Creating and fostering a workplace culture to drive disability inclusion

Overview

Despite anti-discrimination legislations and disability awareness campaigns, people with disabilities continue to report system barriers and stigma in their pursuit for meaningful employment. There is a growing attention to organizational culture and its impact on employment for persons with disabilities as the attention on inclusion and human rights mounts. Research has shown that ad hoc inclusion efforts and policies are less effective in changing the experience of people with disabilities in the workplace without creating and fostering a disability inclusion culture, one that understands the business case of hiring people with disabilities, the social responsibilities, as well as the importance of having a healthy and safe work environment.  Workplace parties must transform theories, principles, and good intentions to measurable strategies and best practices to drive culture change.  This webinar will discuss frameworks and concepts such as accessibility excellence and accountability beyond legal compliance. 

Speakers

Kim Jeffreys (she/her) is the Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at March of Dimes Canada. Kim holds a BA in Public Administration from Toronto Metropolitan University, is a certified workplace metal health leader, mediator, and alternative dispute resolution practitioner. Her expertise includes impact driven strategy execution, cultural humility and responsiveness and workplace equity and belonging. Jeffreys' passion for accessibility is deeply personal, shaped by her lived experience with disability. This unique perspective informs her work, ensuring that accessibility and universal design are woven into the fabric of organizational culture, structure and processes.

W. Francis Fung is the National Manager, Rehabilitation and Clinical Services at March of Dimes Canada. He is a co-lead for stakeholder engagement activities at IDEA and co-lead of IDEA’s Incubator  Hub on  Employment Support Systems. Fung has a master’s in education, community rehabilitation and disability studies from the University of Calgary, and a BSc in psychology from Trent University. He holds a number of designations and certifications related to vocational rehabilitation and evaluation, as well as disability management.

Host

Dan Samosh is an Assistant Professor in Employment Relation at Queen’s University and Academic Co-Lead of the IDEA Incubator Hub on Transitions to Work and Career Development.

About the IDEA Speaker Series

The IDEA Speaker Series provides an opportunity to hear guest speakers talk about their efforts to create stronger and more diverse labour markets that include persons with disabilities.