We provide a wide range of activities and programs to allow colleagues and clients to see life through diverse perspectives and encourage more empathy and understanding of disability, neurodiversity and chronic illness. It’s all part of our ongoing work to normalize these experiences and remove the taboo that is often associated with disability.
A varied program of education and learning
We recognize that disability is often viewed through a very narrow lens, and so we are seeking to broaden understanding of the topic through ongoing educational programming. Internally, we have “spotlighted » our colleagues in a series of profiles in which they have shared their personal experiences living with disability and/or chronic ill health, or as the immediate family member of someone who does.
We have also run regional Listening Groups for in the Americas and EMEA for colleagues with experiences of disability. These groups often act as a precursor to employee resource networks, and are an informal mechanism for colleagues to connect and build an internal community.
Recent speakers on disability, neurodiversity and accessibility have included:
- Christine Ha, the blind cook who won « MasterChef » season 3 with Gordon Ramsay, wrote a New York Times best-selling cookbook, and owns two restaurants
- Lauren Ridloff, award-winning actor and Marvel’s first Deaf superhero
- Becky Kekula, TEDx Speaker and advocate advancing disability inclusion worldwide
- Toby Mildon, a champion of diversity and inclusion programs in the workplace
- AJ Link, a Washington, DC lawyer who has focused extensively on disability law
- Haben Girma, a disability rights advocate, and the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School
- Dr. Angélica Guevara, Assistant Professor of Business Law and Ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business
We recently ran a pilot session of partner training on neurodiversity in London. The training was targeted at the appraisals process, which had been identified as an opportunity to put the learning into practice. It highlighted how to be mindful of neurodiversity and the ways certain specific conditions (including ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, and Dyslexia) might present in the work place, with a view to increasing awareness and understanding of how some colleagues may think and work differently to others.
