Despite representing one-quarter of the population, disabled people continue to face significant barriers to employment. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a time to recognize the contributions of disabled workers and reaffirm our commitment to building inclusive workplaces. The best way to learn how to support disabled workers is to listen to disabled voices!
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a time to recognize the contributions of disabled workers and reaffirm our commitment to building inclusive workplaces. It’s an opportunity to celebrate progress, confront ongoing barriers, and imagine a future where every person—whether their disability is visible or invisible—can thrive at work.
One in four Americans is disabled, and one in ten Americans lives with an invisible disability. Despite representing one-quarter of the population, disabled people continue to face significant barriers to employment. Disabled workers often encounter challenges their able-bodied peers do not—from hiring biases and inaccessible application processes to environments that don’t fully embrace the accommodations or flexibility needed to succeed.
Seeing the Unseen
When many people think about disability, they imagine something visible—mobility aids, hearing aids, or service animals may come to mind. However, many of us live with disabilities that can’t be seen. An invisible disability is a health condition that isn’t immediately obvious to others. It can affect how a person feels, thinks, or moves through the world—such as chronic pain and fatigue, neurodiversity, autoimmune conditions, or mental health disorders.
You wouldn’t know at first glance, but I am disabled. As someone with an invisible disability, I am often perceived as able-bodied while navigating daily challenges others can’t see. This perception creates a constant balancing act: deciding whether to disclose my disability to seek understanding and accommodations, or to stay silent and avoid the stereotypes and biases that can follow. One of the hardest parts of having an invisible disability is the quiet fear of not being believed and of having my needs questioned simply because they can’t be seen. Asking for support can feel like putting myself on trial, as if my challenges must be defended, documented, or justified before they are taken seriously.
I remember asking about flexible work schedules and work-life balance during the interview process with the World Animal Protection team. At that point in my career, I had never disclosed my disability to an employer. The fear of having to justify my invisible disability often stopped me from talking about it openly. More than that, I had never felt safe enough to refer to myself as disabled at work. You can imagine my surprise when I saw that disability representation and accommodations for disabled workers were already built into World Animal Protection’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB) policies. The burden of having to educate my workplace on invisible disabilities and then justify my own status as a disabled person was lifted from my shoulders.
I am a better version of myself when I’m not panicking about requesting time off for a doctor’s appointment or pushing through debilitating symptoms to fit within a rigid schedule. Providing the freedom to work with my disability—and not against it—has made it possible for me to reach my full potential. World Animal Protection has recognized what disabled workers have always known: I can help build a world where no animal knows cruelty or suffering while also honoring the accommodations my body needs. Disabled people do not need to suffer in silence to be valuable team members.
The Privilege of Disclosure
I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the privilege of having a choice in whether to disclose my disability. As someone with an invisible disability, I can “pass,” but people with visible disabilities don’t get to choose whether others notice. Their experience of bias is immediate, unavoidable, and deeply unfair.
Passing isn’t without its own challenges. Choosing privacy can mean carrying my struggles quietly and navigating life without the accommodations I need to succeed. Holding both truths at once—the privilege of choice and the weight of that choice—reminds me how essential it is to create workplaces where all disabled employees, visible or invisible, can be themselves without fear or judgment.
When organizations embrace policies that support people with invisible disabilities, they send a clear message to everyone: you don’t have to hide who you are to belong here. That kind of culture doesn’t just benefit those of us with invisible conditions—it also creates a safer, more welcoming space for colleagues with visible disabilities, freeing them from the pressure to minimize or mask their own experiences. Ultimately, inclusion for one strengthens belonging for all.
Creating a Safe Workplace for Disabled Employees
All of us have the power to make our workplaces safer, more inclusive, and free from harmful biases. One of the best ways to start is by learning—seeking out tools and guidance that can help us create environments where disabled employees feel respected and supported.
Language Matters
Ableism, the system of oppression that disadvantages disabled people, is deeply embedded in our language. When speaking and writing about disabilities, it’s important to listen to and learn from disabled people and the disability community at large.
Here are some resources, all written by disabled authors, that broaden understanding of why language matters:
- Disability-Affirming Language: Person-First versus Identity-First Language by Natalia Iwanek
- Using Positive Language Around My Disability Shows You Care by Sara Shams
- Here Are Some Dos and Don’ts of Disability Language by Andrew Pulrang
It’s important to note: while I have chosen to use identity-first language (“disabled person”), individuals who prefer person-first language (“person with a disability”) are equally valid in that choice and should always be addressed however they feel comfortable.
Supporting Disabled Colleagues
When disabled people aren’t supported in the workplace, organizations miss out on talented employees with skills and perspectives that strengthen their teams. Below are stories from disabled workers about their workplace experiences. The best way to learn how to support disabled peers is to listen to disabled voices.
- Fired During Accommodations Application: Reflections from A Black Autistic Worker by A. Tony Jerome
- To Disclose a Disability, Employees Need to Feel Safe at Work by Arielle Dance, Ph.D.
- Why I Never Tell People With Disabilities to “Just Work Harder” by Haben Girma
- Disability Accommodations- How I Lived It and How to Fix It by Alex Johnson
- Disclosing a Disability at Work by Natasha Walton
- “Life is Too Short for Someone Else’s Shame”: Why I Call Myself a Disabled Writer by Amanda Leduc
- Navigating The Workforce as a Chronically Ill Person by Zainab Onuh-Yahaya
Disability in DEI Policies
Despite being one of the largest marginalized groups in the workforce, disability is often missing from workplace DEI strategies, leaving disabled employees without the support they need. This exclusion not only silences the voices of disabled workers, but it also weakens the very goal of DEI: to build workplaces where everyone can thrive.
Here are some resources to help organizations strengthen their disability inclusion efforts:
- Disability Inclusion in the Workplace: Moving Beyond Compliance by Diversity.com
- Workplace Inclusion Toolkit by Relay Resources
- Inclusive Workplaces Toolkit by Inclusion International
- Disability Inclusion Resource Guide by The Kresge Foundation
True equity means making space for every person to bring their whole self to work. Each of us has a role to play in shaping workplaces where disabled people are valued, respected, and empowered to thrive. Together, we can build cultures of inclusion that uplift us all.