To hire and retain tech talent with disabilities, you must go above and beyond the ADA laws. The laws that protect individuals with disabilities during the hiring process and during employment aren't sufficient to create a truly supporting and welcoming environment. ADA laws are minimum standards. They don't create a supportive environment.
People don't always disclaim their disability to their employers. A representative survey by the Center For Talent Innovation found that as many as 30 percent of white-collar workers have a disability according to federal definitions. Of the working population with disabilities, only 3.2 percent of the white-collar workforce self-identified as having a disability. There may be many reasons an employee won't disclose their disability. Fear of discrimination is one. Creating a more supportive environment will create a better culture for those already working.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with disabilities are unemployed at a disproportionate rate compared with their non-disabled peers. Seventeen percent of people with disabilities are employed versus 65 percent of non-disabled people.
In order for tech companies to hire and keep people with disabilities, they need to proactively build a work culture that supports people with disabilities.
Seek Outside Help
If you don't have a disability, you might not be the best person to judge the accessibility of your office. Seek assistance from a local non-profit or organization that supports people with disabilities to evaluate your office. Most cities have the resources to help your company be a welcoming space for people with disabilities. Building a partnership with these organizations can be a great lead for finding tech workers that will further your company's mission.
Create a Supportive Environment
Creating a supportive environment is more than physical infrastructure; change must happen in a company's organization, attitude, and empathy. Not all disabilities are visible. Never assume a person doesn't have a disability. Incorporate people-first language at all levels of your organization. People-first language strives to put the person before the disability. Small changes like this are easy to enact and make lasting change when implemented company-wide.
People with disabilities understand their conditions better than anyone else. Listening is an underrated form of empathy. Assumptions are a quick way to create a hostile or unwelcoming environment for a person with a disability. Listening to an employee's needs is the first step to creating an inclusive environment. Building these interpersonal skills into professional developments, hiring practices, and company culture will yield results in employee retention.
Be Proactive
Even people without disabilities have preferences. An inclusive way to meet the needs of all employees (on a team and company-wide level) is to ask all employees their preferences. Visual and audio disabilities are easily hidden. It might be common to ask for a preferred name or gender pronouns, but a promising next step is asking employees for their preference of audio, visual, or written communication. While this may seem like extra work, it will help employers leverage the strengths of current employees and those in the hiring process. Companies will see more success if they meet the needs of their employees rather than forcing employees to meet the company's needs.
Offer An Equal Salary
Like many minority groups, people with disabilities are paid less on average than their non-disabled peers. A person's disability doesn't mean their work is any less important or of a different caliber. They should be paid equally. An easy way to create an equitable pay for all employees is to create a pay scale with measurable benchmarks that are easily measured. Transparency is key to make employees feel they are on an equal playing field.
Tech Is Helping People with Disabilities
Technology is helping to create a more accessible work environment for people with disabilities. They should be included in the creation process to further help people with disabilities. Too often, accessibility features are only added as an afterthought. People with disabilities on computer science career paths offer unique insights into creating inclusive apps and programs for people with disabilities that a non-disabled person might overlook.
Creating an Inclusive Culture Will Benefit All Areas of Business
It's important to have a company that reflects the community. ADA requirements aren't enough to create a welcoming environment. Change must exceed the legal requirements. People with disabilities contribute to all areas of business. An inclusive environment for people with disabilities will promote an inclusive environment for all employees, with or without disabilities.
Artur Meyster is the CTO of Career Karma (YC W19), an online marketplace that matches career switchers with coding bootcamps. He is also the host of the Breaking Into Startups podcast, which features people with non-traditional backgrounds who broke into tech. For more information about Artur, please visit his Twitter or LinkedIn.