You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D

In North America, the disability inclusion conversation — the fight for equity — has been going on for over 50 years.

In Canada — more specifically, in the province of Ontario — the name David C. Onley is synonymous with championing disability inclusion in employment, and accessibility.

He was the first working television journalist in Canada, and the first Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, who had a visible disability. And he was a tireless, passionate champion for the rights of people who have a disability. His continuous advocacy efforts changed the fabric of society in Ontario.

He educated and informed; he influenced and encouraged; and he challenged the business community and the government to rethink disability.

David Onley passed away on January 14, 2023 at the age of 72.

In this episode, which airs one week before the start of National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2024 in North America, we’re reflecting on the legacy of David C. Onley.

We wanted to get some deep personal insights about David Onley and his legacy.

This is a powerful, intensely emotional conversation with three people who knew David Onley well:

• Robert Onley, a lawyer and one of David Onley’s three sons

SHOW NOTES

• The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005

Advertising and disability. There’s a lot of both in North America. Eight per cent of the population in both the U.S. and Canada have a disability. In the U.S. that’s about 87 million people. In Canada, about eight million people.

In the U.S., there’s an average of about eight minutes of television ads every hour of programming on major networks. In Canada, there’s now no limit on the minutes per hour of national television advertising allowed on both network  and specialty channels.

Maybe you’ve seen the occasional television ad that includes someone who has a disability. There are a few out there — emphasis on “a few.”

Kelsey Lindell is determined to change all this. She’s a disruptor who was born with a disability. She’s been called an “impact entrepreneur.”

In 2022, Kelsey started Misfit Media. It’s run by people who have a disability, producing creative that’s disability inclusive, and educating brands and advertising agencies about why and how to do disability-inclusive creative — and do it right.

Now she’s leapfrogging off all this and taking a really disruptive step forward. She’s setting out to revolutionize the entire advertising industry across North America and how disability is represented in it — within two years.

She launched The Misfit 100 in March 2024. In this episode, she talks about the Misfit 100’s disability-inclusion mission and the state of disability-inclusive advertising in North America.

SHOW NOTES

• Learn more about Misfit Media and its disability-inclusion services

There are over 1.2 million employer businesses in Canada. And almost 98% of them are small businesses, which employ about 5.7 million people.

But surveys have shown that over half the small businesses in Canada have never hired someone who has a disability. They’ve never made the disability-inclusive hiring journey.

In Episode 25 — the second instalment of our occasional Making the Journey series — we talk with a small-business owner who is doing that.

Not only is Marnie Cuthbert just starting out on her disability-inclusive hiring journey, she’s doing it as a first-time small business owner. She left behind a 15-year career in health care administration to do something entirely different.

She recently opened the Crafty Corner Tea Room in Woodstock, ON. And her first two hires were people who have a disability.

In this new instalment of Making the Journey, Marnie talks about why:

• She’s so personally driven to be a disability-inclusive employer

SHOW NOTES

• Visit the Craft Corner Tea Room website

• Making Your Business Accessible for People with Disabilities: Guide for Small Businesses (Conference Board of Canada, 2022)

If you’ve ever looked for a stock photo portraying disability to use in a blog post or on a website page, you might find yourself thinking they all look the same; they all look contrived; and they don’t authentically portray disability in all its diversity.

How disability is broadly viewed and perceived, can depend on how it’s seen through a photographer’s mind, eye, viewfinder and lens.

The first-ever environmental portraiture of people who have a disability was done by famous American photographer Diane Arbus, between 1969 and 1971. Whether the Diane Arbus Untitled series was artistically inclusive, or helped perpetuate myths and stereotypes about disability, is of course, open to interpretation.

Canadian commercial and portrait photographer Hilary Gauld, is on a personal mission to make sure her photographic work portraying disability, is inclusive and authentic; that it tells an inclusive story about the person.

Episode 24 is an engaging conversation with photographer Hilary Gauld and creator, storyteller, educator and inclusion coach Jenny Jay about:

• Hilary’s journey of learning to photograph disability authentically and telling an inclusive story

SHOW NOTES

• View Hilary Gauld’s disability portraiture projects on her website

In part two of our series on The State of Accessibility in Canada, we go from the bird’s-eye view to a closer look at accessibility — in branding, marketing, advertising and social media content created by businesses in Canada.

This is an important conversation to have, because the accessibility of content for everyone can affect a business’s profitability and brand reputation.

Be sure to listen to this episode especially if you’re in marketing or advertising; or you’re a brand manager; or a social media manager; or a webmaster; or a graphic designer; or even a freelancer who does some or all of these things.

In Episode 23 you’re in for some insights into what’s right and what’s wrong about accessibility in all aspects of marketing, advertising, branding and social media from two people who specialize in helping businesses make sure what they’re creating is accessible.

