Microsoft Reveals Disability Representation Numbers at Workplace
October 21, 2020
A newly released report from Microsoft reveals that 6.1 % of the company’s U.S. employees self-identify as disabled, meaning they have a physical, mental or cognitive disability. If you’re not quite sure how to put that number in context, that’s because few companies ever disclose similar numbers. This is the first time Microsoft has included disability in their annual diversity and inclusion report—and although the number may be modest, its significance will be understood worldwide.
I see it as an invitation for businesses to prioritize a group of 1 billion potential customers worldwide that has flown under the consumer radar for decades. 2021 will be a year for completely reframing how disability and inclusive design are prioritized and achieved . Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft’s chief accessibility officer agrees: “This is a small but incredibly important step on our journey with disability inclusion, a journey intrinsically linked to Microsoft’s mission – to empower every person and every organization to achieve more.” “While we are proud of the progress, there is clearly more to do,” said Lay-Flurrie. “Our ambition is to fully represent the population of people with disabilities across the globe and we take that seriously.” You can read more here.
Megan Lawrence, a senior accessibility evangelist at Microsoft explains, “ we are measuring what matters—getting more people with disabilities meaningful jobs that change the way people work and live.” Few companies take the longtime rallying cry of disability groups—‘nothing about us without us’—so seriously.
I interviewed Lawrence and other Microsoft employees with disabilities during a year in which the nation is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 75th observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
It is also a year in which the global pandemic has laid bare disparities in healthcare, housing, caregiving, disaster relief and access to technology. The problem precedes the pandemic. A 2019 national report shows only 30% of people ages 18-64 are employed. The number of people employed who do not have a disability is more than twice that number. That’s a gap that may grow even wider in 2021.
Is this hyperbole—and are we disabled Americans really trapped within such an outdated business operating system? To explain the disparity, it’s helps to look at research on Fortune 100 companies. They have extensive statistics on diversity, but under 50% of those companies included people with disabilities in their definition of a diverse workforce. But it’s not as though we don’t have statistics on how dismal employment numbers are for people with disabilities. Again, it comes back to measuring what matters and knowing that disability affects all American in some way. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four adults have a disability that impacts major life events.
Microsoft already employs people with all types of disabilities and is actively looking for new ways to be inclusive. The company has slowly and persistently chipped away at the issue since Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014. It takes patience and persistence to move the needle. Even the basics can’t be taken for granted. Many Americans don’t know that most disabilities are not visible, likely because they are not openly discussed and can be a source of shame or stigma. “Diabetes, dyslexia, and depression are three great examples of this. To understand our representation, we need data which means cultivating a workplace where employees can be confident, have pride in their disability and ultimately, confidentially self-identify whether they have a disability or not,” says Lay-Flurrie.
I have been reporting on corporate disability representation at work for two years. Among the barrier breakers, Microsoft stands out as one of a handful of global businesses that has made ‘nothing about us without us’ a reality. I wouldn’t say employees are doing victory laps every day, but they have a lot to be proud of. The company happily admits it is still learning from the experts—people with lived experience. (Learn more about those small and big wins in a piece Microsoft shared around the ADA titled Simple Things Count). Microsoft defines disability, using the definition of disability from the World Health Organization in both in internal conversation and external conversations: “Disability is not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.”
At the average company, even simple disability-friendly measures are difficult to put in place. At best the cycle of change looks like a reciprocity loop—companies ask for advice, then offer changes and then get more advice, which spreads to throughout the company until ultimately, changes become embedded in a business and inclusion gradually becomes the norm. At least that’s the goal. Where does that process begin? Microsoft is more than few steps ahead of the nation. Here are examples that can help other companies employ similar practices.
1. Proximity Breeds Understanding. This idea comes from a presentation I heard two years ago and remember to this day. I still have the blurry photo of that slide from a Power Point delivered by a top-level employee at Microsoft. At the time, ‘proximity breeds understanding’ sounded more like a lab experiment than a very human approach to inclusion, but the concept soon began to make perfect sense. The keynote speaker’s point was that when people with disabilities tell their own stories, the company gets the product and the marketing right. Jenny Lay Flurrie says “Some of the proudest moments in the last few years.” They were all driven by Microsoft’s talent with disabilities, who worked collaboratively to create the Xbox Adaptive Controller, Immersive Reader, and upcoming wellbeing features in Teams.
2. Customer Feedback Is Changing Radically. A longtime former employee overseeing accessible technology and a team of engineers described how dramatically the customer feedback loop has changed. When I asked if he met with actual customers or took their feedback over the phone, he explains that his team used to get notes on customer calls and try to work through the tweaks as they worked on new product. But now customers enter the feedback loop much earlier, giving product designers their thoughts directly. “We are now talking to more than 500 people through the AURC who use our products and give the design team feedback, he explains. It’s as true to the spirit of nothing about us without us as you can get. For more insight on the topic, check out Microsoft Accessibility Feedback.
3. Technology Builds a Culture of Mental Health Inclusion. Disability identity is complex and can involve shame, says one employee with fibromyalgia. “I began to see people in the mental health community as really energizing the disability community and sharing their strengths. As one of Microsoft’s accessibility evangelists, Lawrence is proud to be making safe spaces for people to support one another. One example is one of the disability ERG groups focused on mental health where employees talk openly and don’t feel judged. There are over 20 disability ERG’s across Microsoft globally. “We all are experiencing extreme stress right now. We get advice and ideas that we bring to leadership, says Lawrence. Recently they talked about what gives them joy—whether its gardening or cooking. For more on Megan’s personal mental health story, read her blog on the topic titled Mental health & using technology to build a culture of emotional inclusion.
4. Hiring Isn’t Checking A Box, It’s A Commitment
Microsoft invests in growing their talent. Hiring isn’t about checking a box, it’s about creating opportunity. Just like anyone else, ambitious, talented people don’t stay long if they don’t feel welcome, supported and well-trained. It should go without saying that every employee disability or not, wants to be treated with dignity and respect and to feel that what they do matters. That’s likely a few years away, when Gen X and Millienials who are out about their disabilities (and with pride) until there are more people with disabilities gently nudge Boomers out of their recalcitrance. A report from Well Being Trust entitled “Healing The Nation” makes the all-hands-on-deck idea clear: “Whether you are a federal policymaker or an advocate fighting for change, you play an important role in the health and well-being of the American people.” Internal pride in disability (180-degrees different than talking about external programs as inspiring, sometimes called inspo-porn) is a sign of commitment to a new narrative.
5. Seeing People First, Disability Second, Is A Gamechanger Bryan Stromer, who started in marketing at Microsoft a few years ago, told me “As soon as someone sees me coming down the hallway, they don’t know what to expect.” His fix for that is to either ignore the issue or make the best of it. “I definitely like to make jokes that most people wouldn’t expect. Or to pretend that I am not listening and then come up with a quick answer no one expected,” says Stromer. It’s part of his charm. But it’s also part of approach to having a disability and being incredibly capable. As I look at his photo on my desktop this week I think: That is the new face of disability. Right there. Young. Capable. Proud. Influential. Stigma, if it is there at all, doesn’t stick to him. In the wise words of longtime disability advocate Judith Heumann, he helps others to “stop being afraid to talk about disability. People just need to get over it.”
If there’s one take-home here, it’s not the 6.1% stat. That’s a benchmark. Take the broader perspective and begin recognizing the value in giving people with disabilities more than a seat at the table. Offering opportunity, technology and respect benefits everyone.
For more information on programs to share with your employees, visit Microsoft On the Issues and read more employee and product success stories here.
Source: Forbes