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NDEAM Resources: Documentary on Disabilities in the Workplace

Featuring documentary participants, text reads "Breaking Barriers: Embracing Disabilities in the Workforce"
This entry is part 9 of 12 in the series NDEAM Resources

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! All month long, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite resources on accessibility and disability inclusion in the workplace.

This post features a new documentary on disabilities in the workplace that you won’t want to miss!


I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of this documentary on disabilities in the workplace from WorkingNation called “Breaking Barriers: Embracing Disabilities in the Workforce.”

The full documentary video is embedded below, but also check out their YouTube playlist for additional interviews.

Breaking Barriers features two discussions lead by journalist Hari Sreenivasan and includes:

  • Taryn Mackenzie Williams, assistant secretary for disability employment policy at the U.S. Department of Labor
  • Hiren Shukla, global head of the Neuro-Diverse Center of Excellence at EY
  • Matt Ater, vice president of business development for Vispero, which provides assistive technology for the visually impaired
  • Heather Dicks, Georgia Tech’s Excel program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities
  • Katie Hearn, an Atlanta Braves employee who lost her sight
  • Beth Keeton, executive director at Griffin-Hammis Associates, focused on alternate paths to the workforce for people with disabilities
  • Ilond Zombil Tshipau, vice president at the Bobby Dodd Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people with differing abilities

I loved the passionate stories of lived experiences – what people with disabilities in the workplace are really facing when finding or keeping employment. Some of my favorite moments and quotes:

  • Does diversity include accessibility? Trends are moving that way. “Technology is a key piece of creating workforce inclusion.”
  • “The challenge for most people with disabilities is that they don’t want to say they have one.”
  • Masking vs. Bringing whole self to work
  • “The disability population is an amazing entry into universal design.”
  • Innovation and resilience – disability key strengths
  • Dealing with the Social Security cliff

I hope you found this documentary as valuable as I did! Stay tuned for the next few posts with some great articles about accessibility and disability inclusion in different fields.

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