An engaging conversation with guests:

• Kelly Thibodeau, Principal, Squarely Accessible

SHOW NOTES

• Get in touch with Kelly Thibodeau at Squarely Accessible

• Email: [email protected]

• Get in touch with Jolene MacDonald at Accessibrand

• Email: [email protected]

Accessibility is a single word that can have a lot of impact. Every day in Canada, indeed across North America and in countries around the world, many people — especially people who have a disability — face challenges in their daily lives because the built environment we all live in, generally isn’t all that accessible.

We mark National AccessAbility Week 2024 in Canada with this episode that’s part one in a two-part series on accessibility. When things are accessible, everyone benefits — emphasis on “when.”

It’s been almost five years since the Accessible Canada Act came into force, with the goal of making Canada totally barrier free by January 1, 2040. Just what is the current state of accessibility in Canada of products, of services, of places? And will we become a truly barrier-free country over the next 16 years?

That’s what we’re exploring in this episode — think of it as a report card on the overall state of accessibility in Canada.

For this high-level barometric reading, we turned to three of the top voices on accessibility in Canada.

Listen to this engaging conversation with:

• Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer of Canada

SHOW NOTES

• Everyone’s Business: Accessibility in Canada — Report from the Chief Accessibility Officer, 2023

There are more than 200 universities, and more than 200 colleges and institutes in Canada. Certainly no lack of choice for young people looking to pursue post-secondary education.

But there’s a problem on campuses across this country. It’s one affecting students, staff and faculty alike — a lack of accessibility and disability inclusion.

Statistics show that about 27% of Canadians have a university degree. But about only 17% of Canadians who have a disability, have some kind of degree.

But change could be in the wind with a project at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. An award-winning research team of professors at U of M set out to break down barriers to inclusion for students and faculty at the university who have a disability. Their project is titled, Dismantling Ableism and Promoting Equity for Persons with Disabilities: Institutional Action and Accountability.

It was one of three recipients of the inaugural Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity. The $100,000 award is funded through the federal Canada Research Chairs program.

In this engaging conversation, project lead Tina Chen, and Professor Nancy Hansen, talk about the project, and the many facets of why universities aren’t inclusive, and how to change that.

Tina is the University of Manitoba's first Executive Lead, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Nancy is Director of the university's Interdisciplinary Master's Program in Disability Studies.

ODEN’s Dr. Jennifer Crowson, PhD, is guest co-host this episode.

SHOW NOTES

• Government of Canada — Canada Research Chairs — project page: https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/wahts_new-quoi_de_neuf/2023/dismantling-demantelement-eng.aspx

Ableism. It happens in workplaces, in communities and in society in general, every day. Maybe you have lived experience facing it. Or maybe you’ve practised it, without consciously realizing it.

In this episode, we get a perspective on disrupting ableism in the workplace: Why it’s happening, its many forms, its impact and what can, and needs to be, done about it.

Our two guests have many powerful insights on ableism. Listen to this conversation with Sree Nallamothu and Fran Odette.

Sree Nallamothu is the Co-Executive Director of Toronto Neighbourhood Centres. She’s also a documentary film-maker, a passionate story teller and an advocate for social change.

Fran Odette has more than 25 years of experience in disability advocacy, activism and education. She co-designed and co-teaches a critical disability studies course titled, Disability Discourse: The Experienced Life, at George Brown College in Toronto.

Their insights in this episode will get you thinking more consciously about ableism.

ODEN’s Dr. Jennifer Crowson, PhD, is guest co-host this episode.

SHOW NOTES

• Episode transcript: https://www.odenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TranscriptEp20DisruptingAbleismInTheWorkplace-19April2024_otter_ai.pdf
  

In our Season 5 opener, the two guests who were with us on our 2023 season opener, are back to give us an update on year one of the Inclusive Design for Employment Access initiative, or IDEA for short.

A quick recap: IDEA is a six-year research project being done with $9 million of federal funding under Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund. IDEA is reimagining how Canadian workplaces can be more inclusive for people who have a disability.

It’s been almost a year since IDEA officially launched in May 2023, and we wanted to find out what’s been happening since then.

Listen to this great year one update conversation with Dr.Emile Tompa and Dr. Rebecca Gewurtz, who lead the IDEA initiative.

SHOW NOTES

Find out more about the IDEA initiative:

• Website: https://vraie-idea.ca

Connect with and follow the IDEA initiative on social media:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vraie_idea

Get in touch about getting involved in the IDEA initiative: [email protected]

Listen to the original conversation about the IDEA initiative (Episode 8): https://youcantspellinclusionwithoutad.podbean.com/e/idea-—-the-new-six-year-initiative-that-s-reimagining-canadian-workplaces-for-disability-inclusion/

We've got another great season  lined up. It starts April 9. Stay tuned for a lot of insight-packed conversations coming in the months ahead. Here's an idea of what's coming in 2024, in season five of You Can't Spell Inclusion Without a D.