Disability Friendly

3Disability Is Essential to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Movement

When we talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), what do we mean? Yes, we want safe, welcoming workspaces that provide opportunities for everyone, but it's more nuanced than that. DEI reminds us how to proceed when handling human interactions in the workplace, particularly those that impact a person's feelings of safety, respect, and participation. It is more than a catchall, the three pieces of the DEI puzzle are not interchangeable.

Typically, companies market this movement as a crucial trifecta, and sometimes they explain it as one conglomerate concept. Each word interweaves beautifully with the other two, and I think it's equally important to recognize the value in the individual components that build the whole.

For this reason, I begin this section on DEI by examining a theory of how the DEI movement possibly began, and then reviewing how we define these words in work and political settings. From there, I will backtrack through some disability studies theory and continue to examine how disability studies and a disability lived experience provide unique contributions to the DEI movement.

Where the DEI Movement May Have Originated

DEI may have originated with parents fighting for their children with disabilities to be included in local public schools, according to Dr. Jim Rimmer, the inaugural Lakeshore Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation Sciences and director ...