This article is reprinted from Canadian Lawyer Magazine, dated November 24, 2023. To view the original article, click here: https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/opinion/being-a-disability-ally-in-the-legal-profession-starts-with-breaking-your-silence/381700
The annual worldwide observance of the United Nations-sanctioned International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is December 3. Proclaimed by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1992, the day aims to promote an understanding and support of disability issues. It seeks to create awareness of the benefits of integrating people with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic, and cultural life.
Did you know that over half of the human rights applications filed provincially, territorially, and federally are on the grounds of disability? While IDPD serves as a potent reminder of disability inclusion every year, workplace inclusion for people with disabilities remains as bleak as ever. Lawyers living with disabilities continue to face soul-crushing barriers to entry and challenges from within.
As I recently wrote, over six million Canadians 15 and older (22 percent of the population) identify as having one or more disabilities, which impacts over half of society. StatsCan will release its latest survey by the end of 2023, and I predict the oft-cited “one in five Canadians with disabilities” will jump significantly. Why? At the time data was collected last year, there was a greater awareness and less stigmatization of mental disorders, a better understanding of the definition of disability (not only what is visible, but also those that are episodic and non-apparent), the acquisition of COVID-related disabilities, and the ongoing aging of Baby Boomers.
When people do nothing, the dial on workplace disability inclusion does not move. Silence is often perceived as acceptance, which is no longer viable.
While most people do not intend to be exclusionary, they have many reasons for inaction: fear of saying or doing the wrong thing, doubt that they can make an impactful difference, and the high stress of the legal profession reinforcing the need to keep one’s head down. Furthermore, many equity, diversity, and inclusion conversations fail to include disability and accessibility inequities.
However, I assure you there is power in disability allyship. My disability awareness training reminds people that “ally” is a verb, not a noun nor a “badge” you wear during designated days or months of the year. As a member of the Canadian Bar Association’s equality subcommittee and the Ontario Bar Association’s constitutional, civil liberties, and human rights section, I am proud of our work to advance this agenda.
On December 4, the OBA offered a free session to CBA members moderated by OBA President Kelly McDermott, who lives with multiple sclerosis, in discussion with two lawyers with lived experiences and the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Kelly discussed the OBA’s peer support network for lawyers living with disabilities, which was launched this fall. It provides a safe, judgment-free space to share experiences (good and challenging) and resources while we learn from each other. You will likely find similar events celebrating IDPD in your legal community – I encourage you to attend, listen, and learn.
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