Disability Justice, Ableism, and the Workplace
By: Tim Cynova // Published: February 19, 2023
In Fall 2022, I had the pleasure of teaching a new course as part of Minneapolis College of Art & Design’s brand new Masters of Arts in Creative Leadership program. The course — “The Culturally Competent Leader & the Inclusive Workplace” — was designed to engage students with a variety of voices and perspectives focused on co-creating inclusive, values-centering workplaces.
One module that was particularly resonant with the group was when we explored Disability Justice, Ablelism, and Workplace Design. It perhaps felt so resonant given that many worked in organizations that were in the midst of rolling out “return to work” plans that, in some cases, felt like they were undermining the advances made over the pandemic to create more inclusive workplace policies and practices.
If you’re interested in exploring some of what we covered during that module, here is a sampling of those resources:
“What is Disability Justice?” by Disability & Philanthropy Forum
“10 Principles of Disability Justice” by Sins Invalid
“Creating a supportive workplace for neurodivergent employees” by Colette Des Georges
Disability Justice Audit Tool conceived and designed by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Stacey Park Milbern
“Disability in the new workplace: What companies needs to know and do” by Project Include (Executive Summary or Full Research Study)
“Ableism 101: What it is, what it looks like, and what we can do to to fix it” by Ashley Eisenmenger
“Ableist Words and Terms to Avoid” by Lydia X. Z. Brown
“People First Language: Usage Guidelines” by the D.C. Office of Disability Rights
Disability Etiquette by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
“Neurodiversity is critical for innovation in the workplace” by Ludmila Praslova
“The Spoon Theory” by Christine Miserandino
“What the office return means for workers with disabilities” by S. Mitra Kalita
“Remote work since Covid-19 is exacerbating harm: What companies need to know and do” by Project Include
“New data shows long Covid is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work” by Katie Bach
“The Curb-Cut Effect: Laws and programs designed to benefit vulnerable groups often end up benefiting all of society” by Angela Glover Blackwell
“There are disabled people in the future” interview with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Livestream Interview with Syrus Marcus Ware (Resources mentioned during discussion: Mutual Aid & Survival Resources)
“Long COVID Could Be a ‘Mass Deterioration Event’: A tidal wave of chronic illness could leave millions of people incrementally worse off” by Benjamin Mazer
“The Han Flowing Through My Veins” by Sophia Park via Womanly
“Mental Health & Well-Being Amid a Global Pandemic” Work Shouldn’t Suck’s Ethical Re-Opening Summit panel
MMG Earth Resources (formerly Bunny McKensie Mac) Black and non-binary led, MMG EARTH is a change management firm completely leveling and re-inventing the change management sector
Check out the multitude of Disability Justice resources — including some seminal books on the topic — available on Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s website.
Project Include’s Remote Work Report & Executive Summary
“Bring Your Whole(ish) Self to Work” by Tim Cynova
“Measuring Loss: The Inequities in Remembrance” by Sophia Park
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeow
“Working While Grieving” Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast EP03
“My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” by Resmaa Menakem
“Remote work since Covid-19 is exacerbating harm: What companies need to know and do” by Project Include
The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
What other resources should be included on this list for future course iterations?
Tim Cynova is a leader, HR consultant, and educator dedicated to co-creating anti-racist and anti-oppressive workplaces through using human-centered organizational design. He is a certified Senior Professional in HR, trained mediator, principal at Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., on faculty at New York’s The New School and Minneapolis College of Art & Design, and for the past twelve years served as COO & Co-CEO of the largest association of artists, creatives, and makers in the U.S.
