October, 2025 is the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. It is also possible you didn’t know that. The story I share this month continues my Toolbox series on organizational infrastructure. It also asks you to reflect on the relationship between intentional leadership and cohesive policy formation. Sorry if that all sounds a bit in the head.

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In this post:

 

Story: Disability awareness or not? 

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). NDEAM serves as a reminder of the fact that persons with disabilities come in all shapes and sizes with all types of skills and experiences. Highlighting the awareness element of NDEAM allows for reflection on the relationship between leadership, policy and organizational infrastructure. Leaders define and promote policies that support inclusive infrastructure, or not. Inconsistent, conflicting policies can generate unintended barriers to the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Current economic turmoil aside, the United States faces a shrinking labor force that will constrain the capacity for future growth and economic sustainability. The labor force participation rate for persons with disabilities is significantly lower than that of persons without disabilities. The inclusion of qualified persons with disabilities is a source of untapped resources in our economy. Policies supporting the inclusion of qualified individuals with disabilities serve to address impending worker shortages and increase the labor force participation rate. Contradictory policy initiatives undermining labor force participation only serve to accelerate negative trends.

Some examples: The Justice Department has removed Title I (Employment) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) from its ADA home page. This omission suggests access to employment was not included as part of this landmark civil rights law. The current administration is seeking to redefine eligibility rules for persons affected by disabling conditions. These changes would potentially impact hundreds of thousands of individuals. The basis for the proposed changes stem from the fact that the nature of work is less physically strenuous than it once was. Closer to home here in Milwaukee, access to public transportation is being reduced. At the same time support for alternatives to public transportation for persons with disabilities is being reduced.

Taken individually, these policy decisions may seem reasonable. Together, they send a clearly inconsistent message. The combination of a relaxed approach to the Americans with Disabilities Act and a policy of reduced access to disability benefits is paradoxical. So are reductions to access to public transportation and its alternatives.

• Automation and technology has, in fact, reduced the physical demands of many work environments, In theory, this would allow for increased labor force participation by persons with disabilities. It has not. If reducing the number of persons with disabilities receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits is a priority, enforcement of Article I of the ADA follows naturally.
• Public transportation is simply not a funding priority. Reduction in service is a natural result. The demand for (legally mandated) alternatives to public transportation rises as access to public transportation is reduced. As funding for public transportation decreases funding for its alternatives must be increased.

Regulation does not change attitudes. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that calls back to the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal… with certain unalienable Rights… Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These rights can only be realized through a set of shared values. Similarly, problems cannot be solved by simply throwing money at them, unless the problem is a lack of financial resources.

Organizational infrastructure includes policies, procedures, budget authority, decision making authority and communication channels. Infrastructure does not come to coherence on its own. Infrastructure that supports an organization that is accessible to all qualified individuals requires intentionality. A leader who can provide a vision of an inclusive environment creates the normative expectation of coherent infrastructure. In the absence of such leadership; policies, etc. will naturally be disjointed, incoherent, and contradictory.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is an opportunity to reflect on the organizational infrastructure inclusive of persons with disabilities:

• Who is the voice for an organizational environment inclusive of qualified individuals with a disability?
• Where in your organization does validation of organizational infrastructure take place to ensure an inclusive environment?
• If you became aware of a contradiction in your organization’s infrastructure, what would be your first step in removing that inconsistency?

Disability employment awareness is an exercise in looking around to see who your peers, counterparts, and collaborators are. It is also an exercise in recognizing how organizational infrastructure supports life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our systems are not broken; they work exactly as intended.

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