You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D

In the beginning, the Web was pretty much accessible for everyone....because it was originally text based. In 2023, web-page technology and design has advanced light years beyond the original hypertext markup language (HTML) used to build the world’s first websites.   But is accessibility....that universal power of the Web referred to by its inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, keeping pace with modern web technology and design?   More often than not today, websites are the first point of customer contact for any organization. Anyone looking for information is going to go to your website first.  But here’s the thing: The WebAim Million 2023 Report on the Accessibility of the Top One Million Web Pages found that 96.3% of home pages have WCAG 2.0 failures. And that’s down only slightly from 96.8% in 2022.  This episode, we explore why businesses are still lagging behind on making their websites accessible, and what needs to happen to get the Web back to that universality regardless of disability that Tim Berners-Lee envisioned.   We get our three guests’ different web accessibility perspectives on what needs to happen and how to get there; and what we might expect with web accessibility in the years ahead. Listen to this engaging conversation with Ran Ronen, David Berman and Sabine Lobnig.     Read the WebAim Million 2023 report: https://webaim.org/projects/million/ 

This episode is a check-in...a check-in on hidden mobility disabilities in Canada, and The Hidden Mobility Disabilities Project, or The HMD Project for short.  What are hidden mobility disabilities? Generally, they’re the inability to walk any great distance or stand for a long time.   And The HMD Project has been investigating accessibility as it relates to hidden mobility disabilities.   For the past year, The HMD Project has been exploring possible changes to federal accessibility standards needed to address HMDs. The project’s spearheaded by the Hidden Mobility Disabilities Alliance (HMDA), and funded by Accessibility Standards Canada.  The Ontario Disability Employment Network has been the HMDA’s primary partner on The HMD Project. We’ve been co-ordinating and promoting project participation by individuals and organizations, in a national survey and focus groups.   It’s been just over a year since You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D talked with the Chief Facilitator of The HMD Project, Dr. Dorothy Riddle. We wanted to find out what Dr. Riddle has been finding out from that national survey and focus groups since our original conversation in June 2022.   In this follow-up conversation, we talk to Dorothy Riddle, along with Ingrid Muschta. Ingrid is ODEN’s Director of Special Projects and Innovation. She has been co-ordinating the national survey and focus group participation.  So what are some of the key findings coming out of the project research? Have a listen to this engaging conversation and find out. You may be surprised to learn — just as the researchers were — that there are many more Canadians with limited mobility issues and disabilities, than you might think. What are the implications of that? Listen and find out.     Learn more about The HMD Project: http://hmdproject.org/  Learn about the Hidden Mobility Disabilities Alliance: https://hiddenmobilitydisabilities.com/ 

Worldwide, there are an estimated 180 million to 220 million youth who have a disability.   In Canada, there are over 540,000 between the ages of 15 and 24.  Over 100,000 of these youth are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Seventy-seven per cent of this group — over 83,000 young people who have a disability — are potential new employees.  A lot of young, fresh talent is being overlooked for a talent pipeline that can help businesses stay successful in the future. For youth who have a disability, the unemployment rate is significantly higher than it is for young people without disabilities.  In this episode, we look at why there’s an imbalance of opportunities, and how we can build an equitable future for disability talent.   Listen to this conversation with Dr. Jennifer Crowson, PhD, and Carolyn McDougall. Jennifer leads ODEN’s Canadian Youth Success Strategy initiative. Carolyn is an Occupational Therapist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto. She’s also the Lead for the Hospital’s Transition Strategy — Employment Pathways, and co-ordinates employment programming for over 80 youth who have a disability, annually.     Here are some Holland Bloorview resources:  For youth & families: https://hollandbloorview.ca/services/programs-services/youth-employment-participation-programs (contact Holland Bloorview if you want help connecting with programming or supports in communities outside Toronto)    For employers: Visit the Employer Resource Hub: https://hollandbloorview.ca/employer-resource-hub    For educators: Module 5 of our Project Inclusion series  https://deareverybody.hollandbloorview.ca/project-inclusion/    Canadian Youth Success Strategy:  For more information about the Canadian Youth Success Strategy, contact Dr. Jennifer Crowson by email at jcrowson@odenetwork.com. 

When you hear the words, “disability inclusion,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind for you? There’s a lot being written these days about accessibility, and disability inclusion in business and employment. But what about something like disability inclusion and accessibility in research? That's not something many of us have thought about. In this second part of our two-part series on new disability research in Canada, we find out about something innovative being done at the University of Calgary. Multisensory storytelling research — research that’s accessible and inclusive of people who have a disability. If this sounds innovative, it is. It’s a Canadian first. In fact, it’s the first initiative of its kind in the world. It’s adding a whole new dimension to how social research is done. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kathleen Sitter, PhD. She runs the Multisensory Studio at the University of Calgary. She’s also Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work, and the Canada Research Chair in Multisensory Storytelling in Research and Knowledge Translation. Listen to this conversation that will rouse all your senses, and get you thinking differently about accessibility and disability inclusion in research. 

It’s called the Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA) initiative. This new, six-year research initiative — being done with $9 million in federal funding — is taking a new, different approach to disability and employment research. One that has the potential to change the conversation about disability inclusion in business and employment. We talk with the two experts leading IDEA who are reimagining how Canadian workplaces can be more inclusive for people who have a disability. Their main message — employers aren’t the disability inclusion problem; they’re the solution. Listen to this compelling conversation with Dr. Emile Tompa and Dr. Rebecca Gewurtz. This is part one in a two-part series about new disability research initiatives in Canada.  

Business leaders can no longer make excuses for not fostering disability inclusion, the leaders of The Valuable 500 declare, in this episode. Caroline Casey, founder and creator of The Valuable 500, affirms that they must “be curious and intentional about making change,” and urges leaders to “Go into your people, ask your people in business who are connected to disability, how you can do it better. Ask, admit you don’t know.”  “But don’t think you can walk away from this issue anymore, because it’s your issue. It’s the most important thing a business leader can do.”  Casey, and Paul Polman, Chair of The Valuable 500, provide unique, candid insights on progress that’s been made, and on what still needs to be done when in 2022, people with disabilities are changing the future of work and business more than ever before.  Listen to the full, compelling conversation with Caroline Casey and Paul Polman, now. 

Have you heard the term, Hidden Mobility Disabilities, or HMD, before? There are actually over 500,000 Canadians who live with HMD. It’s an aspect of disability that’s not obvious, and often overlooked. And it’s one that creates some significant obstacles to inclusion and accessibility.  In this episode of You Can't Spell Inclusion Without a D, co-hosts Jeannette Campbell and Dean Askin explore HMD and The HMD Project in an insightful conversation with Dr. Dorothy Riddle and Dr. Haley Giennow-McConnell. Dorothy is the chief facilitator of The HMD Project, and Haley is one of ODEN's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialists. She's the ODEN lead on The HMD Project. Listen to find out about HMD. And, if you're listening from Canada, in this conversation, you'll learn how you can — and why you should — participate in The HMD Project. Learn more on The HMD Project website, and take the survey: http://hmdproject.org/

If you’re at any point on a disability-inclusion journey in your business, be sure to catch the new episode that’s out today.  What a great conversation with John Robinson, the founder of Our Ability and Jobs Ability U.S.  Thanks to John for sharing so many business and personal insights about his journey creating Our Ability and the Jobs Ability AI-based job search platform that makes it easy for companies in hiring mode to connect with job seekers, with disabilities. Grab a big mug of coffee hand have a listen.

Virtual reality (VR) is mostly known as the realm of gamers. But now — in Ontario, at least — it’s about to burst on the scene in the disability employment sector. Initially, starting at the end of September (through to the middle of March 2022), VR technology called VjobReady is going to be used to help 160 Ontario job seekers who have a disability get a feel for what it’s like to work in the food and hospitality sector. And it’s kind of neat that the employment service provider behind the development of this VR training application, is one of ODEN’s members. Career Services of Brockville in Brockville, ON, spent the last three years building this first iteration of VjobReady. They knew they had something important, innovative and significant, right from the start. On July 6, their efforts literally paid off big. The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development awarded Career Services of Brockville a $380,000 grant. In this episode, we talk with Career Services of Brockville Executive Director Cynthia Sparring, and Corporate Engagement Specialist Chad Noonan, about what this all means for job seekers, businesses, job training, and VjobReady future research and development.

In this episode, we explore why people who have a disability are the “secret weapon,” or, “secret sauce,” for businesses — and just what that means. Our guests are two C-Suite business leaders — Paul M. Clark and Derek Burleton of TD. Paul is President of TD Direct Investing and Executive Vice-President of TD Bank Group. He’s also chair of TD’s People With Disabilities Committee, and is on TD’s Diversity Leadership Council. Derek is TD Vice-President and Deputy Chief Economist. He’s also the co-author of an October 2019 TD Economics report titled, Canadians With Disabilities: Seizing the Opportunity. Both Paul and Derek have been with TD for decades. In this episode, they also discuss the diversity and inclusion (D&I) evolution within the bank that they are still witnessing; where TD is right now on D&I; and the future direction of D&I at TD.  

You Can't Spell Inclusion Without a D is a new monthly podcast produced in Toronto, Canada by the Ontario Disability Employment Network. The podcast explores The Power of Inclusion, and why disability is an important part of the workplace diversity and inclusion conversation. Join us for a new episode every month as we look at The Power of Inclusion, disability employment and the business benefits of D&I, from all the angles. In episode one, a conversation about The Power of Inclusion with Canada's Federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough; and Zahra Jadavji, Accenture Managing Director and Accenture's Inclusion and Diversity Lead for Canada.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Or NDEAM, as it's known for short. This month across Canada, NDEAM campaigns are focusing on raising awareness about disability-inclusive hiring…disability inclusion throughout the employment cycle…breaking down barriers to employment for people who have a disability…and creating a disability-inclusive workplace and culture. So every season, we like to tie our October episode to NDEAM. This episode, we’re delving into an aspect of disability and employment that seems to be not talked about a whole lot in the conversation about disability and employment. We’re exploring the self-employment journey for people who have a disability. There isn’t a lot of research or statistics about it. And there isn’t a lot of data on why people who have a disability go the self-employment route. Are there unique challenges faced by people who have a disability, who opt for self-employment? What supports are out there compared to supports for traditional job seekers? Some of the questions we’re exploring with our two guests as they share their self-employment journeys and experiences with us in this episode. Catch this conversation with Margaux Wosk and Jeff Tiessen.   SHOW NOTES Episode 38 transcript (PDF) Find Margaux Wosk on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok: @retrophiliac Margaux Wosk’s websites: Etsy Store | Shop Retrophiliac Get in touch with Jeff Tiessen by email Disability Today Magazine Jeff’s LinkedIn profile Margaux’s LinkedIn profile

September is back-to-school time for students at all levels…elementary school, middle school…and college and and university students. It’s a good time to talk about supporting youth who have a disability so they can transition to employment from high school or post-secondary education. Research shows that young people who have a disability…have a better chance of long-term success in the workforce if they have a part-time job while they’re finishing high school. The 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability showed that 20% of Canadian youth have a disability. That’s more than 546,000 young people. Then there all the young people who have disability, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). In Canada, that’s almost 109,000 young people. And almost 84,000 of them have been identified as potential employees. The statistics show there are a lot of youth who have a disability who can, and want to, work. But are we doing enough to support them? A report released in September 2024 suggests not. And it outlines a public funding cost-benefit model of “stable, equitable ‘start-early’ programs” that shows a small public investment per person has a big lifetime return on investment. It’s been a year since the release of Funding Employment Inclusion for Ontario Youth with Disabilities: A Cost-Benefit Model. Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital spearheaded this collaborative report. This episode, we find out what’s been happening in the year since the report was released and presented to the Ontario government. Catch this insightful conversation with guests with Holland Bloorview’s Laura Bowman and Carolyn McDougall.   SHOW NOTES Episode 37 transcript (PDF) Download and read the report Learn about other Holland Bloorview youth funding advocacy initiatives and resources

Research shows, only 21% of business leaders put a priority on creating an inclusive culture in the organizations they lead. And they’re not exactly in tune with whether employees really feel safe in their work environment. A 2020 study by Accenture found, 84% of executives believe employees feel safe disclosing a disability. But the reality is, only 65% of them do. The same Accenture study showed, 76% of employees and 80% of executives don’t fully disclose a disability. These statistics say a lot about psychological safety and belonging in the workplace. So what exactly is psychological safety and belonging in the workplace? Why is it the cornerstone of creating the culture of any organization? And what happens when it isn’t there? These are just a few of the questions we explore with our expert guest in this episode. In 2021, Andrea D. Carter did pioneering research on workplace belonging that’s revolutionizing how organizations measure, analyze and implement belonging strategies. She’s established a new global benchmark for creating an inclusive corporate culture. Have a listen to this compelling, insightful conversation with Andrea D. Carter.   SHOW NOTES Episode 36 transcript (PDF) Andrea D. Carter: Pioneering the future of workplace belonging Belonging First — Andrea D. Carter is the founder and CEO A culture of belonging starts with psychological safety — post by Britt Andreatta, Ph.D

Sean Towgood is the creator, star, writer and co-executive producer of You’re My Hero. If you’re not familiar with You’re My Hero, it’s a six-part CBC Gem comedy series about Ian Fletcher. The main character created and played by Sean Towgood. Ian is an angsty 20-something wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, dealing with the pressures of adult life in a physical environment that’s not designed with accessibility in mind. You’re My Hero is in its second season on CBC Gem. In addition to being an actor, writer and producer, Sean Towgood is also an award-winning radio documentary maker. And he’s funny, with a sharp wit. In this feature interview, Sean talks about the importance of You’re My Hero; the challenges he faced getting the show on air; the state of disability inclusion in Canadian film and television; whether he thinks of himself as a disability “mythbuster,” and more. Sean’s sense of humour and sharp wit makes this an entertaining, lively, engaging and insightful conversation you won’t want to miss.   SHOW NOTES Episode 35 transcript (PDF) Learn more Read about You’re My Hero and Sean Towgood on cbc.ca Sean’s Instagram: @seantowgood Sean’s press agent — Damien Nelson, Want and Able Arts Consulting: dnwantable@gmail.com

It’s definitely no secret — there’s a general labour shortage in Canada that’s going to last until about 2030. It’s affecting just about every sector. Perhaps none more than the health care sector. There’s a labour crisis in the sector that’s affecting — among other things in hospitals, wait times in emergency rooms; and often whether some smaller communities even have an open ER or hospital at all. So what’s to be done about the staffing crisis in pretty much every hospital in every province? And how do people who have a disability, and disability-inclusive hiring, fit into this? There’s a new initiative in Ontario aimed at solving the hiring, training and retention crisis in the health care sector. In Ontario, at least. It’s aptly named Inspire, Hire, Train, Retain. Or, IHTR for short. It’s a disability-inclusive hiring “training in the box” solution. It’s a collaborative initiative led by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto. Our two guests for this episode are deeply and intrinsically involved in spearheading the development of IHTR. Catch this dynamic, engaging conversation with: Laura Bowman, Project Manager, Research and Evaluation at Holland Bloorview Lori Riding, Manager of Disability and Absences Management at Halton Healthcare in Oakville, ON   SHOW NOTES Episode 34 transcript (PDF) Learn more about the IHTR project Check out the IHTR resources: English version | French version Get in touch with Laura Bowman about IHTR: lbowman@hollandbloorview.ca

In 2024, tourism was the fifth-largest industry in the world by revenue, and the largest industry globally by employment. Here in Canada, tourism contributes $102 billion to the economy, and generates over 745,000 jobs in communities across the country. A tourism industry report noted, more often than not, it’s in the front-line jobs where people who have a disability tend to be hired the most. And it’s often those front-line jobs where the biggest barriers to employment are. The Beyond Barriers: Insights into Tourism Workplace Disability Inclusion found there’s a bit of a disconnect. On the one hand, tourism employers have adopted inclusive hiring practices. But there’s a lack of formal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) training programs. And a lack of formal DEIA policies. There’s also a lack of professional development opportunities for employees who have a disability. But the industry is working to change all this, with the “Belong” initiative. Our two guests give us their perspectives on “Belong”…the current state of tourism sector workplace disability inclusion…and what “Belong” means for the future of the sector. Jasmine Qi — Director of Workforce Inclusion at Tourism HR Canada Moe Alameddine — The restaturateur who started Canada’s first dining-in-the-dark experience, in 2006, and has since employed over 100 people who have a visual impairment. He’s passionate about disability-inclusive employment in the tourism and hospitality sector. SHOW NOTES Episode 33 transcript (PDF) Learn more about the “Belong” initiative Learn about the Breaking Down Barriers: Insights into Tourism Workplace Disability Inclusion report Learn about Dark Fork and the dining-in-the-dark experience Get in touch with Moe Alameddine for mentoring on making your tourism business more disability inclusive Get in touch with Jasmine Qi about the Belong initiative

In the Province of Ontario, Canada, the twentieth anniversary of legislation that was supposed to make the province fully accessible by 2025 came and went in January with Ontario being nowhere near fully accessible for people who have a disability. Over in France, with disability groups protesting in Paris on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of that country’s disability law of 2005, people chanted rien n’a changé, or, nothing has changed. And then there’s the United States, where DEI has been made illegal and there’s been government action that’s already directly impacting people who have a disability. And there’s fear disability rights and inclusion could be set back 50 years. In Episode 32 — part two of our Season 6 opener series, we’re zooming out for a look at the global state of disability inclusion in 2025. Helping us make sense of the global state of things in these turbulent times are these two guests: Susan Scott-Parker — Founder and CEO of Business Disability International, and host of her own disability-inclusion focuses podcast, Scott-Parker goes live Peter Torres Fremlin — A freelance consultant who has lived experience with disability who’s spent many years advising international organizations including the U.N. on disability rights; and editor of the Disability Debrief email newsletter SHOW NOTES Episode 32 transcript (PDF) Learn more about Business Disability International Sign up to receive the Disability Debrief email newsletter Check out Susan Scott-Parker’s podcast, Scott-Parker Goes Live

In our first episode of the 2025 season, we’re jumping right into the controversial fray of things. We’re tackling a timely topic that’s literally dividing people and an entire country. There’s been a lot of controversy, destructive action…and destructive conversation on social media about diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. This episode is part one in a two-part series to start off season six. We’re diving right into the state of DEI in North America. This is a compelling conversation with these three guests providing a perspective from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border: John Robinson — Founder and CEO of Our Ability, based in Albany, NY; he has lived experience with disability Danica McPhee — Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity Co-ordinator at Erie Shores HealthCare in Leamington, ON; she has lived experience with disability Ruby Latif — Certified Coach, Certified Psychological Health and Safety Professional and the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for the Brant County Healthcare System in Brantford, ON. SHOW NOTES Episode 31 transcript (PDF) Learn more about Our Ability Toronto Star Opinion column by Dr. Ruby Latif: Have diversity issues died? Maybe in the U.S. — but there is still time for Canada

The newcomer community in Canada is huge. In 2022, the country welcomed 431,645 new permanent residents — the largest number in one year — in Canadian history. The last time Canada welcomed that many newcomers was over a century ago, in 1913. There was a time when almost all immigrants to Canada came from Europe. Today, they come from countries and cultures all over the world. Asia is the continent where most come from; and India is the country where most immigrants to Canada were born, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan) data. As StatCan notes, “immigrants come from many different countries, bringing with them their cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious heritage.” And, as we learn in this episode, their perceptions of disability. Just what is the perception of disability in the newcomer, or immigrant, community and cultures? How inclusive are they? And what are the challenges for people in these communities who have a disability? These are some of the questions we explore in this episode that wraps up our three-part series on Intersectionality, and season five of You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D. We get deep perspectives and insights from two guests whose work involves supporting people in the newcomer comer community who have a disability: Raihanna Hirji-Khalfan, the National Director of Race and Disability Canada Rabia Khedr, CEO of Disability Empowerment Equality Network (DEEN) Support Services SHOW NOTES Race and Disability Canada website Race and Disability Canada resources: IDEA Tool Kits IDEA Practitioners & Professionals Network Instagram feed storytelling program about Black leaders and South Asian leaders who have a disability Other programs for Indigenous, Black and racialized people who have a disability DEEN Support Services website Episode 30 transcript (PDF)