Just in time for Jewish Disability Awareness Month, a great article in last week’s New York Times described a new initiative intended to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities. It’s not, as the article points out, “your father’s hire the handicapped campaign;” it takes a “light-hearted tack rather than a sober or earnest tone.”
I like the approach; it’s a little irreverent – “disruptive” yet “tasteful” is how Barbara Otto, executive director at Health and Disability Advocates in Chicago, describes it – but it catches the eye and reminds us that for many people, a disability is one, small aspect of who they are. That aspect can either be emphasized or exaggerated by society and employers or it can be embraced for what it is: one unique piece in the persona of a potential employee.
The page for the “Think Beyond the Label Campaign” is here and I’d also recommend checking out their video ad here.
Image courtesy of www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com