Coping with Disabilities in the Workplace

About one in 10 working women have a disability, whether it’s apparent or not. And how those women navigate the workplace is different from how the average neurotypical, fully able-bodied woman does, largely because of pervasive ableism. To learn more about that experience, we’re talking with Meredith Koch and Nicole Bettè. They’re engineers who both use wheelchairs and advocate for employees with disabilities.

In this episode, they reflect on their careers and times when they’ve felt supported—and when they haven’t, all with the hope that you’ll be able to better advocate for yourself and your colleagues. In their stories are also lessons for managers about how best to respond to team members’ requests for accommodations, and how to help accommodate employees who might not know what’s available or even what they need.

Resources:

• “People with Disabilities Are an Untapped Talent Pool,” from HBR IdeaCast
• “Make It Safe for Employees to Disclose Their Disabilities,” by Laurie Henneborn
• “Do Your D&I Efforts Include People with Disabilities?” by Caroline Casey
• “The Case for Improving Work for People with Disabilities Goes Way Beyond Compliance,” by Laura Sherbin and Julia Taylor Kennedy
• “Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage,” by Luisa Alemany and Freek Vermeulen

Sign up for the Women at Work newsletter.

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org