COMMENT 💬

Greetings,

As voting wraps up for the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, we focus on Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM), which takes place every October. We chose to cover DEAM in November because this issue needs to receive more attention year-round. In 2022, over 27% of Canadians aged 15 and older had a disability, yet less than 60% of working-age Canadians with disabilities were employed.

Spinning Forward interviewed disability advocates Natasha Copeland, Karen Clarke, and Shifat Ara about the challenges disabled individuals face in the job market. They pointed out problems like underutilized skills and workplace discrimination, especially for people of color. Each advocate shared possible solutions.

To better reach our audience, Spinning Forward will introduce more multimedia content, including shorter articles and a podcast launching in early December, with episodes on this important topic.

If you have a comment or feedback, please reply or email me at info at spinningforward.com

⌚Reading Time: 10 minutes

Flavian DeLima

Publisher & Editor, Spinning Forward

IN THIS ISSUE 🪧

➡️ Beyond October: Year-Round Advocacy for Disability Employment Awareness

➡️ Community Leaders Speak: 6 Way to Boost Disability Inclusion at Work Every Day

➡️ Cancel Out a Vote" Trend Sparks Family Feuds Ahead of 2024 Election

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 📜

"You can only be you; that's all you can do."

-- MissNatasha, Disability Advocate, Author, Speaker

SPOTLIGHT 💡🔦

Photo credit, Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE)

Why DEAM Matters Year-Round

Each October, Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) highlights the importance of inclusive hiring and celebrates the unique contributions that people with disabilities bring to the workforce. In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and across Canada, disabled people, especially those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), face additional barriers due to discrimination. A Statistics Canada report found that more than one in four Canadians (27%) aged 15 years and older had one or more disabilities in 2022. Yet, less than 60% of working-age Canadians with disabilities are employed.

Advocacy Voices: Community Leaders in Disability Inclusion

To explore these issues further, three leaders in disability advocacy - MissNatasha (Natasha Copeland), Karen Clarke, and Shifat Ara —were interviewed by Spinning Forward. After listening to their concerns about the need for ongoing awareness, we chose to run this story in November to continue the conversation past October. Karen Clarke, founder of ASpectrum, stresses the need for ongoing advocacy year-round since companies often overlook these issues the rest of the year.

MissNatasha and Clarke work in the Toronto area promoting inclusion and disability awareness, while Ara, through her role at the Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE), supports a national agenda for inclusive employment practices. Their perspectives provide a deeper understanding of the multifaceted challenges faced by disabled Canadians who are also people of color.




Shifat Ara: National Advocacy for Inclusion

As the Director of Communications at CASE, Shifat Ara advocates for a national commitment to DEAM, working to create inclusive workplaces for disabled Canadians. CASE partners with local organizations to provide mentorship opportunities and support services It connects job seekers with disabilities to inclusive employers. Ara emphasizes, “We work to promote innovative ways to create inclusive employment,” aiming to equip employers with the necessary resources.

CASE, with support from the federal government, conducted research. It aimed to understand the employment journeys of individuals who are from racialized backgrounds and experience disability. The results of the study, not yet published, said participants “reported facing coded forms of discrimination and subtle microaggressions in their workplaces from employers and coworkers on a daily basis.” Every October, CASE runs initiatives like Light It Up to raise awareness about disability inclusion by illuminating landmarks in purple and blue using the social media hashtag #LightItUpForNDEAM.


EXPERTS, ALLIES & ADVOCATES 🌅

Community Leaders Speak: 6 Way to Boost Disability Inclusion at Work Every Day

We asked community disability leaders how to create more inclusive workspaces in Canada. Here's what they said.

1. Change Must Come From Within Organizations:

Karen Clarke: "The core of the problem starts with a lot of what's going on in these heavily funded organizations that claim to advocate for people with disabilities."

Miss Natasha: "Organizations and workplaces need to address their biases and understand that the people they serve deserve wellness and appropriate support."

Shifat Ara: “Organizational change is essential, and it involves moving beyond just a business case to genuinely valuing diversity and inclusion."


2. Challenging Biases And Creating Equitable Environments

Miss Natasha: "My presence shows which organizations are truly committed to inclusion and which ones are simply putting on a facade."

Karen Clarke: "Awareness needs to start with these organizations because they are the ones dismissing folks with disabilities and perpetuating biases."

Shifat Ara: Shifat Ara: "Addressing subtle microaggressions and biases is crucial for creating workplaces where everyone feels valued and included."


3. Ongoing Conversations And Action Are Crucial

Karen Clarke: "For us, people working in the trenches for inclusivity every day, every month is disability employment awareness month."

Miss Natasha: "This month [October] is important because, again, it's not just the month, it's every day."

Shifat Ara: "We encourage continuous dialogues and actions that go beyond awareness months to foster genuine inclusion."


4. Intersectionality Matters

Miss Natasha: "Assumed incompetence, denial of freedoms, blame, perfectionism, control... these are just some of the rules that exist in the workplace for those at the intersection of disability and race."

Karen Clarke: "People of color with disabilities face layered experiences and nuances that compound the barriers they encounter every day."

Shifat Ara: "Our research focuses on understanding how racialized individuals with disabilities face unique challenges in their employment journeys."


5. Community Support and Perseverance Are Key

Karen Clarke: "Having community to lean into as black entrepreneurs is so important. Natasha is part of my inner circle, and I'm so grateful for that."

Miss Natasha: "Don't give up. Be bold. Be resilient. Be creative. Be intelligent. Be fierce."

Shifat Ara: "Building strong support networks is vital for individuals with disabilities, helping them to persevere and thrive."


6. Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship

Miss Natasha: "When I couldn't find employment that valued my worth, I decided to create my own path and founded ‘Create Don't Hate’ Mental Wellness Solutions."

Karen Clarke: "My personal experiences with anxiety and depression, as well as supporting my neurodivergent children, ignited my passion to establish ASpectrum and create inclusive workplaces."

QUICK HITS

Cancel Out a Vote" Trend Sparks Family Feuds Ahead of 2024 Election: A new trend among people emerged in mid-October on social media platforms like TikTok and X. Users post videos about "canceling out" the votes of family members supporting opposing political parties. By voting for the party opposite to their family members’ preferences, these individuals aim to nullify each other's votes. The viral trends show users celebrating their actions and have sparked heated online debates, highlighting the political tensions within families during the final weeks of the election period.


Canadian Study Urges Limits on Junk Food Social Media Ads Targeting Kids 🍔📱: A Canadian study highlights the impact of social media marketing on children's eating habits. Researchers found fast-food and sugary drink ads are widespread, contributing to unhealthy eating normalization. With kids exposed to thousands of ads each year, the study urges government policies to limit this exposure, citing examples from Quebec and other countries as models for regulation. 🚫🍟🥤


TikTok Under the US Government Microscope: The Globe & Mail reports 🔍 TikTok is working to present itself as a safe and transparent platform amid scrutiny over privacy and its ties to China. Despite its global popularity, TikTok faces potential bans in the U.S. and Canada due to concerns about data security and foreign influence 🌐. This situation not only challenges TikTok but also raises broader questions about how governments should regulate social media platforms to protect user privacy while preserving free speech 🗣️. The ongoing struggle highlights the need to balance technological innovation with regulatory oversight in the digital era ⚖️.