Session Overview

The realization that COVID-19 brought to our landscapes, combined with the nation's unrest around race and racial inequities, has spotlighted the gaps and continued challenges for vulnerable communities. One of the earliest spotlights streamed onto the challenges around access and inclusion in the reactive necessity of remote connectivity during isolation. Challenges around access and inclusion are certainly not new to the Disability community, but have been elevated more during this time; new awareness around how and/or if we are creating accessible and inclusive enough spaces for the Disability diverse community and all diverse identities are evolving. As four peer small business consultancies, we found ourselves talking about these themes as we brainstormed and began working and existing in the remote landscapes, which had escalated around us. Like everyone else, we'd had no time to prepare, but are living the experience in real-time as we move forward. We've begun learning as we go, and we wanted to create a space to share our perspectives around this important theme. But we also want to elicit experiential observations, feelings, AND contributions from all and any stakeholders who want to listen, talk, and share. Join us in the conversation!

Objectives

After attending this session, participants will be able to:

1. Analyze and specify how the disability community has experienced exclusion during and in the aftermath of COVID-19, and empower session participants to use out-of-the-box thinking and actions to address these challenges in the future imagining new capacities for employment practices and opportunities.
2. Identify at least two challenges that job search and placement consultants have faced and are facing in reaching out to and finding disability diverse candidates during isolation and separation. Gain an understanding of the recruitment perspective so that hiring and service provider stakeholders can better support disability diverse applicants and so that individuals can be more confident and successful in presenting and promoting themselves as eligible and available candidates.
3. Identify at least three actions cross-stakeholders can implement into the presentation of their online communications and designs that will create a foundation for being more welcoming, engaging, and supportive of audience members with diverse abilities.
4. Provide learning, informational, and metrics resources about the great potential for Disability-owned Business Enterprises in the Corporate and general marketplaces. Identify at least two examples of where and how this need is revealed. Identify the major Small Business Diversity Certifying Authorities; identify the major Diversity Indexes supply chains look to be rated by.