Disability and Diversity in the Workplace: A Four-Lens Analysis

Introduction

By analyzing the critical issues of diversity in today's world through the lenses of history, the humanities, the natural and applied sciences, and the social sciences, one can see how a feedback loop within society is created. This paper explores the issue of physical and mental disabilities in the workplace. Until recently in this nation's history, individuals with disabilities were viewed as liabilities — but now the very language that people use when discussing individuals with physical or mental disabilities is changing. Even the term "disabled" seems to stem from the problematic concept of ableism: as the Center for Disability Rights points out, some managers still operate under "the assumption that disabled people need to be 'fixed' in one form or the other" (Center for Disability Rights, 2019). That assumption is being challenged across the country as the rights of disabled people are asserted and defended.

Historically, the disabled population has been one of the most marginalized populations in the country. However, as the focus of the humanities has shifted toward promulgating a view oriented toward greater equitability and social justice, the plight of the disabled has come more and more into the light. Thanks to the natural and applied sciences, tools have become available that allow people with a variety of disabilities to be more fully integrated into workplaces. The social sciences have shown, too, that by allowing for a more fully diverse workplace and promoting inclusivity with respect to the disabled, a better workplace culture — and national culture overall — can be constructed. This paper provides a lens analysis of this issue, analyzes how social practices have been shaped by issues and events in diversity in modern culture, assesses the benefits and challenges of addressing issues in diversity, and explains how analyzing diversity can improve interactions with those who hold different viewpoints, cultures, and perspectives.

Lens Analysis: History

Historically, physical and mental disabilities were viewed by and large as barriers to entry in the workplace. There was no thought for wheelchair access; no consideration for the deaf or hard of hearing; no accommodative orientation for people with anxiety, schizophrenia, or autism. Even the 32nd U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, used a wheelchair — yet this fact was not one that the press was permitted to emphasize. Pictures of the president always showed him sitting, but never in a wheelchair, which was typically covered from view lest his disability cause some to perceive him as weak or unable to serve effectively.

In the 1960s, however, the Civil Rights Movement led to a change in the social consciousness and in the manner in which equitability was to be achieved in society. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (2018) points out that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color, or sex." In the spirit of the Civil Rights Act, there followed a movement to recognize the rights of the disabled. The EEOC has been instrumental in identifying those rights and the obligations of employers to make the necessary accommodations to prevent discrimination against the disabled.

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law (Rothstein, 2014). The ADA expressly prohibits any form of discrimination against people with disabilities. In 2008, the Act was amended to provide an even more specific definition of disability with respect to employment, government, and public accommodations.

Today, it is a normal, accepted, and expected practice to find wheelchair access for people who cannot walk and large-print materials for people who are vision impaired. It is also becoming more common to see people with chronic illnesses like diabetes being permitted periodic breaks throughout the workday to check their blood sugar or administer insulin injections. Those who in the past might have been discriminated against because of their disability are now protected under the law.

Lens Analysis: Humanities

The humanities are helpful for revealing the course of human events, the character of society, and the issues that need to be addressed. Art is the ultimate mirror for reflecting who people are, what their strengths are, and what their weaknesses are. It was Shakespeare who said that artists "hold the mirror up to nature" to show humanity what it is. In the 20th century, the humanities have been very helpful in drawing attention to the plight of the marginalized, particularly to the challenges faced by the disabled. Authors like William Faulkner told stories from the perspective of disabled characters — as in The Sound and the Fury — humanizing a population that was often ignored or marginalized in society. Other artists have done the same. Mary Shelley, in Frankenstein, showed how a blind man could possess more wisdom than a man who could see; and Flannery O'Connor, in her short stories and novels, showed how what is commonly perceived as a disability — such as blindness or deafness — may not be viewed as a disability at all by those who live with the impairment. The works of these artists have helped to humanize the disabled population and bring them into the social consciousness with greater empathy and sympathy. It is now not uncommon to find that disabled people reject the label of "disability," preferring instead to be described simply as "different."

