-
>> Sean Marihugh:
My name is Sean Marihugh
-
and I work at Microsoft.
I’m an escalation engineer
-
on what's called the
Disability Answer Desk
-
which is a free
technical support service
-
for customers with disabilities.
-
>> Jean Hodgson:
I'm Jean Hodgson.
-
I work for PROVAIL.
-
We're a nonprofit organization
-
that advocates for
folks with disabilities.
-
We help them get into
the mainstream job market,
-
into mainstream jobs
working with Americans
-
in the fields of all
different types of work.
-
>> Sam Sepah:
I'm Sam Sepah.
-
I am an HR professional
and I have worked
-
for a variety of tech companies
over the last 10 years of my career.
-
And now I'm focusing on
recruitment for software engineers.
-
>> Susan Sears: I'm Susann Sears
and I work for the University of Illinois,
-
specifically with the Disability Resources
and Educational Services office.
-
>> Mike Forehand:
I'm Mike Forehand.
-
I work in the recruiting space
-
with a focus on
creating diversity outreach
-
primarily towards the
disabled community.
-
>> Tony Baylis:
My name is Tony Baylis.
-
I work at Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory
-
that's in Livermore, California.
-
It's one of 17 Department of Energy labs.
-
Our focus is on national security.
-
[music]
-
>> Sean Marihugh:
People with disabilities
-
are in general fairly underrepresented
in a lot of fields.
-
Computing’s definitely one
of the top drivers--- top fields there.
-
I think it's really critical
that we, that students,
-
feel encouraged and empowered
to pursue fields of computing
-
because I think they
can pave the way
-
to make everyone else's experience
with technology better.
-
>> Tony Baylis: How are we
supposed to solve societal problems
-
if we're not representing
society as a whole?
-
And in that regard,
you need to be inclusive
-
with the individuals that you're serving
and that's the entire population.
-
If you have 2 billion
people with disabilities,
-
how can you ignore that?
-
How can you ignore not inviting
them into the discussion?
-
>> Sam Sepah:
Candidates with disabilities
-
have a unique thought process
to bring to a company.
-
Our country is diverse so the
marketplace needs to attract
-
a lot of diverse people who will
-
use the products that we're selling
or the services we're providing.
-
If a country is diverse, your team
needs to be diverse as well
-
to parallel what our
country's demographics are.
-
>> Mike Forehand:
As team members
-
they're just as passionate
about making a contribution
-
and being a part of a broader team
as everyone else is,
-
the difference being that
they look at the world
-
and they have different
problem-solving and coping skills
-
that lead them to
different solutions.
-
>> Sean Marihugh:
I don't think it's the case
-
that someone with a disability knows
everything about everyone else's disability,
-
but I think they bring a
certain empathy to a company
-
so they'll understand people
have different experiences
-
and having interns and
employees with disabilities,
-
I think they can bring
that perspective.
-
>> Tony Baylis: I think having people
with disabilities in your culture
-
actually helps people
to better understand
-
about our cultural differences,
about our learning differences,
-
about how you can have
different perspectives.
-
>> Sam Sepah:
More sensitivity is needed
-
when you're talking about interviewing
these type of candidates.
-
You need to think about the support
that they're going to need
-
in the interview beforehand.
-
And have more of a streamlined process
-
that makes the candidates feel welcomed
right at the start of the interview
-
so that they feel welcomed
into the team.
-
They know what's going to
have to be happening
-
in the process
of the interview.
-
It empowers them
and really allows
-
for that magic to happen
in the interview process.
-
>> Jean Hodgson: We work currently
as a partner with Microsoft
-
on their autistic hiring program.
-
We help them recruit,
we help them obtain lots of individuals
-
that they might include
in their hiring pool.
-
We coach the folks that are
going to be interviewing them,
-
we coach the interviewees
-
in helping them through
some of the difficult areas
-
like phone screenings,
-
making a little bit of a
softer job interview process
-
so that you can get to the core
of the skills of the individual
-
and see if they are a great fit
for your employment.
-
>> Sam Sepah: One study
that really inspired me
-
that I read about was asking
customers in the marketplace
-
if they learned about a company
that hired people with disabilities.
-
What they found out was that customers
that found this out about companies
-
would be more willing to buy
their products and services
-
and we learned that it's because
customers have more respect
-
for a business that does that
-
not only because it's
the right thing to do
-
but because they're really
taking charge of that responsibility.
-
They're committed to diversity
and hiring a diverse workforce,
-
including people with disabilities.
-
>> Jean Hodgson: Anytime that inclusion
is part of a goal, everyone benefits.
-
And when there's technology
that is inclusive,
-
such as videos
that are captioned
-
or websites where it's more accessible
to someone with any type of difficulty,
-
then there’s a more
expansive audience,
-
there’s more expansive
ability for profiting.
-
>> Susann Sears: I think that
the investment in everybody's future
-
has to do with building and
designing things that are accessible
-
from the very beginning.
-
It's an investment for
all our futures,
-
not just the person,
individuals, with disabilities.
-
None of us know what's going
to happen to us individually.
-
In a matter of seconds,
your whole life can change
-
and you yourself may join
the disability community
-
and need these accommodations,
-
so it's not just about, you know,
hiring and recruiting people
-
but it's an investment
for all of us.
-
>> Tony Baylis:
I think we have a challenge,
-
but to include
people with disabilities
-
we have to start to work on
shedding biases in general,
-
these implicit and unconscious
biases across the board
-
and that’s even with
people with disabilities.
-
I think we'll have
a long road, unfortunately,
-
but I think it's a road
that we can work together.
-
I think we need organizations
and companies
-
to collaboratively
work on this effort.
-
>> Mike Forehand:
In an environment
-
where industry is based on
cross-cultural collaboration
-
and everything is
kind of team-oriented,
-
having a completely different
point of view is invaluable.
-
>> Sean Marihugh: When we're
bringing the perspectives of,
-
at least considering the different
perspectives that other people have,
-
I think we can make our products
way more inclusive,
-
make our culture,
make our workplace
-
just way more inclusive
and a better place to be.
-
>> Susann Sears: Truly,
-
attitudinal access is the most
important part of being inclusive.
-
It's not physical access.
It's attitudinal access.
-
So we have to impact culture
and I know that takes a while
-
and that can be challenging
-
but I think starting out small
and having one good success
-
is an incredible start and then
you build momentum from there.