Fighting systemic and personal ableism in our work

Signed into law on July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and ensures equal opportunity in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. While the ADA has led to opportunity and access, it cannot remove the long-standing discrimination and social prejudice against disabled people and the ableism ingrained in our culture.

Before laws like the ADA, it was perfectly legal to exclude people with disabilities from government services, employment, public schools, and even buying goods and services. This systemic ableism—discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities—continues today in restrictive laws and inequalities, such as allowing subminimum wages for disabled workers, or even in our own personal biases, where we inherently prefer body and mind normativity.

We can, however, challenge our biases and wield the power of alleyship by engaging with people with both visible and invisible disabilities and listening to their lived experiences. We can also reduce barriers for students, faculty, and staff in our work by:

• Providing both physical and digital accommodations.
• Improving accessibility in our digital content.
• Ensuring DEI is a part of the hiring process.
• Creating accessible and inclusive meetings.
• Participating in disability-related education and training.