reported that up to 2.5 times as much bullying is recorded towards disabled as compared to non-disabled young people and that some 70-80% of young disabled people claim to have been bullied in school and college.

King’s is showing its support for Disability History Month and this year’s theme, art, by holding a breakfast short film screening. We have carefully selected a range of short films that feature people’s experiences of visible and invisible disabilities.

As we talk about History Month’s as a platform for social change, I would like to extend that to this blog and use this space to talk about the ethos we will be pursuing here at King’s, a lot of which is rooted in the principles of the social model of disability. The social model of disability proposes that people are disabled by the barriers imposed by society that preclude their participation in social life and the workplace. These barriers can be physical and attitudinal and by identifying and challenging them we can ensure full participation, to everyone’s benefit. Attitudes based on prejudice, stereotypes or ableism also affect disabled people and can act as a barrier to having equal opportunities to participate in society. The social model locates ‘disability’ in the way society is organised – that is, in its physical and attitudinal organisation, disables certain people. This is in contrast with medical model of disability which has faced criticism for classifying people as disabled because of their individual conditions or impairments.

Seeing disability through the social model allows us to see the benefits of removing impediments that restrict life choices for disabled people so that disabled people can be independent and equal in society, with choice and control over their own lives. The social model of disability was developed by people with disabilities, frustrated by the fact that a traditional medical model did not explain their personal experience of disability or progress more inclusive ways of living.

As employers and providers of education, we have clear moral and legal responsibilities for supporting staff and students with disabilities. The Equality Act 2010 makes very specific reference to what is required for universities and other public bodies, which entail making adjustments, as are reasonable, to avoid disadvantaging disabled colleagues and students, to allow them to participate in work and education to the same extent as their peers. This obligation applies to policies as well as physical features of our environment and the provision of information.

Alongside these specific legal requirements, we are also bound by Public Sector Equality Duty which I have discussed in previous blog posts. This requires universities to

 Give due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation

And

Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

And to

Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

As an education provider and employer, we are expected  to do this by removing disadvantages experienced by disabled people and encouraging participation where representation and engagement are disproportionately low.

Having worked in a number of contexts, government, third sector and now education, I have seen the benefits that inclusive workplace practices can bring. Dismantling barriers effectively and sensitively leads to a far more positive experience for individuals as well as a better functioning, dynamic and productive organisation.

King’s has just completed its first organisation-wide baselining exercise, a self-assessment on our disability support and provision, with our partners the Business Disability forums. We are now analysing the results to see what we are already doing well and where we can improve. This assessment is a really great way to celebrate Disability History Month as it shows a firm organisational commitment and will lead us to tangible action and improvement for all staff. Focusing on our working environment, and developing tools and practices in linen with best practice shows that improving the accessibility overall has benefits everyone – whether currently impaired or not and enables those with impairments to give their best.

That is the crux of our legal responsibilities and of the social model – to recognise and change our thinking (and doing) around our physical and social environment and remove the barriers that these create, rather than narrowing in on the impairments on individuals.

For Disability History Month, the Diversity Digest is featuring two not one, but blogs! Our first comes from your regular writer, D&I Director, Sarah Guerra, and we’re also featuring a special guest blog on Everyday Ableism from Barry Hayward, Deputy Head of Student Disability at King’s Disability Advisory Service.

Laura Bates started up Everyday Sexism to record the day-to-day experiences of exclusion and discrimination faced by women and and it occurs to me that there is everyday exclusion under every “ism” you can think of. My aim here is to highlight some of the everyday discrimination, or ableism, faced by disabled people and I invite others to share their experiences to throw a light on this area.

May I start by acknowledging that we have come a long way in the last ten years or so and it could be argued that universities have been at the forefront of inclusive practice, especially around disability.

Ten years ago, the number of students who would disclose to a university that they had a disability was around 7%. Now that figure is closer to 15% of students declaring a disability. It was not uncommon ten years ago for universities to state that it is not recommended that a student study there if you use a wheelchair due to the inaccessibility of their buildings.

Following the extension of the Disability Discrimination Act to apply to universities in 2003 as part of the enactment of the Equality Act in 2010, the right of disabled people to an equal education has become a reality but, exclusion around disability still exists and like sexism and racism it is now commonly carried out in much more subtle and indirect ways. Methods that are much harder to challenge than overt discrimination or abuse.

I’m sure you’ve all heard some of these phrases before:

“We are all disabled in some way aren’t we?”

Heard that one? This really rankles if you have plucked up the courage to reveal an impairment or health condition in the hope you might negotiate some accommodations at work. What this really means is “I don’t take this as a serious issue”

“I don’t need to use a microphone”

You may think that but some of us can’t hear unless amplification is used

“Cheer up, it might never happen”

How do you know it hasn’t already happened?

“Can you take minutes of this meeting?”

Dyslexic staff asked this on the spot will be challenged. Advance warning would mean they could record the meeting (or seek a reasonable adjustment).

These examples may seem minor and that’s the point really. There’s no malice intended, but a lack of thought can be very damaging to the recipient of such careless talk.

I could go further and discuss issues such as asking for reasonable adjustments and getting a furrowed brow in response (not a “no”, but not an overwhelming “of course”) but I thought I’d start with these examples. Please comment if you have similar experiences to share.

Barry Hayward, Deputy Head of Student Disability at King’s Disability Advisory Service.