Deaf culture, for instance, is the set of values, beliefs, experiences, and expressions of people who are impacted or influenced by deafness or hearing impairment and who typically use some form of sign language to communicate (Padden & Humphries, 2005). The Deaf community views deafness merely as a difference in human experience and not as a disability, though the hearing community generally does classify deafness as a disability. There remains, therefore, a difference in perspective between the two communities. Labeling theory helps to explain how the able-bodied community applies and affixes labels to those who are different. Labeling theory holds that deviations from the norm are viewed as subnormal or inferior because those who seek to maintain power label people who differ from them in negative terms (Lumen, 2019). Today, the humanities are challenging the status quo in significant ways. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe planned to present the first superhero with a disability — deafness — in its film The Eternals (Fabian, 2019). The positive representation of disabled individuals in such a major motion picture is evidence that the humanities are shaping the social consciousness, and that the social consciousness is, in turn, shaping the humanities.

Ultimately, the humanities show that the culture of disability is not exclusive but rather overlaps with other cultures, including ethnic, national, religious, gender, class, and myriad other cultures. It is diverse, but the common thread that unites members of the disability community is the effect of the disability on the lives of those who live with it. Greater understanding is still needed in the wider community so that taboos and stigmas are not perpetuated (Corrigan, 2016; Guruge, Wang, Jayasuriya-Illesinghe & Sidani, 2017). As McDevitt (2018) notes, not all portrayals of the disabled community are positive — even when intentions are good. For instance, the film Rain Man made it appear that all people with autism are savants, when in reality the majority of those with autism are highly functioning and in most ways blend seamlessly into the workplace.

Conclusion

Analyzing diversity can improve interactions with those who hold different viewpoints, cultures, and perspectives by providing greater understanding and more facts and data to draw upon when advocating for diversity in the workplace and for the rights of the disabled. It also helps increase self-awareness and identify implicit biases in one's own character. As Thompson and Cusseo (2014) show, thinking critically about diversity helps people improve their critical thinking skills overall, which can facilitate more positive and productive interactions with others. Through the lenses of history, the humanities, science, and the social sciences, a richer and more empathetic understanding of disability in the workplace — and in society at large — becomes attainable.

References

Baruch, Y. (2000). Teleworking: benefits and pitfalls as perceived by professionals and managers. New Technology, Work and Employment, 15(1), 34–49.

Bortz, D. (2018). Can blind hiring improve workplace diversity? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0418/pages/can-blind-hiring-improve-workplace-diversity.aspx

Center for Disability Rights. (2019). Ableism. Retrieved from http://cdrnys.org/blog/uncategorized/ableism/

Corrigan, P. W. (2016). Lessons learned from unintended consequences about erasing the stigma of mental illness. World Psychiatry, 15(1), 67–73.

Fabian, R. (2019). New Marvel film The Eternals will feature first deaf superhero. Retrieved from

Faurer, J., Rogers-Brodersen, A., & Bailie, P. (2014). Managing the re-employment of military veterans through the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Journal of Business & Economics Research (Online), 12(1), 55.

Guruge, S., Wang, A. Z. Y., Jayasuriya-Illesinghe, V., & Sidani, S. (2017). Knowing so much, yet knowing so little: a scoping review of interventions that address the stigma of mental illness in the Canadian context. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22(5), 507–523.

Marquis, J. P., Lim, N., Kavanagh, J., Harrell, M. C., & Scott, L. M. (2007). Managing diversity in corporate America: An exploratory analysis. Pittsburgh, PA: Rand Corporation.

McDevitt, D. (2018). Problematic representation of people with disabilities in the media. Hand in Hand. Retrieved from

Montez, J. K., Hayward, M. D., & Wolf, D. A. (2017). Do U.S. states' socioeconomic and policy contexts shape adult disability? Social Science & Medicine.

Nelissen, P., Hülsheger, U. R., van Ruitenbeek, G. M. C., & Zijlstra, F. R. H. (2017). How and when stereotypes relate to inclusive behavior toward people with disabilities. International Journal of Human Resource Management.

Padden, C. A., & Humphries, T. (2005). Inside deaf culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rothstein, L. (2014). Forty years of disability policy in legal education and the legal profession: What has changed and what are the new issues? The American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, 22(3), 519.

Stevens, A. C., Carroll, D. D., Courtney-Long, E. A., Zhang, Q. C., Sloan, M. L., Griffin-Blake, S., & Peacock, G. (2016). Adults with one or more functional disabilities — United States, 2011–2014. MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65, 1021–1025.

Thompson, A., & Cusseo, J. (2014). Introduction: Diversity. In S. Thompson (Ed.), Encyclopedia of diversity and social justice. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2018). Employment discrimination. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov