Susan Sygall is the CEO and co-founder of Mobility International USA, an organization that seeks to advance disability rights globally. An internationally recognized expert in the field of international education exchange and leadership programs for persons with disabilities, she has co-authored numerous publications, co-produced several award-winning videos and lectured around the world.

A passionate advocate for disability rights and venerated civil rights leader, Sygall has received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance Matusak Courageous Leadership Award and the 2014 Viscardi Achievement Award. She was named an Ashoka Senior Fellow in 2013 and served as part of the US Delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2015.

On this episode of the podcast, Sygall discusses Mobility International’s work to empower people with disabilities to gain their rights and specific initiatives the organization has implemented to help women with disabilities take their rightful place as leaders.

 

Key Interview Takeaways

The barriers faced by women with disabilities mirror those encountered by women in general. Women with disabilities encounter more violence and have limited access to education, health care and jobs. Mobility International USA seeks to eliminate those barriers with an initiative called the Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD), an intensive program in which 20 girls with disabilities from Africa, Asia and Latin America meet to learn about media, policy and legislation, health care and parenting. They then return to their communities as leaders who can empower others to understand their rights and how to access those rights.

Sygall offers strategies to build confidence in young women with disabilities. A wheelchair rider herself, she first emphasizes that the opportunity to connect with other women with disabilities fosters a sense of solidarity that breeds confidence. The second approach involves women with disabilities creating a new image for themselves by taking on pursuits they might not have believed were possible; the WILD program gives its participants the opportunity to participate in activities like a challenge course, river rafting, self-defense and sports.

One thing we can do today to transform our culture into one that is more inclusive for women with disabilities is to ask ourselves, “Is this program accessible?” Marketing materials should welcome people with disabilities, your organization’s website should be accessible to the blind, a sign language interpreter should be available at events, and events must be held in accessible places. Seek out groups of women with disabilities and meet with them to promote your programs and bring them into the fold.

 Connect with Susan Sygall

www.miusa.org

twitter.com/mobilityINTL

www.facebook.com/mobility.international

www.makers.com/susan-sygall

 

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