October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This annual campaign is dedicated to bringing awareness to and celebrating the contributions of individuals with disabilities in the workforce, including veterans with disabilities.
Each year, Getting Hired’s Inclusive Employer NDEAM Sponsors promote NDEAM across their networks and celebrate in a variety of ways. This year was no exception. Here are some of the ways our partner organizations supported disability inclusion throughout October:
Nike Military Veterans and Ability Networks recently hosted an empowering Yoga+Mindfulness session for Nike teammates, where veteran & yoga instructor Dan Nevins shared his personal journey of overcoming adversity through the practice of yoga. Learn more about Nike’s Employee Networks here.
Associated Bank supported NDEAM in a few ways. These included releasing an internal article about NDEAM; releasing an internal article about members of their Disability Employee Resource Group, AFAN (Associated Forward Ability Network); and hosting a Lunch and Learn panel with people with disabilities, caregivers, and an outside community partner, the Cerebral Palsy Center. They also hosted a Lunch & Learn for more than 50 hiring managers. Kristen Bailey, Getting Hired Account Manager, led this event, which included a disability etiquette training.
In early October, Facebook hosted its first ever inclusive and accessible virtual career fair for people with disabilities. The event included teams of recruiters representing multiple areas of employment at Facebook, including Design & User Experience, Enterprise Engineering, Global Operations, Sales & Operations, and Software Engineering.
To kick off NDEAM, Fannie Mae held a disability etiquette training, led by Getting Hired Account Manager, Pauline Wheeler. With 45 attendees. This training educated Fannie Mae’s recruiters on Disability Etiquette. Fannie Mae also wrote a blog highlighting their various NDEAM efforts from a video, to highlighting their disability ERG.
According to a 2012 study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 22 veterans, active-duty service members, guardsmen, and reservists take their own lives every day. As a result of recognizing this epidemic, and in conjunction with NDEAM, BAE Systems, Inc. hosted a health and wellness initiative, the Defending 22 Challenge. To show their support, raise awareness of the daily suicide rate and mental health issues, and give back to those who serve in their surrounding communities and throughout the world, BAE Systems encouraged employees to accept the Defending 22 challenge. For 22 days, employees were challenged to complete a personal health and wellness goal to serve as a daily reminder of those who continue to take their lives. The goal of the Defending 22 challenge is to unify employees across BAE Systems by engaging company values while raising awareness for veterans’ mental health.
Comcast hosted its annual Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) in Philadelphia. This event promotes career development for people with disabilities through hands-on job exploration and ongoing mentoring relationships. Comcast’s DMD attendees participate in resume reviews and mock interviews, meet with senior leaders in one-on-one networking and mentoring sessions, and learn about the company’s overall strategy around diversity and inclusion. For some attendees, participation in this event has led to securing jobs at Comcast. For a more detailed account of the impact of Comcast’s DMD event, check out this blog.
Merck’s Empathy Lab is an ongoing initiative to help people understand and experience alternative ways of interacting with technology and other environments through hands-on access to different tools and assistive technologies. An aspect of the Lab includes spreading accessibility awareness and helping teams reach a deeper understanding of how people with disabilities use technology and how they are impacted by inaccessible technology.
As a part of Global Diversity & Inclusion Month and NDEAM, Merck premiered a traveling art exhibition at the Upper Gwynedd site. The exhibition includes 20 works of art from ArtLifting, an organization that empowers artists living with homelessness or disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork. This is sponsored by the MerckcapABILITY Network.
Altice USA held a Disability Inclusion training, led by Getting Hired Account Manager Kristen Bailey, delivered to over 100 employees of all levels - not specific to recruiters and hiring managers. This tailored training designed exclusively for Altice USA covered disability etiquette for the office and hiring managers, disability sensitivity training, along with co-worker support, tips, and tools.
Interested in learning more about NDEAM and how you can get involved? Contact us for support and details.