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About EARN

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) offers information and resources to help employers recruit, hire, retain and advance people with disabilities; build inclusive workplace cultures; and meet diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) goals. 

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Start here to learn how to recruit, hire, retain and advance people with disabilities; why workplace inclusion of people with disabilities matters; and how EARN’s resources can help.

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    Phases of Employment

  • A woman in a wheelchair shakes hands with a colleague

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    Build a pipeline of talent that includes people with disabilities.

  • Two men work at repairing an engine.

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  • A woman with a disability wearing a helmet works in a factory

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    Ensure that employees with disabilities have equal opportunities for advancement.

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Attitudinal Awareness

Negative attitudes and stereotypes about disability can hinder inclusion for all.

Often, the biggest barrier to workplace accessibility is not architectural in nature, but rather attitudinal.  Employees may have misconceptions about people with disabilities and the work they can do. Examples of such attitudinal barriers include:

  • Inferiority: The employee is seen as a “second-class citizen.”
  • Pity: People feel sorry for the employee and are patronizing as a result.
  • Hero Worship: People consider a person with a disability living independently to be “special.”
  • Ignorance: The employee is dismissed as incapable because of his or her disability.
  • Multi-sensory affect: People assume that the employee’s disability affects his or her other senses.
  • Stereotypes: People make both positive and negative generalizations about disabilities.
  • Backlash: People believe the employee is being given an unfair advantage because of his or her disability.
  • Denial: People may not believe that hidden disabilities are legitimate and therefore do not require accommodations.
  • Fear: People are afraid they will offend an employee with a disability by doing or saying the wrong thing and, as a result, will avoid the employee.

Employers can help break down attitudinal barriers in the workplace by engaging employees in discussions about disability and providing training to increase employees’ perspectives and understanding. Often, local disability service providers offer disability etiquette education and training. Additional resources include the Job Accommodation Network’s Disability Awareness to Increase Your Comfort, Confidence, and Competence, an online training with handouts that can be used for individual or group training, and the Campaign for Disability Employment’s PSA toolkits.

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