Hi Linda,
Thank you for sharing this article with us. I was surprised she had such a
hard time getting a job. I would have thought employers would be more
judgementel on deaf people and certainly blind people. I'm hoping the new
president provides incentive to those companies who would be willing to give
people with disabilities a chance to prove themselves worthy and capable
citizens to be employed. I'll get off my soap box now.
Connie
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 6, 2016, at 8:46 PM, Linda Gehres <ljgehres@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Employment for People With Disabilities is Dire
I use forearm crutches to assist with walking. It’s not the type of physical
impediment that should prevent me from entering the workforce by
Irena Kagansky-Young
Now Toronto, August 3, 2016
For five tough years I worked tirelessly toward graduating with honours from
Canada’s third-largest university. I had dreams of starting a successful
career in communications. I looked forward to being given the opportunity to
shine. I was ready to show the world. I’m fluent in three languages. Surely I
had everything I needed to impress potential employers. Instead, I was
stifled, belittled and disheartened by potential employers every step of the
way.
Is it because I’m a person living with a disability?
I use forearm crutches to assist with walking. It’s not the type of physical
impediment that should prevent me from entering the workforce. A pair of
walking sticks has nothing whatsoever to do with my ability to think for
myself.
The job situation for people with disabilities is dire.
So much so that a 2012 BMO study asking Canadians whether they believe people
with disabilities should hide their physical impediments to make a favourable
impression on employers came back with some astounding results: 48 per cent
thought people with disabilities would significantly increase their chances
of success by concealing their disabilities.
I have grappled with the question: should I disclose being differently abled
before an interview or just show up and risk shocking the interviewer? I’ve
never found the answer to this lose-lose scenario.
One charitable organization in Toronto cancelled my interview over the phone
after I told them I had a disability. How do you think my job interview would
have gone if I had just shown up?
One of my first horrific interviews was with a music promotion and recording
studio in Mississauga. This particular experience in many ways marked the
beginning of what would prove to be a bumpy road on the way to
self-actualization. Little did I know my journey from then on would be full
of hurt and disappointment. The interview was a real blow to my
self-confidence, leaving me stunned and demoralized.
Getting to this location in deep Mississauga from downtown Toronto was no
easy feat. After spending a good part of my day carefully plotting out a way
to and from my interview, which involved navigating the various city transit
systems, I finally reached my destination.
I climbed the steps, knocked on the door and waited. After several minutes,
the female owner of this home-based business reluctantly invited me inside.
Instantly I felt judgment.
“So,” she said, “you know, this job is very physically demanding. You would
have to handle administration, which is in the basement, and I just don’t see
you being able to.” She barely gave me a chance to defend myself, quickly
dismissing any possibility of further discussion.
Unemployment among people with disabilities is a real issue that deserves
attention.
My experience with an Ontario-based disability employment service (that I
won’t be mentioning by name) shows the problems that exist in the province.
These organizations need to report successes to continue receiving government
cash, even if those successes are extremely poor or even fictitious.
They tossed random job interviews at me that had nothing to do with my
background or skill set. Potential employers were for the most part
independent start-ups with no real ability to pay a decent salary or advance
my career. In fact, most of those who interviewed me were all too happy to
have me write content from home on a volunteer basis or for a $200
honorarium, which for a woman like me, who lost government financial
assistance upon getting married, was simply not an option.
I’m not opposed to part-time jobs selling tickets at movie theatres or
bagging groceries at Metro. However, each time I applied, I was deemed either
over- or under-qualified.
It’s time we re-examined the prevailing attitudes toward people with
disabilities.
Like many others in the disability community, I am a strong, dynamic person
who’d love to break away from the popular able-centric perception that people
with disabilities are largely dependent on others.
For this reason, I will not thank anyone for helping me if I did not
specifically request assistance. Nor will I indulge the public’s curiosity
about “what” I am unless they’re equally intrigued by who I am.
I will not answer questions like “What happened to you?” because there is
simply no good way to answer stupid questions.
As a person with a disability, I cannot afford to be lenient toward ableist
ideas. I choose to challenge these culturally ingrained attitudes. We simply
cannot continue clinging to archaic beliefs, particularly around disability.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability, about
3.8 million working-age Canadians live with a disability.
In 2011, only 49 per cent of people with disabilities were employed, while 79
per cent of the able-bodied community worked. Disabled men between the ages
of 15 and 64 earned $9,557 less than adult males without a disability, and
both disabled men and women had lower overall household incomes. About 7 per
cent of women with disabilities worked part-time but would rather have been
working full-time.
Also, people with disabilities typically found themselves in sales
occupations regardless of their skill set or professional background, and
were less likely to hold managerial positions.
We would like to be gainfully employed and valued for our contributions. So
why aren’t we?
First off, there’s not nearly enough core sensitivity training available to
employers, stakeholders and change-makers to combat the prevailing
discriminatory on-the-job attitudes that disempower the disabled community.
Many of us are discouraged by the feeling that there’s no escaping
able-centric barriers. Over time, our sense of self becomes bruised and we
give up.
I’m lucky because my husband has a fairly secure job as a high school teacher
in downtown Toronto, but even that is just enough to stay afloat. Basically
we have no money for any extra expenses, only for essentials like food,
mortgage and basic household bills. So we watch a lot of Netflix and have
plenty of cuddling date nights at home.
Not all people with disabilities are as fortunate or resilient. It took me
many years of soul-searching to be able to pick myself up.
So please stand up and speak up on behalf of all people with disabilities as
deserving and capable citizens whose voices need to be heard.
Irena Kagansky-Young recently founded her own home-based advocacy business,
http://www.Thoughtchaos.ca.
news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx | @nowtoronto
https://nowtoronto.com/news/employment-for-people-with-disabilities-is-dire/
